Johnny

... Having other safety nets does not make universal healthcare not a safety net.

Saying that universal healthcare isn't a safety net is just wrong. What it's being marketed as doesn't change that.

Aaand if it wasn't already clear that you have no idea that leftism and/or socialism isn't the same as communism...

I don't know who originated that quote either, but I can already tell he's never set foot in a "socialistic" country. My post further up the page should clarify exactly why I think this is utter bullshit.

Time to drag this thread down into hell again... In all honesty this is sort of offensive. It is not just people without career ambitions who benefit from that security net. Shit happens to people of all mindsets. Also, it is wrong to say I have no ambition. My ambition is to lead a rewarding, and hopefully long life. That I lack ambition for MONEY of all things does not mean I lack ambition. I am however indecisive and have trouble figuring out the details. And it's not like you can't become rich in Sweden just because we have high taxes. If you rake in 2 millions a year before taxes, and the taxes take 50%, you're still making one million a year after taxes. I would also argue that having safeguards to prevent shit like sudden illness from completely fucking someone's life plans over probably makes it easier for people who start small to make it big, because it's the small people that need those safeguards the most. Though this is admittedly just my own speculation. That some individual people have made it does not prove that class mobility is actually high. You're a nation of an estimated 313 million people (according to Wiki.) 400 people only proves that it is possible, not that it is something you can realistically hope for starting out as an average person. I also strongly disagree that all that you need is hard work. You need luck, timing, position. Really, a huge deal of it is down to chance. Being at the right place at the right time. Sure, hard work goes into it, but most hard workers will never become rich.

I've seen subtitled films all my life due to living in Sweden and even though it's not that bad, I definitely prefer without. Subtitles kind of ruin the sense of timing because I don't read at precisely the speed the actors are saying something. I found the subs a bit distracting when watching Avengers and would definitely have gone to a showing without subs if that was an option. Hell, I would have paid extra to do so. That said, if I'm watching, say, an anime where the original japanese is better than the dub, I'll watch the original and deal with the annoyance of subtitles.

I know, Ethan. That's my point. Why would I want another girl there if I can only penetrate one at a time?

As a fellow straight male, I've never understood this. Do you people have two dicks or something?

I do want to live in a country where it is easy to come back from hardship like losing one's job or medical issues. If I have to pay for things like that with increased taxes then so be it. I have little interest in seeking fortune, I just want to live a life where I make do and have good friends. Not much of a career person. That said, I have read many articles in recent years suggesting class mobility in the US is much lower than it has been (and it's popularly made out to be.) I don't know how much truth there are to those statements, but I can image there is at least some truth in it. Most people from the US I know are students or people just out of college who are living with crippling student debt and no jobs in their chosen careers in sight.

A misplaced sense of pride? I'm not sure anyone said this.

Wizard starts out easy but after a few acts you really have to choose between not doing any damage, and being a glass cannon. If you don't learn how to avoid damage, you're gonna die. A lot.

As someone who's stuck with lower-end hardware, I do not mind

You're the one missing the point. The point is, you have to factor in public transportation because it greatly affects the lives of all the people who don't own a car. That is, mostly people who can't afford one. Saying that it doesn't count because it doesn't affect the majority of people in "many areas" is dismissing the poor as not a factor. There is no difference between the two.

I don't understand where you're getting this from. The whole last two pages or so where you and Battra have been talking like quality of life measurements are shit because they factor in people with less money than you.

There is not a lack of passenger trains; there isn't an extreme abundance of them, but there isn't less than there is demand for. There are an awful lot of passenger busses going between towns as well. That's how most people who don't have a car travel. I prefer the train - mainly because nobody else does. Much less crowded. I have never experienced that getting between towns is a significant problem. You can show up when a bus is leaving and get a ticket. People here love their cars, but you can get by without them.

Population density of Norrbotten County, where I live: 6.5/sq mi

We manage solid public transport in Sweden while being very very spread out. And with obscene amounts of snow, I might add.

Public transportation is HIGHLY relevant for a large portion of the population. Are you disputing this? Also, show me an example of market forces unrestrained creating a situation where healthcare is cheap.

Yantelope, every metric you include can skew the numbers. The point is to try to include all the relevant metrics to make it as fair as possible. Also, who's gonna pay for making your healthcare affordable, if you don't do it by helping out with tax money? Also, Sweden accomplished it with what you would consider a big government. It's not 100% universal, but it's not far off either.

Concert tickets and the like.

@Yantelope: Regarding purchasing power parity and leftist ideas: We do have high taxes, particularly a 25% sales tax on most non-food, non-culture, non-public transport goods. That's why things cost what they do. You might find that to be terrible, but as someone living here I am a big fan of many of the things those higher taxes buys us. Sure, someone making 40 grand a year won't be able to buy as many luxury goods here as they would elsewhere, but life is so much easier for those of us who don't have as much when you've got things like affordable healthcare.

The point with public transportation is that it improves the standard of living IMMENSELY for the people who don't have steady access to a private form of transport such as a car. That it usually doesn't matter much for the people who do has nothing to do with it. In case you didn't know, people who aren't white upper middle class families do count as well.

Battra, discussing national standards of living is about the entire country, not your individual living situation... Yantelope: Oh god, where the fuck do I begin with this one. Quite. Let's take a closer look at this big mac index and compare some other countries to the US. India: 272 % more well off. Ukraine, Hong Kong: 209% more well off. China, South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Thaiwan: 181% more well off. Man, the US fucking sucks.

And yet we have a very high standard of living, including the poor. Isn't that pretty telling?