United Kingdom

Entirely valid question, that as a USian, I might just be qual to answer. The ratio between them varies by individual, but it boils down to a core American exceptionalism that’s taught actively from very young; some ridiculous blather about how having founding docs / written constitution makes our rights safer even in context of significant social change; and my personal least fave, the idea that if one didn’t directly and proximately earn something through capital or wage slavery, they just aren’t working hard enough and therefore shouldn’t have it.

Those things are at the core of a very large group of American voters’ opinions, and all are fatally flawed.

Of course, as a child of the very early eighties, growing up it was still (at least conceptually) possible to buy a house and a car on one income, within relatively recent history. As it absolutely should be.

Kicking that exceptionalism thought process is quite the struggle (as is the rest), even for those motivated to do it.

Civilised world has mostly lower paid docs (relative to us) but also mostly some sort of universal care. I’d gladly accept NHS-level wait times, if it meant that I could take the $2k a month that my emp and I together now pay for insurance (just 2 adults) - even if taxed to support that sort of system, that is real money.

Things are bettter than they were in my lifetime, even though ObamaCare was basically a typical American “personal responsibility” solution, just with subsidies to avoid actively excluding only the less financially well off.

Used to be that you had to have continuous coverage in order to get a new cost, or pre existing conditions weren’t covered under a newer policy even if one could buy one privately (you really couldn’t, practically).

Healthcare before ACA was a sanctioned and mostly very profitable betting operation for large carriers because the risk pool for each individual policy was large, and there were max amounts and sometimes lifetime total limits that could be paid.

By comparison, what we have is pretty great for folks who lived thru that era, but… Hot garbage compared to many other developed nations.

We’re a nation full of people literally trained to think our system is the best in the world. Helluva barrier to overcome, all the more so when the ACA did actually make things better.

Mild sidetrack but the only reason to assume by default our system might be better is the education (indoctrination) we receive early and often, and consistently.

Always appreciate a comment that makes me question why/how I made some assumption.