Quote:
Originally Posted by psicodude
Very interesting. We are always fed the line in Canada that we are way over taxed, and that average Joe American pays half the tax that his buddy in Canada would. Personally, I always accepted a higher tax rate in exchange for universal health care.
So, this begs the question...where is all of that money in the U.S. going? The military?
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Actually yes. Incidently we're free riders on the issue of self-defence and in terms of new health care drugs and procedures. Americans put in the R&D in healthcare due to large pharma companies and private hospitals, and when they make a break-through as a result of billions of US dollars spent we copy them and make generic drugs and provide such procedures without bearing any of the development cost. It's big reason why our Socialized Health Care system costs less (The other being that medical labor and capital is rationed as opposed to being used when needed). On the issue of defence a lot of what the American's do to protect their interests abroad, also as a side effect protect our interests. Same thing goes for R&D, American companies and government develop military implements and we buy them years later for a fraction of the cost.