On one of the many sites talking about the All-Consuming Turd Sandwich bill of the moment, someone from Europe chimes in about their system:
Where i come from, The Netherlands, which is far from perfect, i pay 125 Euro’s for full coverage. Dentists and pre-existing conditions included. I can have a television at my bed and a minibar if i want to, but that’ll cost me extra. We have 6 or 7 big insurance companies here who facilitate this and who are bound by government rules on maximum charges and minimum coverage. It works fine, there’s no deficit created and everybody is fully covered. Besides that there’s a government subsidy for everyone who doesn’t earn enough to pay for the premiums.
We’re a democracy, with politicians, which are to some degree polarized into left and right, but everybody agrees we need good healthcare. If our people are denied that, we go out onto the streets and make known that we disagree.
It’s that simple: Your system is broken because the will of your people is broken. (emphasis mine)
So, humoring this interpretation, the people of the Netherlands imply willingness to bring their entire political system to a screeching halt if things suck enough. Well, if that’s the case then maybe you don’t need the politicians at all anyway? If The Will of the People is that damn strong, skip the middlemen.
