…in s host of other countries with socialized health care htere still exist insurers, you can get insurance for a family of 4 for $120 a month ( about $30 fr individuals), and it covers exactly the waiting issues.so you basically use the goverment for big issues like cancer, transplants,icu...... and of course all drugs. i think it works a lot better than here for everyone…

There are certain opt-out insurers where you sign up for specific plans however with many plans when you do this you also cancel out your regular coverage. Additionally those plans are not available in all “counties” or regions of the country. A few years ago, my parents did look into an add-on insurance offered where they live and at the time it would’ve cost them 4,800 Swedish crowns which according to yahoo currency calculator would come out to $714 a month. This insurance would basically “speed up” certain treatments but would not cover catastrophic events such as cancer, by-pass, etc. Yeah, it works a lot better over there all right…

…college is another biggie...

College is another misconception in my mind. While it is certainly free, at least the tuition is, I’d argue that sometimes free stuff hurts more than it helps. I got my electrical engineering degree over there and training was ok, however very few of my former classmates are now working in that field (I am no exception to the rule). There was lots of partying involved (which was great ) but none of us took the classes seriously, because why should we? It’s not like it was costing us any money, right?
Of my class of 39 (oh yeah, big classes save the government money!) I know 5 guys who now work for ABB, few for Volvo and some other smaller companies. More than half though work in the tourism and the restaurant business, few are cab drivers, and many have other jobs but none that are related to the field they studied. That’s why you’ll find a plethora of what I call “paper” engineers and scientists in Europe. Here they’d be known as “undeclared” – you know, the guys/gals who stay in school for years trying to decide what to do with their lives? Same thing over there but since school is relatively free, why not get a degree while trying to decide what to do with their lives? They know they have no intention of ever working in that filed but that’s not their problem, let’s the taxpayers worry about that! In the meantime, when’s the next party?...

Of course those are just my own findings and they are very unscientific, but I do believe the percentage of the people who’d actually work within the field they chose for the studies would be much higher here. Why? - Because people “care” more when it costs them money. I’m sure you’ve noticed condos usually look much nicer and are in a better shape than rental apartments do even if they were built in the same time frame? Well, if you have to pay for something but it is yours to keep – you will also take care of it much better – it’s the whole premise of capitalism.

You sound like someone who’s a little envious of the L’European system. I took the liberty and checked some of your previous posts and I think I found the reason to your affection of the “European ways” – we see the world in different colors! When I see red I think of socialism and communism - when you see red you see, uhm? Pink?, Fuchsia?, Grey? (sry, couldn’t resist, hope you know I’m only kiddin’ )

Personally I think a combination of the two systems would be ideal but overall I think the American health care and education system works better. I wish Hillary would move to any European country and actually live there for 10 years or so –then she should come back and let us know how well it worked for her and her family. Let me give you an example – everyone remembers the quadruple by-pass surgery Bill had a few years back, right? Well, for you socialism aficionados, are you familiar with the statistical probability selection? Basically, the regional hospitals get a certain amount of surgeries pre-approved every year and when they start reaching their limit for the quarter, or for the year, they start evaluating who has the best chance of survival for a specific procedure and how long of a life this individual might live afterwards – a.k.a., is it even worth it? It is not “advertised” to the public of course but it’s been debated in some newspapers in the past. So it is quite possible that Bill would still be waiting for the surgery and also that he’d be denied the surgery because of his age and his genetics lowering the chances of a successful recovery (heart disease was common on his dad’s side according to an interview I watched a while back).

…as well as vacation and the 14 pay periods…

Vacation? I’m not gonna argue with you – I wish we had more of it, no doubt…

14 pay periods? I assume you’re talking about the 13 pay periods? - In other words the extra vacation paycheck? True, many businesses offer that but it’s usually in the private sector you’ll see that benefit and by no means is that a “guarantee,” it all depends on what field you work in. They do have lots of vacation but quite a few families cannot afford to do anything so part of the “vacation” is spent home working part time jobs. I still agree with you that they have more vacation time over there which I think is a great benefit for a family.