As an American living in Switzerland for almost 40 years, I had this debate often with American friends and family. When eventually we'd get to the point that they'd say - yes, the US system is screwed up and what you have in Europe does seem better - the next sentence would be - but that could never work here. Why not?
I think it's psychological; they say it couldn't work because they perceive that to be the case with no grounding in data or a real understanding about what they're rejecting. It's like a child who rejects a food they've never seen or tasted but they'd enjoy if they tried. Americans have been conditioned to reject change to the system out-of-hand. Even those in favor of change classify reforms as "socialism" when, with the system I've outlined, that's not at all the case. I'm not sure an entirely state-run system would work in the US but a system like France, where virtually all providers are private, seems like a no-brainer for everybody besides some health insurance executives and maybe bankruptcy lawyers.
As an American living in Switzerland for almost 40 years, I had this debate often with American friends and family. When eventually we'd get to the point that they'd say - yes, the US system is screwed up and what you have in Europe does seem better - the next sentence would be - but that could never work here. Why not?
I think it's psychological; they say it couldn't work because they perceive that to be the case with no grounding in data or a real understanding about what they're rejecting. It's like a child who rejects a food they've never seen or tasted but they'd enjoy if they tried. Americans have been conditioned to reject change to the system out-of-hand. Even those in favor of change classify reforms as "socialism" when, with the system I've outlined, that's not at all the case. I'm not sure an entirely state-run system would work in the US but a system like France, where virtually all providers are private, seems like a no-brainer for everybody besides some health insurance executives and maybe bankruptcy lawyers.