A pension is an earned benefit, part of one's pay package, not a free goodie. Welfare is a free goodie. It's a big difference.
Your "free" health care is paid for by you and others. It's so expensive because of that. Healthcare wasn't particularly expensive before the government got involved in it.
Modern governments do indeed treat the citizens like children.
I'm not sure you're aware, but this is a very American view of things. A very skewed one. Quite a childish one too. Bit of irony there.
There is a guaranteed pension where I live, it's part of the social contract [1]. And healthcare insurance is much more expensive than public healthcare (both for society and the individual).
Good luck living in your capitalist free market paradise. I hope your government stops treating your companies like people and your people like cattle.
Expecting that everyone in society should be self-reliant, and that resources should not be managed socially is naive. It's a maximally inefficient and cruel way to organize society.
yea I would rather have the insane amounts of money I pay in taxes go to department of defense and I’ll spend X% of my income to pay for my own insurance - totally makes me feel like an adult each 1st of the month when the payment is processed. this is what makes america unique, there are no adults living anywhere else in the universe, just us :)
The problem with the defense budget is if it wasn't enough, losing a war would be far more costly. The pragmatic thing is to overspend on defense, because one doesn't really know where the "enough" is.
I've paid for my own health insurance ever since I became an adult.
If you don't have an HSA (Health Savings Account), consider setting one up. It's a very good deal.
I remember the day I phoned my dad and told him I didn't need any more support (I was in college at the time). It felt good to do that, it sure felt like I'd gone through a door. Interestingly, at that moment my dad switched from telling me what to do to advising me, and became my most trusted advisor.
Paying for your own health insurance is insane. I would move out of any country that would force me to do that.