Speaking of Socialism

OK, maybe it's just me speaking of socialism (or, in this case, socialized medicine) but I read an interesting blog entry today from Miss-Thrifty called Frugality Wars: UK vs USA - Round One. There's a lot that's standard stuff - USA has lots of comparatively cheap things like gas, food, housing. The UK has the National Health Service (NHS) which provides free health care coverage.

I've heard arguments for and against NHS. The upside? It's free for everyone. The downside? Potential delays in service, limitations in care provided, etc. So you can pick your own side and argue away. Here's what floored me.

Miss-Thrifty writes that she understands that income taxes are high in the UK to help offset the cost of government provided health care. Most people pay about 20%. What???!!!

I pay over 20% of income in taxes. In addition, I typically pay over $1500 each year for out of pocket health care expenses after paying my insurance premiums. This year my out of pocket costs will be much, much higher.

I'm not saying I want to pay $8/gallon for gas like they do in the UK but can't some of my tax dollars go to making health care affordable and available to everyone?

Here's the link to the blog entry if you want to read more.
http://www.miss-thrifty.co.uk/2008/09/11/frugality-wars-uk-vs-usa-round-one/#more-111