[lolinder]

Now we've moved on from talking about direct government subsidy to talking about completely government-operated medicine.

And for that, I'd like you to point me to a state with government-operated medicine that doesn't have a therapist shortage. Because I'm hearing from several people in this thread that their countries have the same problems.

[beedeebeedee]

No we haven't- these problems aren't only reducible to a few categories (i.e., free market vs government operated). The shortage of therapists indicates at least an awareness of discontent among many people, and a desire for help (whether just listening, coaching, or deeper interventions). Those relationships used to involve family and friends, but we understand that a therapist is better suited because of better training and less conflict of interest. We don't need trained psychologists for all of those relationships, and much of it could be solved through other relationships that provide comraderie and fraternity- even in a racquet club, finding other people to help you understand the world and support you. That provides an alternative role for government to intervene, instead of the government-operated medicine boogieman. In this case, the government insuring that more people have leisure time to join clubs, go hiking, spend less pressured time with family and friends, would go a long way to improve the problem. That is a different approach from the financialization of cultural life that pervades most government approaches, but it would be much less costly and reap greater rewards