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> Germany’s grossly unequal distribution of wealth is an underappreciated cause of this malaise: The top 10% of households have at least €725,000 ($793,000) of net assets and control more than half of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 40% of households have at most €44,000 of net assets, according to a Bundesbank survey in 2021.1

I'm sure the USA can beat these numbers.




Average USA household has $100k+ of consumer debt (both "good" and "bad" debt; e.g. mortgage vs doomspending, respectively?).

This includes medical debt (#1 reason for bankruptcy) and student loands, which are considered consumer PRODUCTs (somehow?).

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"What are you, a COMMUNISS?!" [1]

"¡¡¡juSt WoRK harDeR!¡¡" [2]

"It just sounds like whining to everybody else!" [3]

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All "thoughtful" quotes from my Silent Generation (pre-WWII) nana.

[1]: Nana, in response to discussing Single Payer Healthcare

[2]: Nana, after rennovating one of her properties at 50+ billed hours/week

[3]: Nana, responding to only 16% of homes being affordable to median income

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>Most "Americans think of themselves as temporarily-impoverished millionaires"

—John Steinbeck (?)


>This includes medical debt (#1 reason for bankruptcy), which is considered a consumer PRODUCT.

Only 4% of US bankruptcies are because of medical bills <https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/0...>. A tipoff that [insert large percentage here] of bankruptcies aren't actually because of medical costs is that only 6% of bankruptcies by those without health insurance are because of that cause. The biggest cause of bankruptcies is lack of income, which health insurance doesn't affect.


>The Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 41% of U.S. citizens carry some sort of medical debt, and 24% were considering bankruptcy to solve a medical debt issue.

You're correct my phrasing of "large percentages" wasn't correct; instead, what I meant to have said was that health issues in USA are largest single contributing issue affecting bankruptcy within our country.

I'm not trying to smear shit — I dropped out of medical school fifteen+ years ago and haven't myself had health insurance for the majority of my adulthood [decades+]. If I had a family, I would approach my insurance needs differently... but I just choose to opt-out (knowing this is not good for healthcare management, long-term).

So yes, technically you're correct to say that "The biggest cause of bankruptcies is lack of income." The best kind of correct [technical, misunderstanding the premise].


What about injuries and deaths due to avoidance of medical service as there is a cost associated with it that may not be coverable?


See my similar situation, in sibling_comment.

tl;dr: I don't pay for US health insurance, and didn't even when I briefly attended a US medical school [the system is broken... always has been..!].




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