Scandinavia and the World
Scandinavia and the World
Taxes, Healthcare and Culture satwcomic.com

Taxes, Healthcare and Culture


"I wish you well, have a good life, please don't write"

Norway Sweden Denmark America
14th October 2016
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8 years ago #9543360        
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The US is weird. "Oh, you haven't worked at all? Don't worry, your medical care is free! What's that, you have two minimum wage jobs to make ends meet and can't afford insurance? SCREW YOU BUDDY!"


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8 years ago #9543284        
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Yeah, paying taxes to benefit everyone, not just me!
Sheesh, it's like we're living in a society or something...


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8 years ago #9543665        
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The best thing that has happened to the US attitude toward taxes in the last several years has been Donald Trump (and Warren Buffet's amazing smackdown thereof). All of the sudden, people are coming to the (really obvious but somehow never stated aloud) conclusion that paying your taxes is patriotic, and it's good for your country and all the people in it.

The notion that the government is inherently inefficient is deeply flawed, in that no one (in the media, at least) has ever bothered to point out that the alternative -- the free market -- is equally if not more inefficient. Only instead of paying $6,000 for a toilet seat, the free market does things like inspire a boatload of Wells Fargo employees to make up fake accounts and bill real people for things they never asked for and cannot afford, or employ an entire generation of people at a wage that cannot pay for their basic expenses because Wal*Mart and McDonalds have figured out that if they don't pay enough, the government will step in and cover the difference rather than let people actually starve to death on the streets.

Ultimately, there is exactly one reason to object to paying your taxes: because you are exactly the person that America represents in this comic. The person who demands help from the government when something goes wrong in their life, but thinks the government is stealing from them whenever April rolls around. The kind of person who has no idea what the Tragedy of the Commons is or why we need the government to avert millions of different instances of it in our everyday lives.


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8 years ago #9543306        
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I live in th border with US and Mexico, and I'm seizure prone. The medicibe I take costs 13 dlls for 30 pills if I'm enrolled in a program (dont have insurance). That same medicine, in Mexico, costs 36 pesos (1.91 dlls) for 50 pills. Taking care of yourself in the US is so freaking expensive


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7 years ago #9721540        
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T.T Bernie....... Bernie........ *sniffle* Finally get someone who cares over here and he gets shut down in the Primaries. Then we end up with the polar opposite. God Bless America...


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8 years ago #9547652        
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I have seen first hand when Welfare is not used for what its intended and its use is corrupted. I can't say certain things because of HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), but I have been yelled at by someone who had 4 kids, a cart full of junk food and groceries, severely obese, and riding around in a motorized scooter that was brand new looking. The medication they had was $3.60 for a 90 day supply. It was over $1,400 without and demanded that I change the price since they shouldn't have to pay anything. They raised a stink how they cant afford it, that I was a monster for charging them, and that I was a "money grubbing Jew". This really upset me because I am Jewish, but mostly how I couldn't beat the stupid out of them. While later that week, I see the same older couple, sweetest people you may ever meet, paying $1,000 a month after insurance for cancer medicine.

I see instances of this everyday, of every month, of every year, and nothing is changing but the prices of the medications going up. American Welfare is broken just as bad as the Health System, but the Government needs to stop using Elmer's Glue and a hammer thinking that will fix it.

8 years ago #9543937        
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What you need to understand about America and their healthcare is that there is a huge amount of Just World Fallacy involved. Bad things happen to bad people, not good people, so if you were injured and had to go to the hospital and were saddled with a huge bill it's probably your fault somehow.

However, most Americans hold this subconscious belief only when not confronted with another actual human being. When they do meet someone decent who's had a run of bad luck, then that person automatically becomes a Good Person Who Was Dealt A Bad Hand, and out come the cookies and sympathy. It's a similar situation with people they already know, too. And of course on top of the JWF, the rightwing media were happy to spread a ton of misinformation about Obamacare (aka this poor old woman is completely without healthcare thanks to Obama's policies! Nevermind that she was offered help with signing up for her choice from several different programs that would have covered her and she rejected them.)

This only covers people who are ardently opposed to universal healthcare, or the tamer Obamacare. People who are for it - and there are quite a bit - want it desperately and were very happy when it was finally approved (despite the glitches of the system).


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Neph23

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8 years ago #9543309        
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Last medical bill was $600 after insurance. That was to see the doctor for 15 minutes, get paperwork signed for my job proving illness so I won't get fired and a prescription refilled. I'm pretty sure I have a torn rotator cuff, but just can't afford to find out. The whole infrastructure of our healthcare system is broken.


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8 years ago #9543269        
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When I was getting treated for my allergies, I was seeing my regular doctor once a month, the allergist every 6 months. The only thing I had to worry about was the cost of the medicine.

I could get into an accident today, be taken to the hospital, treated for a broken arm, then walk out without paying a single cent. No worries about $3 each Aspirin , the cost of a cast, admittance fees (yes, they exist in the US). 4-6 weeks later I'd get a bill for the ambulance ride...maybe. It might take me a while to see a specialist or have elective surgery done, but I'm not going to go broke because I got sick. (Or start a meth lab because I have cancer--- Breaking Bad has no basis in Canada)


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8 years ago #9544419        
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This is very accurate. It is a very natural thing to help, but if you want some small talk or just a conversation out of it....that's a different story. For me at least, I'm just looking to help, not for a new friendship on some deep level shit. I think that goes for many Icelanders as well.

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