Which country has the best Health Care System?

[minionofmidas]

Tory is just another example of a tea swirling, crumpet munching bad toothed brit.

I hope you're trying to be offensive just for the hell of it...I hope you meant swilling...I hope you notice you're confusing classes here...Tory munches crumpets, Al has bad teeth. Both swill tea. Of course that would be theory, reality might be different.

[minionofmidas]

He's a Southerner, his culture supports offensive bigotry.

That would make Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton Bigots? 
Come on guys lighten up. This is a discussion forum.

From what I see of Rocket, I think lightening up is not what he needs...more like taking his own posts more seriously. THat comment was obviously spoken in the same, offensive-for-the-hell-of-it spirit as States'.

[minionofmidas]

Except for these...

1.  Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of
      land to public purposes.
  3.  Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
  4.  Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
  8.  Equal obligation of all to work.  Establishment of industrial
      armies, especially for agriculture.
  9.  Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual
      abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a
      more equable distribution of the populace over the country.

[minionofmidas]

Not to mention that the Communist Mainfesto, being from 1848, is not exactly Marxist in the later sense of the word. It was written long before Marx begun developing his economic theory, when he was just a young revolutionary journalist. (It's also the most readable and sensible of his better-known works, which is not a coincidence.)

[minionofmidas]

"Poor" people in the United States can afford to own a house, own two cars, and have cable TV.  You do not see this in Europe.

You do actually, but that's not really the point... consumer goods are not a good indicator of economic status... apparently in China more people have DVD players than Hot/Cold running water because electricity is easier to install than piping.

Piped hot water is highly uncommon in most parts of the world.
And you won't find many households in Germany that do NOT have cable, btw. Now, two cars...depends on what kind of cars. And a house - owning a house is not really more expensive then renting a house the same size.

[minionofmidas]

Piped hot water is highly uncommon in most parts of the world.

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True, but methinks that DVD players are a lot rarer (they're rare enough over here)

Not really. They don't really cost more than CD players anymore.

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Same in the U.K[/quote]

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House prices are insanely high here (but as most people in poorer areas either: a) rent (mosted council houses are actually quite nice. Nicer than those ghastly exurban monstrosities that started to spring up in the '80's) or b) have lived in the same house for a long time/bought their old council house in the selloffs in the '80's.

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it's a matter of subsidies and interest rates, I suppose.
But in the long run, ie if you're pretty sure you want to stay in that house/flat forever, then it works out a lot cheaper than renting (providing you do get financing.)

[minionofmidas]

Not really. They don't really cost more than CD players anymore.

True but not really the point... I used it as an example of why consumer goods are generally a bad way to measure economic status

Well prices of consumer goods don't compare at all well across economic borders, that's true.

In India, freshly pressed fruit juice costs less than packaged one - this is because labor is dirt cheap, petroleum cost almost as much as in Europe (and a lot more than in the US) and there's Western companies with patents on packaging techniques.