As clown-like deliberations continue over Biden's big bill, things get cut.
Like family leave, vision and dental benefits in Medicare (which ridiculously don't exist right now), and price protections on prescription drugs.
This fucking country is the most backward of all civilized countries in the world. Embarassing. Yet we still pump our chests up and brag like other countries should envy us. Give me a break.
The United States ranks last on a list of 41 countries who offer paid parental leave. The other 40 offer as much as 86 weeks, down to somewhere around 8. This country offers 0. Fucking zero.
And I am talking maternity leave - it is fucking cruel to force a mother to choose between work and taking care of her newborn. A lot of mothers do not have that choice. It's called paying the bills.
I realize a lot of companies offer maternity leave and that is great, but it should not be up to the company's discretion - it should be the law of the land.
34 of these 41 countries offer paternity leave. What a novel concept. I am pretty sure fathers love their kids too, and would cherish an opportunity to get to know them, and for the kid to get familiar with the dad.
Dig some of the countries on the list - Estonia (86 weeks), Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Korea, Malta, Cyprus. You get the point. I am not belittling these countries, just making the point that most americans would assume we are the trend setters. Not even close.
Carol and I haven't had a dental or optometrist appointment since we went on Medicare. Seems to me this type of stuff becomes more critical as you get older, which Carol and I appear to be doing, much against our better judgement. Who is the fucking genius who came up with this plan?
Prescription drug costs. This is the soft underbelly of the greed and callousness pharmaceutical companies show towards sick americans. Are you fucking kidding me? They prioritize profits, to the point of gouging their customers, while playing Russian roulette with their health. Can't pay? Tough shit.
In 2018, a study was done on per capita spending on drugs in Denmark, UK, Sweden, Greece, Ireland, Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S. Denmark was lowest, at $339. Switzerland was in 9th place, at $894. The United States was last, at $1,200.
If you have the guts, do some research on infant mortality rates, life expectency, medical costs, medical malpractice, and more. You will be disgusted by the indifference this country shows towards the health and well-being of its citizens. Other countries care; this country does not.
In the U.S, if you can make extravagant profits - even at the expense of the lives of the people you are profiting off of - you do it. You know damn well that ain't hyperbole - how many companies in the U.S. have been exposed as evaluating the potential cost of lawsuits resulting from deaths their product may cause, versus the enormous proits they will make?
If it was even just 1 company it should make you sick to your stomach. It has been many more than that.
Did you know the country of Bhutan has a Gross National Happiness Index, which is used as one measurement tool for evaluating the country?
The only way you would see a Gross National Happiness Index in the U.S would be if some asshole could make money off it.
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