Might be true but I've never heard of any European who was bankrupt because of student loans or doctors invoices.
Also, it doesn’t seem like Europeans are much more uneducated or unhealthy than people in the US.
Also, it doesn’t seem like Europeans are much more uneducated or unhealthy than people in the US.
I'm telling you I pay over half my salary in taxes and get little in return. Whatever happens in the US is not my problem.
Because the comment that you replied to was comparing the EU to the US: "And everyone benefits from this kind of collective solidarity - our societies are far less combative (both in the literal and the proverbial sense) than the US are."
Because in Canada, which has universal health insurance, medical bankruptcies are 25% of all bankruptcies for those over 55.
Why? Because if you're sick enough, you can't work. You can go on unemployment, but it's capped and doesn't replace 100% of your income. So if you're living paycheck to paycheck, it's not that hard to go bankrupt if you don't have the income to pay your mortgage, car loan, etc.
(Though I don't think many people need it, because most can just get a part-time job and finish in double the time, debt-free.)