Main reason I ask is because Chillindude, a prominent member of the competitive Melee community had a stroke recently and as he’s relatively healthy and works out often, he doesn’t have health insurance, and even though he’s sponsored by Team Liquid, one of the largest e-sports teams out there, because he is classified as an independent contractor, he doesn’t have health insurance through them.
The way he got the stroke was through an infection in his knee that he got misdiagnosed twice, and the hospital was going to throw him out even because he’s been stabilized, but doesn’t have coverage, which to me is actual BS but I’m honestly curious as to why this would be the case, considering strokes need so much recovery done for them.
Situations like this is part of why I couldn’t write my own thing for the ideal society post I made the other day, because I have no clue how healthcare should be handled. I do know however that portions of why healthcare is so expensive is due to the companies that make the equipment being anti-“Right to Repair” and the actual repair costs of the equipment being outrageous (Louis Rossmann made that a video months ago and I can’t find it), but still, this whole situation is really outrageous to me, that the hospital was going to throw him out after he stabilized due to a lack of proper coverage, and that stroke recovery as a whole is as expensive as it is in the US. I’d love to hear from our European people if it’s really any better there or am I being lied to, but still, idk what the solution really is.
Edit: I’m in the US, so this is pretty important for me to know.
Several European countries are ten miles across, so...?
A place where nothing is paid for by taxes is ultimately not possible on the scale (both population and geographic) of most US states.
Taxes go into maintaining everything from the roads to power grid to making sure buildings are built properly, to putting out fires, and they ultimately have to happen. The fact that privately funded roads exist (they exist even in England) doesn't change the fact that ultimately, it's just better for a majority of people if public funds are put to use to for certain things that everyone needs - and at some point, everyone needs healthcare.
This isn't to say I think private healthcare is a bad thing. I think it should exist for those who can afford it, and there are certain treatments that should never be publicly funded - most cosmetic surgeries, for instance.
You're going to be really surprised when you find out we have private power grids as well.
Why would you think that would surprise me? Again, these things exist here also. So private intranets that span tens of miles.
I'm fully aware that yes, these things can be done with private funding. But wide-scale, that's just not desirable or beneficial to most people.
There are lots of ideas that work on limited scales with self-selecting populations. You can even make REAL COMMUNISM work if everyone in your community is on board, and a capitalist state exists around you for you to purchase goods from and gain additional income from.
Does this mean REAL COMMUNISM is viable across a population of millions that includes people who want nothing to do with it? We both know the answer to that one.