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IndeterminateYogurt OP t1_j2dgb9z wrote

Reply to comment by gscjj in [OC] Around 30% of countries spend more than 2% of GDP on their military by IndeterminateYogurt

You could argue tho, that the "We can kill anything that moves wherever it is in less than 30 seconds"-ability the US gets for not spending a bit of the money on healthcare and education is a bit overkill and a bit unneeded.

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Knows_all_secrets t1_j2dhyh7 wrote

Doesn't the US spend just as much of its money on healthcare as other OECD countries? It's just an awful system so people need to pay too.

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Therealdickjohnson t1_j2dkye6 wrote

Yes. The US spends a higher percentage on healthcare than any other country. Significantly higher than other ocad countries. Problem is the system is not efficient. Huge amounts go into administrative costs because it isn't centralized. Wages for health professionals are also a lot higher in the states than any other country. And drug costs are higher than everywhere else too.

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DecentlySizedPotato t1_j2dn9ou wrote

Military spending, even in the US, is almost an order of magnitude smaller than social security spending. Many western European countries have about 20% GDP spending on social security (including healthcare, public pensions, etc.). The US spends 3% of GDP in defence, most EU countries 1-2%. So defence spending is almost a rounding error here, it can be increased or decreased without almost affecting social security spending.

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mkosmo t1_j2dzh0b wrote

It’s only perceived as “overkill” and “unnecessary” until you need the USA’s help. Then you’re glad that the US spends money on defense so her friends don’t have to.

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[deleted] t1_j2dgpcn wrote

[deleted]

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StationOost t1_j2dk67z wrote

Unlikely, European countries do not need to increase their defense budget, regardless of the US being part of NATO. Unless you think the US declares war on Europe.

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