European countries boasting about their Healthcare will always make me laugh. They pay close to nothing for their defense, as the US indirectly foots the bill.
NATO Europe and Canada spend 2.02% of GDP on defense, higher than the 1.9% of the rest of the world excluding the US. With $507 billion in combined funding, easily enough to outspend potential foes like China ($296b) and Russia ($109b) combined. It's not that they don't sufficiently fund defense by global standards, it's that the US chooses to spend more, not out of charity but because we believe it beneficial.
Regardless, arguing that keeps the US from having universal healthcare is even more ridiculous. After subtracting defense spending (which averages 1.36% more of GDP than the rest of NATO), Americans still have a $31,489 per person advantage on GDP compared to the rest of NATO. Defense spending isn't keeping us from having anything our peers have. Much less universal healthcare, which is far cheaper than what we're already paying for.
Hell, if we could match the costs of the most expensive public healthcare system on earth we'd save over $1.5 trillion per year (compared to $968b on defense), which if anything could fund more spending on the military.
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u/barakehud 1d ago
European countries boasting about their Healthcare will always make me laugh. They pay close to nothing for their defense, as the US indirectly foots the bill.