Why Wouldn’t You Want The Government In Between You and Your Doctor?

Most people I meet ask me why the fak I decided to move to the tiny little land of Denmark.  This article will explain my reasons… but my basic thesis is why the fak wouldn’t I?

Disclaimer: After reading this you might be booking the first flight over here so don’t  jump on Expedia or Travelocity or whatever travel site best suits your fancy all at once.  

The culture of the community is completely different in Europe in general than it is in the States.  Danes are especially adept at striving for the benefit of the community as a whole.  This is the polar opposite as it is in the States.  In the good ol’ US of A, go ahead and step on the little guy, hey, he might make you one inch taller.  In Denmark, people strive to succeed in their own lives, their own communities without having to be the biggest or the best.  You don’t see anyone driving Hummers over here or buying houses that are fifty times larger than necessary.  Alright, maybe a Hummer would take up one third of their land space so they are trying to conserve, it is a tiny country after all.  

The percentage of unemployment is virtually nothing compared to many other countries.  The last figure I found was 3.8% unemployment (example here), this is after being hard hit by the economic crisis.  But guess what?  Those that are unemployed get state benefits that can actually support you!  What a novel concept?!  Ok, so I get taxed up the a** to support the social system and state benefits but I’m quite happy to fork over my cash to help a “brother” in need.  Somehow, it makes me feel a bit better than my tax dollars going to fight an unjustified war and kill innocent people.  Also, think of all the benefits of keeping the majority of the population out of poverty.  Number one, you don’t get asked for change every five seconds when you are walking down the street but besides that less poverty means less strain on the health care system overall.  It also seems to correlate with a lower birth rate (feel free to look up the statistics between high poverty versus high birth rate populations, you will see what I mean, one example found  here). Specifically, lower birth rate in the “poorer” segment of the community means less people that end up on the social system at the end of the day.  If people feel well taken care of and cared about they will work harder for the society in general.  It is a rare person that says fak you to someone that has helped them generously in the past or is currently supporting them.

As you by now realize, healthcare is a national benefit in Denmark so everyone here has access to free healthcare when they need it.  Due to my tax dollars going to the social system, the society as a whole has free healthcare.  I don’t take advantage of the healthcare system that often at the moment but I’m sure glad it will be there when I get older.  You can bet who will be knocking on the doctor’s office door with their cane whenever necessary!  When I was using private healthcare in the States I actually used to look at my statement and see if I had enough money left in my health savings plan for a free doctor’s visit.  If I didn’t have enough to cover the visit, I just laid back and hoped that I would just get better on my own.  Now I cannot imagine doing that!  My doctor is available for a phone chat everyday between the hours of 8:30-9:30 so if I am feeling a little ill and not sure if I need an appointment, I can call and get an opinion, yes, for free!  So do I want free and uninhibited access to my doctor and or the hospital?  Hell yes I do!  The government is welcome to stand wherever it bloody wants for that kind of service.

Now, if we take a look at it on a more “personal” level, I get 6 weeks holiday from work each year!  That is three times more than I had in the States and it does not include all of the statutory holidays as well as Christmas and Easter holidays.  Most people in Denmark have the same holiday schedule; I believe that it is 5 weeks mandatory vacation given upon being hired by any company.  One step further than giving you holiday, they actually want you to take it!  They believe that people need time to relax, be with their friends and family.  There is that damn sense of community sneaking in again!  The pay scales also seem to be much more reasonable in Denmark, there is not a big gap between employees pay here as you can see in the States.  Everyone is paid according to their position but at least from my perspective it seems that it is fair pay and enough to be a living wage!  How many workers in America work two or three jobs just to make ends meet?  Isn’t this completely ludicrous?  Life is meant to be lived, not worked through!  If you like your job and would rather be working than more power to you, I believe you should be able to do what makes you happy.  At least in Denmark you have the choice, you can have a fulfilling home and work life or balance it however you please.  You might think it couldn’t get better, but hold on to your hats because it does.  There is a mandatory policy that after 6 months of employment workers are required to receive 3 months notice before being fired.  This gives you plenty of time to find a new job and keeps people from living off the social system.  It also helps you to feel like you have some job security.  Wow, I’m speechless, how about you?!

So what does this all boil down to… come on, you guessed it, socialism!  Yes, Denmark is a living and breathing example of how socialism can work!  There are many skeptics but the truth is right in front of your eyes, Denmark is surviving, it’s people are happy (some of the happiest in the world according to studies).   Denmark has a true form of socialism that is actually functioning for the good of the people within society (unlike some other governments that a capitalist might point to in order to get you on his side). So don’t let those conservatives tell you to be scared of socialism, it could end up giving you more opportunity and happiness than any capitalist nation could offer!