American F35 jets turn out to be invisible for Russian S400s.

Quality of Life is Higher in Germany.

 

The f-18 is great but it's old and won't be survivable on the future battlefield and there are already places is can't go without significant risk.

 

Quality of life is a choice, doesn't matter where you live.

You mean standard of living
.
How many houses do you own? How big are they?
How nice of a car do you have

That kind of crap.

 

No it’s not.

 

It is.

Germany is ranked 4th in thr world. USA is 15th.

Germany has better healthcare, better infrastructure, better social services, better education system

 

Also depends what your houses are made off. A German house is made from stone, not plsywood like USA. You can own 3 americam plywood castles and still have less than a german house

 

Most people in the US rent their houses from the Bank, or the title of their nice vehicles is at the bank.
You truly own, if it is payed of.

 

So?

 

As if that’s any different from the way it is in other western countries.

 

Those rankings are subjective.
How is Germany healthcare better than American healthcare?
Infrastructure - depends on where you live.
Social services can be pretty generous, it depends on where you live. Same thing can be said about education.

 

What is the problem. The so called wealth of the middle class is payed with somebodies else money. People in the US a up to their eyebrows in debt. Next to everything they call possession is financed, credit card, consumer loans, pay day, you name it.
I see it daily, when my customers try to pay with credit card. The first one bleep, second one works, or the third one. You can watch it in other stores. How many do you think live from paycheck to paycheck, I would say around 50%, but they drive a 60k pick up, have a side by side and what ever crap, plus the mortgage.
The US economy is consumer driven and paid by debt.

 

But eventually the debt is paid off.
I already paid off a couple of cars in my life and I owe just $60k for my house.
If you live in a nice paid off house your expenses are tiny. That’s the goal for retirement - living in a paid off house. If you have a paid off house you can rent it out and the lease will pay for another house. I actually plan to own 2 paid off homes by the time I retire.
I think hoping to inherit the property from your parents is wrong. Besides, what are you going to do with their house if there are 3 siblings? I know many Europeans live hoping to get something from their dead parents. I prefer to work it off myself.

By the way, isn’t it ironic that @Sobo makes claims about the quality of life in the US, yet lives at a place that his parents paid for?

 

By the way, check out this thread. I’m curious about your opinion:
http://www.politicalforum.com/index.php?threads/prices-where-you-live.564959/

 

Because people are 100% insured and can get any care they need without financial burden at a cost which nocks your socks of.
Infrastructure, you have no idea of the quality they have in Germany, from public transportation system to roads.

 

Sure, but if you do have even below average insurance in the US you are better off than most of the Germans.

Does Germany have infrastructure to launch rockets into space? Which country pretty much owns the internet?
Roads in the US aren’t bad, at least in most cases. In my neighborhood we just got resurfaced, even though the old road surface was OK. Trains make sense only in high population density environment.
So, infrastructure is a subjective term and you can’t really measure it. Infrastructure is also a function of local populations preferences - if people prefer cars they won’t pay higher taxes to fund a railroad. And I hope you know, nothing is really “free”.

 

No the insurance system in Germany and the healthcare is I would say 3 times as good as in the US. If you compare real cost to patience, insurance, co-pay, deductible and so on, I would say 5 times as good
How about Medicare, old age, my brother pays 184, everything 100%, the US 80% or so and you need a plan B and C or what so ever.
I have a US and German insurance. The US just takes care of the immediate emergency, 1000 a month, 6500 deductible and the rest is 80%.
My German insurance is 380 a month, no deductible and 100%. I am just 12 hours away from Germany.
When I retire, I am getting close to it, 184, full service.

Germany does not need a place to launch stuff into space, it is a member of Esa and ESA has its place, Guinea.

Its the overall infrastructure of a country. Did you know that they even pave the ways between the fields, for tractors and farm equipment.

 

See, you are looking at the costs. If you have insurance in the US, the quality is definitely top of the world. I’ll take quality over cost any day.
By the way, I read somewhere that in Germany, most people must get a referral from GP to see a specialist. I can go to any specialist I want without any referrals. I can see a doctor to treats foreign heads of state if I want to.

Again, this depends on your situation. I have a family of 4. For me and my wife I pay around $300 per month. Both of my kids are covered by state of Illinois for $80 a month (and I make a 6 figure salary, it doesn’t matter how much your income is) with most prescriptions free and doctor visits in the range of $5. My total monthly spend is about $380. I can pick any doctor I want. My out of pocket maximum is $1500. I also have critical illness insurance - if I get a heart attack, stroke, cancer, etc, I’ll get $10k just for getting that diagnosis. And it costs me $10 per month for me and my wife. My short term disability is free from my employer. Long term disability, up to retirement age that pays me 100% of current salary is $26 for me and my wife.

But we are comparing infrastructure between two countries.

No, you are picking and choosing what you want to compare. Total BS.

 

I was 6 weeks ago in Germany. My brother always laughs his ars of when he hears my retirement plans. How much money I plan to have, what my monthly cash need should be.
Spending money, living in Europe, house paid cash, car paid cash, no loans, mortgages and so on, as I live right now.
10 years ago, I decided to live on what I can expect my retirement fund will produce for me. Training for the future. I live rather good. Upper middle class, have a taste for good food, wines, beers, whisky and so on, cars I do not care they are a-b, except my toy cars.
My brother and his wife took me to the stores, my jaw dropped on the ground. Germany mind you.
Everything from appliances to food is half or 1/3 the price we pay and the selection unbelievable. Sure our supermakets are full and have great selections, but theirs comes from all over the world at prices and quality which would blow you away.
I know appliances is my job. Their stuff made in Germany, which we drool over is less than half.
I am in for a new fridge, 1000, the same size fridge would cost me 450 in Germany.
Whats high, gas, ng, elec
What does it mean for me? I overcalculated, grossly. When I retire, I move to Europe, sell everything and than start new.
A Grand final adventure. But wholy cow I just need less than half of what I need now, which is upper middle class, rather nice living, I would say.
Just my nest egg, which would give me 6 years in the US, would give me 15 years in Germany, no mortage no rent no loans, just living expenses, food, alcohol, insurances. Your monthly bill. The country I am looking at, double it and that does not include the farm and the business.

I do not participate in those blow out sales, I do not need to. If I want something, I just buy it and pay cash

 

I’m not sure I understand you.
Are you saying prices in Europe are lower than the US? I would find that hard to believe because I’ve heard the opposite numerous times + I have my own experience shopping in EU.
Can you post some current ads to that thread from Germany for comparison?

 

The difference is between the states. your area and your employer might give you a good deal. But your insurance is based on State and employer.
I am self employed, big difference and live in a area of a State, which makes insurance rather expensive. 100 a month for crap, just good enough for emergency and than get on the plane as fast as possible and survive somehow the US 20%, plus deductible, financially.
40 millions are without insurance and how many millions skip medical treatment from dental to what ever, because the co and te deductible will kill them.
I like a sausage egg Mc Muffin and a OJ in the morning going to my company, 5.25. But it is always shocking to me how many of those employees at over 11 a hour, have no teeth or very bad teeth. I know, because I have no teeth, dentures. Its the cost. I lost my teeth because of a accident. Pulling cost over 1000 and the dentures over 1000 and those cost are not covered. Dental care are very seldom covered, or have a huge deductible and co payment, even if they are insured, they can not afford it.

Naturally you go to a specialist in the US. They do the diagnostic work and than send you to the next guy and finally you end up in the hospital. Same procedure, nothing special.
My partner co insured with her husband who works for the county, top position, they pay 800, deductible 2500 and co 20%

Infrastructure I am not picking. I am a farmer, our county road is a very high use road. Leads to one the best Mountain Biking trail network in the world. Its gravel, but does not get maintained, some time 3, sometimes 4 month. The traffic on that road, huge.
That sucker would be paved in Germany and would have no passing lanes.

Yes I look at the cost, what else you want to look at, cost per person and services received and or possible.
The US system sucks.
What will happen if you loose your job, are you are able to keep it?

 

That's what I am saying.
A washer, front loader, top of the line, 650 Euro, you can not get a crapy top loader for it in the US.
That's the price for a used and refurbished top loader

 

I’ve read that in Germany self-employed don’t get 50% off, so they pay 100%.
Just like in the United States.

With GDP per capita of over $60k, having $2k each year to do the most expensive procedure on your tooth isn’t really that much. I personally know a few illegal immigrants who have very crappy jobs who have done very extensive work on their teeth. All paid for by cash on the US.

Most, like 90% of the dental plans have at most $100 deductible and, without employer, cost about $50-$80 per month per person. That’s not a lot if you have a problem.

You are wrong.
My wife had gallbladder stones. We went to specialist to make sure that this is the problem. That same specialist did the surgery. The whole thing sent me back about $1,000. Considering that the surgery was done with high tech and they just poked a few holes in her stomach and she walked away the next day I think it was a pretty good deal.

Well, go to local village and asked for it to be paved. Why involve federal government over a dirt road in some village. The US is a federation, federal government is pretty limited here. If locals don’t want to pave that road - blame them or pay for it yourself.

No, healthcare should be evaluated by results and access. With my insurance I can easily schedule an appointment with a doctor who was treating Saudi Prince for an eye condition about 10 years ago in MN. In most countries with universal healthcare you can’t pick and choose.

I did, 1.5 years ago.
I got insurance from the state of Illinois for free. I kind of felt bad losing it after I got a new job. In the US these benefits are not advertised, so many people think they don’t exist. I know a ton of people with kids who make as much money as I do who have no idea that you can get insurance from the state for you kids for $40 per month per kid. Instead they pay double or triple. Another thing - when I lost that job, I showed them (the state) my severance package of over $25k. They still gave my family food stamps. So much, we didn’t know what to do with that money. When we were losing the benefits because I got the new job, we had so much food money, we stuffed our freezer with meat that we ate for almost a year.
So, yes. The US has pretty good social safety nets. They are just not advertised and depend on your local government.

 

The local governments in Germany pave farm roads, for a tractor a day.

Germans employees pay around 15% of their income for health, its a Federal tax. It does not have any meaning were you live or who is the employer, it cost you the same percentage, a Federal Tax. It is not part of your paycheck, the benefits and so on. You are not hooked to your employer. If you get unemployed you keep it, all the benefits no deductions, nothing happens. Concerning loosing your job, nothing happens, you are still 100% ensured.

I bet you like the Illinois system, its great, saved your ars. were I live you would be homeless.

 

I pay less than 5% of my income for all of my insurance. How is that worse than Germany?

When I lost my job 1.5 years ago I went from paying $400 per month to $0. I was unemployed for 1 month, we had free healthcare for 6 months. My wife gave birth in that period and we literally paid nothing for everything.

I like Illinois system, but I also lived in Minnesota and I know their system is even better. I know people who live in New York and that system is better than that of Minnesota.
So, healthcare is literally a function of where you live. You can’t say American system is good or bad because it is a function of where you live.

 

I am self employed and my cost in Germany is around 380, privately insured, 100% is covered an no deductible of any kind.
Dental is very difficult to cover in the US. Remember I am who covers, the employer. Dental is a real killer, private or group.
The cost is just outrages. I have a silent agreement with my employees, I pay their dentals, because I can not afford, the insurance.
We sit down and talk about it.

Who cares about a Saudi Prince. I am sorry to say if you bring up a guy like that, well you are...……………………..