[jacquesm]

(1) it's not as if the USs system of health insurance is the only option for more or less affordable health care for the masses

(2) you are lucky because (1) you were born in the right place (2) at the right time (3) have good marketable skills

One day about a decade ago I fell through the cracks in all the systems in spite of having paid for healthcare my whole life long and never using it up to that point, my gall bladder gave out and I paid for the operation out of pocket. No big issue for me. But I do realize that what was 'no big issue for me' would have been a huge issue for lots of people around me.

As for the insurance system: I prefer the system the way it was here before, where all healthcare is simply paid out of taxes rather than through commercial compulsory insurance. Though the tax based system has some inefficiencies it is definitely preferable because there are less opportunities for companies to enrich themselves at the expense of the service level in public healthcare. The differences between then and now are remarkable, people go without treatment for months to push the deductible to the next year and then end up with far worse issues than they had before.

On the whole, about 10 steps back.

Anyway, I hope you live a long, happy and healthy life.

[patronagezero]

Luck has nothing to do with genetics or the history that created them. Any system that requires the coercion of subjects to submit against their will for it to be successful (it isn't and will not be) is a foolish approach to an individual's struggles through life. No one should order me to care about every drug addled fool on the street, it's not my concern. Nor is it my concern that some people cannot figure out what a healthy diet is, or how to build a marketable skill. I grew up in a bum-fuck nowhere and got into programming without college, schooled at home and no connections to the industry. I know enough immigrants to know this is possible for anyone working hard. I grew up with a 486 in the age of Pentiums because my father invested. Your ideas are trite and old, constantly disproved. But keep holding the large stick and acting like you're not trying to control other peoples lives, it will end up driving this country apart.