I can almost guarantee that you are incorrect. The medicare program accounts for 43% of the total budget for healthcare ($18 Billion AUD). Total Healthcare spending for FY2007-2008 was $40.1 Billion AUD, which represents around 4% of national GDP (source -
General government expenses). So tell me how you got to the conclusion that Australians spend 15% of our taxes on Healthcare?
Why are you comparing it to GDP? Compare it to your governments total expenses--from your own link (see chart below), your country spent 221 billion (which is roughly equal to the tax revenues obviously) -- 40 billion was spned on healthcare, which means its 18% of your total expenditures/tax revenues. If you throw in Social Security and Welfare (another 91 billion),
that's a whopping 60% of your government's expenditures. That's a helluva lot money coming out of the people who are actually working's paychecks every week. And that's the problem--most of them like you have no clue as to how much their government is pissing away of their hard earned money.
No. If 15% of our Tax dollars really went to healthcare, it would actually come to around $2253.75 for a person earning $50,000 (Thats with the Medicare Levy added to the amount), not $7,500.
Math is not your strong suit, is it? 15% of $50,000 is $7,500 unless mathematics has changed in the last couple of days. But your actual healthcare costs are 18%, so a person earning $50,000 is paying $9,000 a year (on average) for healthcare--thats a helluva lot money. And here you thought it was only 1.5 percent--consider yourself educated.
The United States spends around $2 trillion on healthcare (amounts to about 19% of GDP) with a almost completely privatised system, and 47 million people are without insurance. Healthcare costs in the US are rising faster than wages or inflation, so how to you suppose this is cheaper than a nationalised system?
Where in the world do you get that The US spends spends 2 trillion on healthcare? That's absurd--our total tax revenues for 2007 were about 2.5 trillion. We spend a little over 20% on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid
United States federal budget, 2007 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That's compared to 60% that you spend on that in Australia. So you spend 40% more of your money on healthcare and social security than we do.
Perhaps this is the first time you've been forced to actually learn the facts.
Even in Australia, private healthcare coverage for a family comes to around $118.16 a fortnight, (with the 30% Government Rebate added to the amount) that certainly isn't cheap, and what choices do you have in a privatised system?... Pay for coverage or get sick and die?
That's EXACTLY the point--we HAVE A CHOICE. Most people in the US spend 3 times as much on entertainment as it would cost for a healthcare plan-they choose to spend their money on something else. Many, many, many people CHOOSE not to have a healthcare plan because its cheaper to pay as you need it. Those that can't afford it (truly can't afford it as oppossed to a life style choice) have it provided for free. Conversely, in your socialized country, people aren't given a choice--they are focrced to fork over a large sum of money for healthcare and social security and welfare. Tell me how much money you'd have for retirement if you could put 60% of your pay away every year?
By the way -
PR-2000-43/ WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION : ASSESSES THE WORLD'S HEALTH SYSTEMS
The United States is ranked 37th. So much for the best healthcare in the world.
LOL!!! why don't you cite socialists weekly!!!
That ranking is based purely on the fact we don't force peopel to have healthcare--its doesn't rank the quality of care provided here--only a complete moore-on would dispute the quality of healthcare provided in the US as being any less than some of the best in the world. When people with money need the best healthcare in the world, they come to the US for it--go check out all the drugs at your local drug store, check who the manufacturer is and tell me what country they are headquarteded--you'll find the great majority of them are located in the US--why do you suppose that is?
When you debate me you better come with facts, not garbage--that doesn't fly with me.
