Via David Olive, a chart of US health insurance premium projections.
The general thesis is "OMG, they're going to get so high!" But my first thought was "OMG, they ARE so high!" $13,000 a year. Thirteen thousand!
Imagine having an extra $13,000 in necessary expenses, on top of your existing necessary expenses. To put that in perspective, that's more than I paid in taxes last year. Could you fit that into your budget? Because I certainly couldn't!
When I run the numbers on finding another $13,000, I've got a two-hour commute and bugs crawling out of the walls, and even then it's hella tight. I've got no savings, I'm wearing cheap men's runners for everyday and improperly-fitting bras, rationing cheese and internet access, hairdressing is not an option, and even then it might not work out. And that's without children, without a car, without travel.
But when you go to the states, you see people with children and cars and vacations. You see people wearing clothes that look like they were purchased new. People have had their hair done. It's normal to have wedding rings made of gold and diamonds. They have tivos and people buy books and DVDs and go to movies and out to dinner...how on earth do they make it work? Seriously. I cannot grok at all how their society as a whole can function with insurance premiums like that.
2 comments:
It's called credit.
It's not all credit. Many people who have all those things have their insurance premiums paid for by their employers. They may pay part of it, deducted from their paycheques, but not to the tune of $13,000.
The people who have those premiums, or who have no insurance because they have crappy jobs or no jobs, are not the same people you see taking vacations and wearing jewelry.
Sometimes they are, and that is credit. But most of the poverty in the US is hidden from visitors. (Like most of the poverty in Canada.)
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