I think it's incredible that an ordinary family with three incomes still has to struggle to make ends meet, and still feel the need to apply for social benefits such as Medicaid and food stamps. It seems to me that the poorer you are, the harder you have to work, just to stop going under.

When I was young, my wife and I had two incomes - both relatively low, but enough to get by on. Had we had to put a significant monthly payment aside to cover our medical needs, we would probably have elected not to do so. We would probably, as a consequence, have had to forego medical treatment, if the need ever arose. We would have made a critical choice for purely economic reasons.

And if we had needed medical treatment, we would have become a burden on society.

However, in the UK, an employee has deductions made from his salary/wages according to the size of his income. These deductions entitle that person to receive any medical attention he needs. OK, no-one likes paying taxes, but if it's a choice between paying a health care tax or an insurance premium, where's the difference?

The difference is that you can't opt out, and later become a freeloader.

(Now I've put it that way, I'm surprised there's so much right-wing resistance to the idea)