> despite spending only 40-70% of what the USA spends on health care
Right. And if the USA tries to emulate Europe in healthcare more than we alreay do, we will end up wasting even more money. There is no solution to be had here through more regulation.
> value human rights
> ensure everyone has an adequate standard of living
Contradiction. But providing a moral basis for individual rights requires understanding a complete philosophical system, which is out of the scope of an HN comment.
> ensure everyone has an adequate standard of living and the opportunity to work hard and prosper
You're asking something that may be outside the scope of reality.
> Poor Americans are more trapped in their poverty
As someone from a poor part of rural eastern North Carolina, all I can do is LOL at this, because it's utterly, utterly false. That is a complete myth. I mean, we already have free universal education, de jure through high school and de facto through college.
> if the USA tries to emulate Europe in healthcare more than we alreay do, we will end up wasting even more money.
The evidence is that American health care costs would go down significantly, given the clear correlation across industrialized countries between the extent to which health care spending is private and the overall cost (either per capita or as a share of GDP).
> Contradiction.
It's not a contradition, the latter follows necessarily from the former. It's why nearly every industrialized country has converged on public health, public education, public health care, affordable housing, and so on.
> But providing a moral basis for individual rights requires understanding a complete philosophical system, which is out of the scope of an HN comment.
Or we can dispense with the 18th century a priori legerdemain and just recognize human rights as a self-evident basis for a fair, just and humane society.
> You're asking something that may be outside the scope of reality.
And yet the rest of the industrialized world does a much better job of it than the United States.
> As someone from a poor part of rural eastern North Carolina, all I can do is LOL at this
Right. And if the USA tries to emulate Europe in healthcare more than we alreay do, we will end up wasting even more money. There is no solution to be had here through more regulation.
> value human rights
> ensure everyone has an adequate standard of living
Contradiction. But providing a moral basis for individual rights requires understanding a complete philosophical system, which is out of the scope of an HN comment.
> ensure everyone has an adequate standard of living and the opportunity to work hard and prosper
You're asking something that may be outside the scope of reality.
> Poor Americans are more trapped in their poverty
As someone from a poor part of rural eastern North Carolina, all I can do is LOL at this, because it's utterly, utterly false. That is a complete myth. I mean, we already have free universal education, de jure through high school and de facto through college.