Comment Re:I think the title should be... (Score 2) 1352
In socialist Germany, we have government sponsored universal health care that is alot cheaper and more efficient than in the U.S. I can go to the doc any time I want to and not have to worry about being able to pay the bills.
I have to call a bit of B.S. on this one. If you happen to already have a relationship with a good doctor who will accept the state insurance, then you're fine, but it can be very tough to get an speedy appointment with a competent doctor otherwise. And what percentage of your salary does that universal health care cost? Around 14% IIRC, which means that if you're pulling in €40000 / year (a good but not extravagant salary by German standards) then you're paying about €460 per month for that awesome universal health care. Without taking exchange rates into account, $460/month would get you some really nice health insurance in the U.S. - the kind that would let you go to any doctor whenever you want, and not worry about being able to pay the bills. Admittedly, when you're a relatively young factory worker with a stay-at-home wife and two kids, that insurance is a pretty good deal. For those of us who are single or with a working spouse (don't even get me started on the tax rates that a dual-income married couple has to pay), it's a poor value.
In socialist Germany, the state grants us legal protection from getting fired without good reason, unemployment benefits, parental benefits, grants for families with children, education sponsorships, the list goes on.
We've got that, too, except for the state protection from getting fired. Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but I really think that the Germans take employee protection and job security too far, while the Americans don't take it seriously enough. Somewhere in the middle would be nice.
In socialist Germany we have low unemployment and a trade surplus.
We cut jobs, you implement Kurzarbeit - I think you could make a good argument for either measure, but that's for another thread.
In socialist Germany, we have a state funded independent news organization that reports important facts from around the world from an unbiased standpoint, instead of reporting on the lives of teenaged girl-stars or the most recent, spectacular highway robbery.
You've got me there.
Us here on the old continent can't understand why in the world anyone would ever vote for the Republican party that so clearly is the political wing of the wealthiest 5%.
Believe me, lots of us here on the new continent can't figure it out, either.