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[–][deleted] 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

I'm probably most currently aligned to democratic socialism (I don't pay much attention to the schisms) and want to focus on fixing unstable, inequitable systems in play today via progressive tax funded, New Deal-ish services and programs. I'd probably be degradingly labeled a socdem on Twitter because I'd rather approach the issues incrementally and through legislation.

[–]yousaythosethings 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

Is there a particular country's system that you would want to emulate?

[–][deleted] 13 insightful - 2 fun13 insightful - 1 fun14 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Something alongside the Nordic model of a mixed economy, but it depends on the specific issue we're talking about - I would love to have the beveridge model of healthcare instituted here, but I think the system in Canada and South Korea where it's a mix of a tax-funded safety net and employer provided / purchased private insurance would go down easier here. I'd like to have Finland's treatment of the internet as a basic human right (though I believe they still have private options for higher speeds) and Germany's commitment to free college (I think a lot of countries have free college, but Germany is the one I know off the top of my head). I don't think any country has widespread Universal Basic Income yet, but I believe Alaska has a popular profit sharing program for its residents that I'd like to see other states adopt.

It's crazy to me that most people are fine with government provided services that they grew up with and have been normalized, but when you suggest that such an approach is expanded to, say, healthcare, they start crying about socialism.

[–]Sunflowerdevyl 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

For the Nordic model to work in the US Democrats would have to sacrifice birthright citizenship and switch to an actual merit-based system with real consequences for violators, but they won't because then 'who will clean their houses and pick their fields?' They need their slaves to keep everyone else's cost of goods down and they can say they are the party of compassion.

[–]Anniesworld 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I agree with you on health care although it more than likely would put me out of work. I support the idea of changing the way the insurance market works for people under 65. I think we should leave medicare as is, it works well when people are paying attention to it. I think the under 65 it's a mess. I think the ACA act created a crazy situation where employers decided to let people go and cut back hours so that people would never get full time. So people who were poor before now work 2-3 jobs with no hopes of getting long term raises, promotions and benifets. The insurance market worked before ACA although I recognize it was no where near optimal or perfect, I don't like the idea of people depending on employers for healthcare. I know it's a complex problem but I think the approach is already mapped out. We should try and make a demi-medicare for under 65. Medicare gives companies money from a fund to manage and make efficient. Let companies compete against each other to give consumers a better choice and manage the plans. Let the consumers pay into a system separate from medicare to fund this.i think that paying into the system before using, like in Medicare, should be mandatory. But I think 40 quarters is too long, maybe 20 which would be five years of paying into it by working. That way people have a vested interest in paying into it and it doesn't become something that people can just turn to if they never worked. Obviously there are people who can't work and are disabled but they actually qualify for over 65 medicare. Anyone have more ideas on how to make this demi - medicare work.