General Discussion

Health care is different in every country, and here in Germany, it is not only not free of cost, but hundreds of thousands of people have no health care at all because they fall through the bureaucratic cracks. There is a two-tier class health insurance system in Germany. Assuming you are covered, you are either a "Kassenpatient," which is their common second class insurance, or "Privatpatient," or first class. Private means you pay up front and try to get it back from your insurer later. It usually works, but often doesn't I asked about health insurance when I moved my permanent residence here. I was quoted about $35,000 a year in insurance premiums, and that was 11 years ago. They still balk at much dental or "unnecessary (they determine that, you don't) " work. Kassenpatienten, a category to which my wife belongs, means you ask for an appointment, and they give you one when they feel like it. That is often months in advance, and long waiting times at the doctor's office. Figuring on paying many dental bills yourself. Maybe there are some internet sites that claim what a paradise it is here, but here on the ground, reality is what it is.

Housing is expensive, often cramped, and it's difficult to find someone to do repairs, whether on rentals or privately owned homes. There are "Obdachlosensiedlungen," or homeless residences, but people are expected to get out and fend for themselves eventually. No one gets in for a free permanent stay. Some manage to game the system, of course. A client of my wife's managed to get a practically rent-free "Sozialwohnung," or subsidized apartment. He fathered fifteen children (she had to count them), and with the extra government-subsidized "child money," rented the apartment next door--for himself. His wife and the children stayed in the original apartment. Her agency went to court to cut the guy's welfare payments, and were shot down by the judge, who said the guy's claims were legitimate, and that "tolerance” had to be shown. The guy left the courtroom grinning like a Cheshire cat. Her fellow social workers wanted to scream.

Higher education is mostly covered by tax money, although the costs are starting to explode to the point where the government is often introducing the equivalent of a “co-pay.” Plus, there is a very elitist system, almost Darwinian, at least here in Germany, where your grades alone determine whether or not you get to study what you want. The so-called “numerus clausus” means that if you want to study medicine, but are a tenth of a point off on your grade average, you either apply abroad (at your own cost), or wait years to get a slot, or get told to forget it altogether. The arbitrary, impersonal German education system prompted both of my daughters, German citizens and smart enough, to ask me if they could apply for college in the USA instead. I was fortunate enough to have come into an inheritance that permitted me to allow that, but most Germans, obviously, do not have that option.

And, finally, retirement, presumably the fourth “collectively financed” on the list. What you pay in largely determines what is paid out, unless you are a government employee or (even better) a former elected official. Top former elected officials, especially EU bureaucrats, get lifetime, tax-free pensions in up to solid five figures. Even normal civil servants get very livable pensions. My wife, on the other hand, gets a “generous” €850 a month plus a tiny “disability” supplement for being a two time cancer victim. Maybe €1025 altogether, or $1100--before taxes. Without me, she would be begging on the street or living up in the far north with her mom in her village that is so small, it has no public transportation in or out. Granted, dying of boredom is probably better than dying of hunger, but it’s a miserable death all the same.

There are beggars and panhandlers in all cities in all countries in Europe, just like there are in the USA. It may be that more people are covered here for some essentials percentage-wise than in the USA. But to use the all-encompassing “as in Europe” to show what a paradise we are living in here, as opposed to the horrible country we are in the USA, is to gloss over a lot of unpleasant realities here. My wife was a professional, government-certified social worker here for decades. She saw it all, knew the ins and outs, how to circumvent the system for those who really were in need, and frustrated by the same system when it protected frauds and scammers. The grass is not always greener.