Visiting America
By Theresa Camoriano
We recently met a young couple from Denmark who are spending a month touring the United States with their baby son and two-year-old daughter. It was interesting to see their perspective on our country.
They like our freedom and the fact that in the U.S., if you work hard, you can get ahead. They do not feel they have that opportunity in their home country, which is a social welfare state that taxes productive people to support non-productive people, creating a disincentive to work and be productive.
They said that in Denmark, all the hospitals are run by the government, so you get poor service. They had to take the baby to the emergency room of a hospital while they were in the U.S. and were very impressed with the quality of service they received. The woman said that, when she had her baby in Denmark, she was required to be out of the hospital within three hours.
Also, they said all the day care in Denmark is provided by the government. It is not very good, and the people who are drug addicts or have other problems are put at the front of the waiting list, while people like her, who work to support the system, are put at the back of the waiting list.
In order to buy an automobile there, you have to pay a tax of 180%, so you essentially have to buy the car three times. So they rented an SUV here just to have the experience of trying it out. If they removed the rear seats from their car in Denmark, they could pay a lower tax, but they need to have the rear seats in order to take their children around. As a result of the high taxes, people in Denmark tend to drive older cars.
From listening to them, it seems to me that they are in a leftist utopia and are not very happy about it. Young, ambitious people who want to work hard and get ahead are held back and discouraged there. They are not angry, just disappointed and resigned, saying there is nothing they can do about it.
They are living proof of how leftism harms the human spirit, taking away the zest for life and enthusiasm that make life worth living. Both the people who are plundered and the people who are “helped” are mere pawns of the system. The young, talented people like them are discouraged from working hard and doing their best, because most of what they earn is taken away by the government, and the people who are less skilled feel like fools for working when they can receive better incomes by sitting home and receiving a government check.
Unfortunately, the United States has been moving in the direction of Denmark for some time, so it offers far less freedom and opportunity than it has in the past. I am hopeful that the American people will wake up and turn things around before it is too late.
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