If you're going to tell me that your country does not have a social ill that plagues the USA

[conuly]

such as systematic racism and racial bigotry, or police brutality and misconduct, or poor test scores, or I don't even know what - not that you have less of it, which I'll believe almost without question if you don't annoy me, but that it pretty much does not exist at all - then for crying out loud, look it up first! If you don't, you can't cry to me when I do a cursory google search and show that you do, in fact, have that same problem. Maybe to a lesser extent, but shockingly it turns out that the USA is not the only place in the developed world where minorities, people with disabilities, gays, and poor people are treated badly.

And I kinda feel like at least half the people I've had this conversation with lately could've already known that if they knew anybody who was a more likely target of this sort of thing. It's not my fault that their societies are also set up to allow them to only socialize with certain people if they so choose. But yes, please, do tell me again how your country has no social ills and you're all holding hands and singing songs all day long.

Comments

[siliconshaman]

Yeah.. I don't think there's anywhere that doesn't have the same sorts of social ills that America has. Maybe not quite so flagrantly in some places, but still nowhere is perfect... Mostly because they still have humans living there.

[nicki]

refusing to talk about them is not the same as not having them.

[shadowkat]

I feel like I have this conversation with a friend of mine, who is a born and bred US resident who has only lived in the US, all the time. I keep wanting to tell her she needs to spend more time on social media - and she'll discover that it really is no better anywhere else. People are assholes everywhere, it's really not just in one spot. Be nice if it were, but nope. Every country, continent, island, etc has its issues - if people live there - all of that exists in some form or other.

[lilysea]

Yes, 100% agreed.

There are issues where Australia is doing an order of magnitude better than the US such as gun control - but even with gun control, Australia still has significant room for improvement, as anyone who reads the news articles about Australian bikies shooting each other, or Australian police proposing new gun laws, will see.

Ditto people not being able to access to healthcare due to cost - it is much less of an issue in Australia that it is in the US, but it is still a significant issue for many people due to
eg
medications that are not on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme;
General Practitioners who don't bulk-bill;
the fact that almost NO specialists bulk-bill;
the fact that Medicare (Australia) doesn't cover dental;
etc etc

[ironymaiden]

I have a friend in public health - their black humor term for teeth is "luxury bones"

[mindstalk]

AU Medicare doesn't pay for specialists? That seems a big gap.

[lilysea]

AU Medicare *does* pay for specialists,

but most specialists don't bulk-bill

which means you need to pay

for example $280 at the end of the consult

and then get a $140 rebate into your bank account electronically 48 hours later.

a) a lot of people don't have $280 up front

b) a lot of people can't afford the $140 gap between what the specialist charges and the Medicare rebate

One issue is that specialists fees have increased significantly over the last 20 years, but Medicare rebates have NOT increased to match this

[mindstalk]

Electronically sounds nice... I discovered my dental insurance expects me to pay the dentist up front, and then will send me a _paper check_. At least I can scan those these days.

But dang. US Medicare (for seniors) isn't perfect, but I'd expect it to pay 80% of the charges, after deductible. (There are, or were, private 'Medigap' policies you can get that pay the deductible and the 20% co-insurance. I'm very glad my father had set that up for my mother and that my mother had kept paying the premiums even if she didn't understand why.)

I'd thought AU Medicare was more like US Medicaid (for poor people), which basically just pays everything that's covered at all. (I think Canada Medicare does too?)

[lilysea]

AU Medicare is for all Australian citizens,

it is not means tested,

and rich people and poor people get the same Medicare rebates...

[mindstalk]

But from what you say, they just get the same fixed rebates that don't cover full charges, vs. the 100% of US Medicaid or Canadian health care.

Does Australia have an out of pocket maximum? Most US insurance has a level above which the insurer covers everything, without further co-payment.

[lilysea]

There is no out of pocket maximum for specialists (although once you have spent above the safety net threshold, the Medicare rebate increases, altho still not to 100%)

You can see a specialist for free through outpatient clinics at public hospitals, but

a) you often have to wait 12 to 18 months

b) you will have to sit around and wait for 2 to 3 hours, and then they will rush you through in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes

c) you don't get any choice in which Dr you see, so there is no continuity of care

[silveradept]

If someone wants to say that their space does not have the same problems, they are telling on themselves that they choose not to see them.