>>You're badly informed. I'm politically on the right wing here in the Netherlands. I'm all for taking your own responsibility, however there should be a basis of high standards for everyone, so everyone has the same chance to/level of education, healthcare. Not even the far right up here would deny that.
>>
>Right-wing of the Communist party, Walter?

Keep on guessing Edward.

>>And it stuns me that you are so ignorant that you would equal communism with social democracy. You never have been in western europe, have you?
>>
>It just happened by historical chance that I got wide geographical experience. Specifically answering your question, yes, I visited western europe couple times. Regarding your willingness to gauge other people ignorance, I think that wild claims ameliorating your messages say for themselves about your own intellectual contents.

Good try Edward. But you already made my point. I'm glad for you you've got wide 'geographical' expercience. Wide an unbiased political experience is something that seems to have totally escaped you. I guess that happens when you swing from the far left to the far right that fast, you tend not to see what is in between. You tend to compare everything to your first homeland.

The is no doubt that communism does not work, Pure socialism does not work either. But the given events I'd also say that unlimited capatalism does not work either. Or are you blind to what is happening in your new adopted country?

Any government needs to define a set of baseline rights for its citizens. My opinion is that everyone in the country should have access to high quality and affordable health care, education, safety and affordable housing. That really should be the baseline. On top of that people should be motivated to contribute to the society to its best ability. So if you don't have a job and refuse the work that is offered to you, you will lose your income. People that are unable to work should receive all care aimed to get them into the working force again (if you're not doing that, you'll be paying lifelong for those individuals). It is of no-ones interest to let people be deactived. Give them a job. If there is none, create jobs like cleaning the city, gardeners, or whatever against little more than what they get now.

It continues to amaze me that here, a few people seems to be so conservative and selfish that they have an attitude of "Everyone for themselves". Not caring about the other. On the question about what to about huge companies that are in trouble, people answer without thinking answer to let them go broke, not even have a clue what this means to people who can do nothing about it. Those people lose everything. In stead of letting them down unconditionally, why not giving them at least the basic needs for existance and give them a change again to contribute to the society. Only then when people end up on the bottom of society you can say: "Its your own fault".

And for your information Edward. I grew up in a poor family without any luxuries. My parents did not have the money to pay for university. I was lucky that here the government provides anyone the opportunity to go to university. Of course I had to pay back as soon as I had any income. I've worked in the fields (tullips) to buy my first Z80 MSX computer in the early 80-ties and continued to do so until I started my own company. Yes I pay a lot of taxes, but that is part of the game. I'm happy if I pay a lot of taxes, because that means, I earn a lot of money too. A few years ago I learned the hard way why I pay taxes. I needed treatment for a serious medical condition, that in the US is about 4 times as expensive (we are not talking about a few thousand dollars here) as up here. Worse, I know quite a few US patients with the same conditions who are in dire financial debt because of this and even if they are insured for this, they cannot have a choice in the type of treatment (There are two different types, where one is better than the other in certain circumstances). they had to go for the funded, but more risky and severe treatment and now are permanenty disabled while this most likely was not neccesary. I got the treatment of my choice and I'm still in the working force, generating income and paying taxes.

know what is expensive?? That you have to pay for people their life long because they cannot work as they did not have the money to have some treatment that would have cured or prevented their condition.So I don't buy the rubbish arguments that public healthcare is too expensive. The average Joe Doe pays the most for substandard quality of services. I'd bet that any canadian up here would pick their public healthcare any day any time and they are paying about half of what John Doe pays.

If I need to see a GP (or PCP), I call in the morning an most likely I can visit him/her within a few hours if neccesary, even in weekends. If I need medications, I can get them inmediately after that. Most of the times (except if I visit another GP in the weekend)I don't need a receipt, because that was send electronically. I only have to show up and tell my name and they already know what I need.

Only two weeks ago, I was called by my father in the middle of the night that my mother collapsed in the bathroom. I jumped in my car, I was there in 2 minutes, assessed the situation and called 112 (911). The ambulance arrived in 10 minutes. They admitted her into hospital. I spend half of the night in the hospital. Next day, she was dismissed and I picked here up. That evening, I did not trust her condition and called the GP post. They send a GP within one hour. She took a look at it and assured me that the observed was typical for her situation and that I should not worry.

And why am I telling you this? Because in all of those cases I and my family did not pay a dime. Hell I don't even remember whether they asked me anything about insurance as well. They don't have to, because they already know. Again if you think that is too expensive?? Think again... the ratio of the total amount spend on healthcare in the US divided by the number of citizens compared to holland is about 2 or 3 times as high. In the US a lot of money is flowing into pockets where it does not belong.

Edward, you'd better look outside of that wall they call the US. There is a lot of world out there that is worth seeing and experiencing.