this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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No, Europe does not have more freedom than the usa. This is a silly take.
This is objectively true. I have the freedom to go to college without being in crippling debt, the freedom to take 5 weeks of paid vacation every year, the freedom to go to a doctor without fear of bankruptcy, the freedom to travel or move to another country at will...
Living in the US has literally no upside.
Yea we do to, hell my state college here is free...
I get 6, but you're right a large portion of our country who works minimum wage doesn't, which is kinda bullshit.
Yep and we need to fix it
Yea we can do that to??
You're right, we totally don't have the most immigration and no one wants to move here ..got it
Haha and how much are you getting taxed up your arse for all the 'free' stuff exactly? Good luck with the third mortgage so you can keep up with tax payments while you freeze your arse off this winter and half your children die due to malnourishment.
Do you think you have less taxation because of your 2. amendment?
What do you think guarantees all the other rights? A strongly worded letter to the local newspaper?
So you think the government in the United States of America is so afraid of its constituents that they are not raising the taxes.
What about all the other countries in the world that have less or similar taxes like the states but no 2. amendment? Are they completely reliant on sending strongly worded letters to the newspapers? Or do you think in a functional democracy there might be other ways for constituents to wield power?
We keep up with the mortgage because the minimum wage here is $16USD.
The average Australian citizen pays $17,000 in taxes as opposed to $14,000 for seppos.
For that, I know myself and all my fellow Australians will never be crippled with medical debt, as going to the hospital is always free. We have the second best health care in the world, right next to the UK.
Us Aussies like to look out for each other, rather than you individualistic, seemingly selfish yanks.
Ahhh an Aussie, your state mandated levels of Stockholm syndrome towards your nanny state will never allow you to open your eyes to any other possibilities. Again with the word 'free', I don't think you quite understand how much you pay through your arse for so little. If you think the UK has good healthcare or is something to brag about, you truly are lost my friend.
Key word is "state mandated", only the state of Victoria was locked down, I think COVID barely scratched the other states. I also lived in NZ at the time, and as you recall, we barely got COVID and I spent 2020 and 2021 skiing and partying. Thanks to clever leadership, not seen in the US at the time.
As for UK healthcare, I quickly researched where Australia stacked up in the world and by most metrics, the UK was overwhelmingly the best. Unlike the weirdly propagandized Americans, I don't have to do weird mental gymnastics to try and force my country at the top. I can accept facts.
Ameritards pay more per capita for far worse healthcare. Enjoy getting taxed to bomb kids in the Middle East!
That's literally any Western country dude, stop already. Enjoy being nuked by Russia to ensure continued American hegemony.
Dude, I’m American and even I know they get more time off, get paternity and maternity leave, can take more vacations, have better transit, pay less in health insurance. They have enough disposable income to do the things we do, but don’t have to worry about the other bullshit as much. Nothing they get is “free”, and they know this, but they don’t have to think twice about using the services.
Have you actually lived anywhere in Europe or are you just guessing from the other side of the fence? Do you have any idea how much we have to pay through our noses for useless medical insurance that leaves you waiting 3-4 weeks to see a mf GP when it is your turn and has people dying on waiting lists.
I'm not advocating for a USA style system, but the momo above you makes it sound like Europe (western part anyway) is some sort of utopia.
You literally just described American healthcare. I don't know where people get this idea that you don't have to wait to see a doctor here. I've had to book doctors appointments months out. And specialists can be 6+ months of waiting.
I think the Americans that say otherwise actually don't try to go to the doctor on a regular basis. And if you press them on why, they'll admit it is a fucking hassle and worried about the bill if they need to actually get something done.
Everyone has problems man. Nothing is a Utopia, but there are better systems. And I get my opinions from articles that I’ve read. They are readily available on search engines and compare and contrast US vs Western Europe, which is what we’re objectively talking about when comparing.
No, I’ve not lived in Europe but my mother’s side of the family is German so I do talk to actual people who live there.
Edit: You only have to wait 3-4 weeks?! Try waiting 7-8 months, bud. That’s to see a general fucking practitioner! Then pay over $100/visit until you meet your deductible with good insurance.
Where do you live? That's certainly not my experience in the Netherlands. Of course we have expensive health care because our center right government believed in privatizing everything, but it's still way better than the US. Source: born American, currently Dutch.
Born and brought up in the UK. Don't come from a disadvantaged background nor did I live in a poor area. Worked and paid taxes almost all my grown life like a good little momo. Our system (socialised healthcare) may work somewhat on the national level but it sucks at the individual level. To be clear, I am not against socialised healthcare but to pretend we are blessed by it free of cost or that it works wonders (OP I replied to originally) is the height of lunacy or huffing fairy dust. Many benefits we (Europeans) receive are in fact paid for through our noses and pretending it is some benevolent government's doing is not doing anyone any favours.
Haha okay that explains it. The UK counts as Europe about as much as Turkey or Russia does... which is to say yes you're on the same continental plate, but beyond that...
Anyway, your government has been aggressively underfunding the NHS for ages. It's hardly a surprise if it's shit.
Only on about every independent freedom index ever made. Although, im sure you'll just declare the USA to be more free regardless.
Freedom comes with a price, more regulations do not necessarily make you more free. I'd love if we had a mix of European social safety nets.
And since you wanted to dig out some freedom indexes. Here's just the first one from google.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/freedom-index-by-country
Like it or not. The USA is a very free country.
That's why it's on number... 17. Lmao.
Yea... above a ton of euro countries....
So? Still number 17😂.
According to your own link, the USA is not even in the top 10, which are actually all in Europe.
Yea forgot how Iceland and NZ are in Europe.... USA is above a the majority of Europe...so ..
Well, its a good job that no one is claiming the fact that Europeans are more free is due to there being more regulations then, isn't it? Otherwise that point might have been relevant and not just mildness regurgitation of propaganda.