The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Marko Kloos:

As another "technical" American, I feel compelled to point out that naturalized citizens are American-by-choice, and that we had to make a conscious decision to embrace and adopt American culture and values.

One could make the case that if any U.S. citizenship status is "technical", it's the one that's bestowed on someone by virtue of place of birth. Natural-born citizens are under no obligation to jump through all the hoops the naturalized citizens do to claim that passport.

(Not that I would want to claim any sort of superiority over my natural-born fellow citizens, but that kind of soft bias against naturalized Americans as second-class citizens kind of ruffles my feathers.)

Speaking as a former Euro-type (Germany), your comparison needs to measure full tax burden, not just income tax vis a vis health care costs: the 15-19% VAT in most EU countries, the gas tax (double the cost for a gallon of gas), much higher vehicle/motor taxes, the "social taxes" mentioned upstream in this comment thread, and lots of little and not-so-little tax bites here and there.

Yes, Germany (and most of Europe) has socialized health care, and more comprehensive entitlement programs than the U.S....but they also have a significantly higher overall tax burden, once you factor in all the ancillary taxes (like double- and triple-taxed gasoline.)

Thanks for the update. This New Hampshire resident is going to send a letter to his governor post haste.

What a gut-wrenching read.

I'm vacillating between sadness over the children who died, pity for the parents who have to live with not only having lost a child, but having caused that death, and profound relief and gratitude that I can do what I do at home, without having to put my two kids in daycare.

That article is an exceptional piece of writing, and a tough piece to read for parents of small children. The fear of losing a child is something that gets permanently installed in your brain the moment you become a parent--part of the welcome package, so to speak. If one of my children died, and I knew I was instrumental in bringing that death about, I think the guilt would be unbearable.

Thanks for sharing this.

In the spirit of multilingual "Get Well" wishes: Gute Besserung, and a Merry Christmas to you both.

The really scary part is that their votes count just as much as yours or mine.

Next you'll tell me Libertarianism isn't a workable philosophy in real life...

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