Does your country really head towards a "permanent vacation"?
In Germany, we have a great social system, with (basically) free university, healthcare for everyone (until a couple years ago it was unheard of that a person didn't have health-care), a good public transport-system (I know, USA is bigger, hard to compare), pretty good unemployment benefits (which are being cut down by the liberal party more and more), a very good protection of workers and still we're one of the top economies in the world.
Every time I see Americans complain about their alleged "welfare-state" I'm just reminded of your crippling student-debt, people dying because they can't afford basic health-care, people getting fired because their boss threw a hissy-fit, people working two or three jobs so they can pay rent and I can't help but wonder how you people can even think of heading towards a health-care state.
That's exactly why the grand parent post is sad. It's sad that so many in the US believe that. Obviously, the US is far far removed from the much more socialist states like Germany, but yet it doesn't keep the cries of imminent welfare state away.
You'd think that this would be a particular pain point on NH: innovative startups are especially hurt by the lack of universal healthcare coverage. Many seasoned software veterans will not consider quitting a large corporation job to do a startup because they need good health coverage for themselves or their family. This applies to more than just software industries, of course.
But I have no first-hand accounts of that and know no-one living in these countries, but it looks like you're right (at least about Greece): http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57453670/austerity-bri... (they now can at least afford to pay their hospital workers)
Are you enjoying being forced (by the threat of currency collapse) to give your money to a deadbeat country that has spent the past two decades in lavish and irresponsible spending, while you were working hard to better yourselves?
And yet you think its wrong for individuals to feel that they should keep what they spent their lives building, rather than have it taken at gunpoint and given to someone who chose to waste their lives?
In Germany, we have a great social system, with (basically) free university, healthcare for everyone (until a couple years ago it was unheard of that a person didn't have health-care), a good public transport-system (I know, USA is bigger, hard to compare), pretty good unemployment benefits (which are being cut down by the liberal party more and more), a very good protection of workers and still we're one of the top economies in the world.
Every time I see Americans complain about their alleged "welfare-state" I'm just reminded of your crippling student-debt, people dying because they can't afford basic health-care, people getting fired because their boss threw a hissy-fit, people working two or three jobs so they can pay rent and I can't help but wonder how you people can even think of heading towards a health-care state.