I love Weiner....

OutOfBreath

haffajappa wrote:

If you think we're taxed 40% (as some Americans on this board actually thought) we aren't.
I'm not sure what the difference in taxes is between the US and Canada - and anyways you'd have to compare every state and province. And then every other country that has healthcare.

I think is it Sweden or Norway? One of the countries in that area I've heard get taxed a boat load but has everything paid for - Health, Education, etc. ..Doesn't sound so bad.

edit: "Canada's income tax system is more heavily biased against the highest income earners, thus while Canada's income tax rate is higher on average, the bottom fifty percent of the population is roughly taxed the same on income as in the United States."
according to wiki anywyas

Sounds like us. Actually i think that goes for all the scandinavian countries. I think a main difference is that most people that make any kind of income pay taxes. The bottom earners dont pay much, but they pay something. (If I have understood it correctly, there are many people in the US that doesnt pay taxes at all because of low income.)

I think the main difference is one of attitude towards the state really. Americans seem frightened to death of anything being run publicly, while we see it as the public's damn responsibility to take care of stuff like healthcare for us. (which we pay taxes for, of course) And we do bitch and moan and act with our votes if something isn't working right. This is not all good, but the state, run by elected politicians, are VERY sensitive towards these things as their jobs depend on it. Those so afraid of the state seems to be forgetting that in a democracy, the state does what we tell our politicians to make it do. Maybe not completely, and probably not all of the time, but nonetheless to an appreciable degree and quite often. (It may be hard for politicians to juggle a "hell no!" to tax with a "fix our damn schools, you fuckers!", but they try)

But really it's all an issue about trust. We trust the government made up of people like ourselves. We trust that our rights and a decent amount of justice is built into the systems. And maybe we just trust eachother more. I dunno. But from this context, alot of american debate on the issue seems insanely hysterical at times. Maybe it's because trust is/has broken down in your system.

Peace
Dan

haffajappa

OutOfBreath wrote:

Sounds like us. Actually i think that goes for all the scandinavian countries. I think a main difference is that most people that make any kind of income pay taxes. The bottom earners dont pay much, but they pay something. (If I have understood it correctly, there are many people in the US that doesnt pay taxes at all because of low income.)

I think the main difference is one of attitude towards the state really. Americans seem frightened to death of anything being run publicly, while we see it as the public's damn responsibility to take care of stuff like healthcare for us. (which we pay taxes for, of course) And we do bitch and moan and act with our votes if something isn't working right. This is not all good, but the state, run by elected politicians, are VERY sensitive towards these things as their jobs depend on it. Those so afraid of the state seems to be forgetting that in a democracy, the state does what we tell our politicians to make it do. Maybe not completely, and probably not all of the time, but nonetheless to an appreciable degree and quite often. (It may be hard for politicians to juggle a "hell no!" to tax with a "fix our damn schools, you fuckers!", but they try)

But really it's all an issue about trust. We trust the government made up of people like ourselves. We trust that our rights and a decent amount of justice is built into the systems. And maybe we just trust eachother more. I dunno. But from this context, alot of american debate on the issue seems insanely hysterical at times. Maybe it's because trust is/has broken down in your system.

Peace
Dan

I thought it was you!
You beat us out of number 1 country to live in the past few years.

I think that health care is just far too communist for some of them.
They'd rather die in piles of medical bills than from the threat of communism!

norm

i give up

inmytree

norm wrote:

i give up

saw that that last night...

funny and sad at the same time...

Cosmo

That's what she said!!!