Compared to other countries, do Americans pay more or less for:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

Healthcare


Prescriptions


Higher Education


Internet Access


Utilities


Childcare


Housing


Transportation


Gasoline


Taxes


Defense


(per capita? Percentage of median income? What is a way to compare international apples to international apples?)


I think Americans live in a bubble and just don't realize how plundered and ripped off they are. They pay much and receive little.

[pbca]

1. Yes and No

Healthcare - Yes
Prescriptions - Yes
Higher Education - Yes
Internet Access - No
Utilities - No
Childcare - No
Housing - No
Transportation - No (not by a long shot)
Gasoline (No- that's almost funny, not at all)
Taxes - Depends/ I'd say about average, far less than most of Europe though, though you do get less for your taxes
Defense - you get what you pay for, The US has a mighty military, this is where your taxes go.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Are you making your responses based on Canada?

I seem to recall that internet access in other countries is cheaper. But I don't know what type of access is available to them.

[pbca]

4. Canada and Europe mainly

I know Internet access is cheaper in Aus/NZ for some reason but I don't know how good it is. It's more expensive here, and in most of Europe - about on par with the UK

[Deja Q]

6. I've seen DSL ads in UK magazines that give 2x the speed for the same price I pay for mine...

US folks pay more for broadband but we pay less for gas. Much less. Mind you, their gas is taxed heavily, which is also used to subsidize public transport... or so I've been told.

[pbca]

8. Are you including the exchange rate in that?

And how good are the companies? The British pound is worth almost 2x what the dollar is and I've seen some ads advertising great prices but when I investigate there are alot of hidden charges and/or crap service.

[leftofthedial]

2. compared to other industrialized countries

I think the answer is "more" until you get to education. We spend middling amounts per capita on education, with poor results. Then it is more again until you get to gasoline. The government subsidises the petroleum industry in the US. Then it is more again until you get to taxes. We pay far less taxes than other countries. Defense is more again--way more. More than everyone else put together.

[I work for workers]

5. The ones I know compared to developed world nations:

Higher Education: Not sure if we pay more, but if we do it seems worth it. American universities are the worlds most respected, and Americans have above average accessibility to higher education.

Gas: So far as I know, we have cheaper gas then most other developed nations.

Health care: I'm pretty sure we pay more, and not sure it's worth it.

Defense: I'm damn sure we pay more, but at least we get a lot of bang for our buck...

[pbca]

9. Um...

Higher Education: Not sure if we pay more, but if we do it seems worth it. American universities are the worlds most respected, and Americans have above average accessibility to higher education.

Um...if you mean Harvard, Yale, Columbia (not the one in missouri) etc., that's true. If you mean the state universities etc., it's not.

[I work for workers]

16. Check the top universities world wide.

The vast majority are American. US public education might be a joke, but our college system is the envy of the world. US students have much greater and more equitable access to higher education and a greater variety of study options. The UK, France and Greece has all been working to reform their systems to better meet the bar set by the American model, and the EU as a whole has declared that to be it's overall goal in higher education reform.

[fascisthunter]

7. A Productive Thread

Healthcare


Prescriptions


Higher Education




Those three without a doubt. I'll be in Europe this summer, and while I'm there I will do some snooping.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. I know that we all use to gasp that Europeans pay $5.00 a gallon for gas

But since the exchange rate has gone upside down, is it possible that they gasp at what we pay?

[pbca]

11. Not at all

The US still pays far less. The CDN dollar is on par with the US dollar. Here we pay roughly $4 - 4.50 per gallon and we're an oil exporting country. In Europe they pay far more.

[GoneOffShore]

12. A lot of what they pay is "social engineering"

To encourage public transport use.

Public transport is far more available and cheaper in Europe because of their "higher" petrol prices.

[pbca]

14. Yes and it actually

runs on time. It works though. At least when I was in Northern Europe - first of all alot of the towns were built before cars, so they really can't accommodate much traffic. Every family I met had a car (just one and generally a small fuel efficient one) but they used them primarily for going out of town. Rush hour was trains, busses and bicycles - with a few mopeds/scooters thrown in. One family I stayed with took the car out every Sunday for a drive in the country, just to keep it tuned up. They only drove the car about a half dozen times a year to visit relatives.

[GoneOffShore]

13. Dupe - delete

[ConcernedCanuk]

15. On Health Care and Prescriptions - clarification is needed about Canadian benefits.

.
.
.

Whether you have a great job, or are on welfare, or even on no benefits whatsoever, in Canada - all legal residents are entitled to free Health Care.

If you are on Social Assistance of some kind,(General Welfare, Mother's Allowance, Disability) or without an income - then most prescription drugs are free, or very close to free. When on Welfare, all I have to pay per script is $2 - doesn't matter if the prescription is worth $3 or $300 - all I pay is $2.

If I am on welfare,

and require a heart transplant - I'll get it - and no charge.

If I have a job that pays me $100,000 a year,

and require a heart transplant - I'll get it - no charge.

Does that make it clear?