General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why is the American left not as effective as the European left? [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)The trend is towards reversing those progressive gains, and this isn't just happening under the imprimatur of "the right." There's not enough money to provide all those social services, and they have to get the cash from somewhere.
European overview--this is not sanguine: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/austerity-and-the-unraveling-of-european-universal-health-care
That swell NHS in UK? More and more people have private insurance because the NHS cannot deliver an acceptable level of care. Care is inferior in many instances and rationed in others. Private insurance is a negotiated benefit when applying for work. They are running out of money and fighting about where they are going to get enough/how to pay to keep the system operative. See:
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs/if-andrew-lansley-was-a-doctor-he-would-be-facing-disciplinary-action-for-his-impact-on-patient-care-9801764.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2804326/Extra-8billion-needed-black-hole-NHS-budget-Service-strain-elderly-obesity-cost-new-drugs.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-spends-25bn-on-agency-staff-to-meet-rising-demand-9816894.html
And in France things are going the wrong way as well:
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/07/working_moms_in_france_the_government_benefits_are_great_job_prospects_not.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/10390571/france-hollande-taxes-socialist-farrage.html
There's a battle going on between sheer numbers of people needing service, many of whom aren't contributing to the tax base, and rising costs. Someone has to pay for this -- it's not free, and the taxes (see France, particularly) are getting so onerous that people are bailing out. Johnny Depp and Gerard Depardieu are only two famous examples, but there are tons more people who have voted with their feet. It's just not getting better, it's getting worse.
The overall trend--even though Europe still does a better job of delivering services--is going in the wrong direction. If this keeps up, we'll eventually meet in the middle.