7 years in... a Socialist Country

And I have some impressions

Evil baby box

Sean Hannity said that socialism would “destroy the economy of this country.” Socialism, according to Rush Limbaugh is one of the greatest “violations of human nature that humanity has ever conceived.” President Trump called socialism a “wrecker of nations and destroyer of societies.” “Socialism . . . will always fail,” wrote Mark J. Perry of the American Enterprise Institute.

Have any of these figures ever lived in a socialist country? I have! I moved from the U.S. to Scotland seven years ago.*

*It’s probably safe to list Scotland, and the greater United Kingdom, as a “socialist” country, at least compared to the U.S. One note about terminology: “Social capitalism,” “democratic socialism,” or “social market economy” might be better terms because “socialism” still conjures images of the failed and undemocratic puppet governments of the USSR. Nevertheless, it appears we Americans are stuck with “socialism” as the primary term to describe a social democracy, but bear in mind, when I use it, I’m using it with a country like Denmark or Scotland in mind, not Cuba, the GDR, or Venezuela.

The opinions of Trump and company filter down to regular folks, such as a friend of a friend of mine who once explained to me (to justify his support of Trump): “I don't like Trump as a person, but considering that the Democratic party has gone so far to the left, and many endorsing Socialism, I feel Trump is the better of the 2 evils.”

So, consider this essay an examination of the evils of socialism.

Evil #1: Universal Health Care

In October 2019, my daughter was born via C-section in the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, where, under the NHS, we didn’t have one bill apart from one non-essential test around the third month of pregnancy that I paid for out of pocket. Apart from that $600 test, my child was born for free. The quality of care was excellent: prenatal classes, five nights in the hospital, and health visitors who came to our flat to check up on the baby, etc. The Scottish government mailed a “baby box” to us, which includes useful items such as clothes, a teething ring, and a changing mat. The box comes with a foam mattress and functions as a crib.

I have been healthy these past seven years, but I did have a brief check-up for something small. It took me about two-to-three days from requesting the appointment to seeing the doctor. I got a free prescription for a pill at the pharmacy. And I’ve received a free eye exam and have scheduled a free dental visit. Last year, I got a free septoplasty, after about 14 months on a waiting list.

My daughter has had three fevers causing her body temperature to rise above 104 degrees. If a temperature reaches that high, an ambulance will be sent to your home. I never had to pay any ambulance bills.

Let’s compare my U.K. experiences to what I would have experienced in the U.S. In the state of NY, a C-section WITH insurance would have cost $12,000. WITHOUT insurance it would have cost $22,000. Check here for your state’s cost of delivering a baby. Under the horribly treated and much maligned Affordable Care Act (which, to be fair, never went far enough), I paid $35 a month for my subsidized NY State health insurance (great!), but this health insurance covers nothing, and I have an in-state deductible of over $7,000, meaning that I will receive no discount on medical bills until I pay over $7,000 in medical bills (not great…).

Evil #2: Maternity Leave

Scotland gave my wife one year of maternity leave. For the first six weeks, she got 90% of her usual income. For the next thirty-three weeks, she got a check for about $200 a week. The final thirteen weeks are unpaid. This is voluntary, of course. She could have chosen to go back to work shortly after the birth.

The U.S. has no federal maternity leave legislation, meaning some moms get no paid leave. The inadequate Family and Medical Leave Act gives mothers twelve weeks of unpaid maternity leave. But this is only given to mothers who work for companies that have more than fifty employees and who’ve worked for the company for 1,250 hours and a full year. Some states, like New York, have their own maternity leave laws. New York, which has one of the more generous systems, offers ten weeks of family leave, granting a parent 60% of their usual pay.

Scotland’s maternity leave system is actually pretty weak when compared to other European countries. Estonia, for instance, offers eighty-four weeks of maternity leave with full pay. In Germany, a mother can be on family leave and hold her job position for three years (though she won’t be receiving full pay for those three years).

Evil #3: Early Education

Scotland increased the amount of free early education for three and four year olds from 600 hours to 1,140 hours a year (or about thirty hours a week during the school year). National U.K. policies provide early education (from age three up until proper school age) to 73% of U.K. children. That’s low when compared to countries like Sweden, Iceland, Spain, and Belgium where virtually all young kids are given free early education.

ECEC = Early Childhood Education and Care

Only a couple of U.S. states like Florida and Oklahoma have universal Pre-K education. Research on Pre-K education has shown that kids enrolled in Pre-K experience, later in life, fewer arrests, fewer substance abuse problems, better graduation rates, and are more likely to attend and complete college.

Evil #4: Child Benefit Assistance

Parents in the U.K. get about $30 a week to help with new costs, like nappies, food, whatever. You’re given about $20 for each additional child. My brothers- and sisters-in-law in Germany get $270 per child a month. (A parent of four kids in Germany would bring in more than $1,000 a month just from these child payments.)

To my knowledge, no such program exists in the U.S., but there is a U.S. tax benefit for taxpayers with dependent children.

Evil #5: Free college tuition

If my daughter attends a Scottish university, then she won’t have to pay any undergraduate tuition. The situation isn’t perfect. Students still have to pay for living costs. Denmark, according to this 2015 article, provides free tuition AND $900 a month to students to cover living costs. In Germany, education is free and interest-free loans are given to low-income people. They do not have to pay their debts until they begin earning a reasonable sum.

In the U.S., data shows that the average federal student debt is about $38,000. I had to pay $35,000 in student debt for my American education.

I am presently a part-time Master’s student in Scotland. I pay a yearly tuition of about $3,000. If I take out loans (and I very well might next year), I won’t have to pay them back until I reach a yearly income threshold of £31,395 or about $37,000.

Evil #6: Senior benefits

At age sixty, Scots get free bus passes, which is a bigger perk than you may realize, given how much more people in the U.K. rely on public transport compared to Americans. Pension benefits begin at age sixty-six, when you’ll receive $175 a week, though that amount can vary depending on your contributions.

Evil #7: Paid Leave

U.K. workers get 5.6 weeks of paid leave a year. In the U.S., there is no national law guaranteeing paid vacation or paid holidays to workers. Some U.S. companies offer paid leave, of course, but how many days depends entirely on the company. U.S. companies will, on average, provide twenty paid vacation days to people who’ve worked for the company for twenty years. For people starting their new job, it’s ten days.

Evil #8: The Right to Roam

Roaming in Scotland

The right to roam isn’t necessarily a socialist policy, but socialist countries tend to generously open up the country for public recreation. Scotland, in 2003, passed the Land Reform (Scotland) Act, which opened up virtually all Scottish lands and waters (including private lands and waters) for responsible recreation. Countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Finland have equivalent systems. Countries like Germany provide access to woods and around agricultural fields, though camping is not permitted everywhere. I use this evil all the time.

Evil #9: Manageable cell phone and broadband costs

One of the things that drives me nuts about the U.S. is how there are no truly useful budget mobile data plans. In the U.S., I paid about $50 a month for 10GB at T-Mobile. In the U.K., I pay $25 a month for 10GB with O2. Click here to look up countries ranked by cost of mobile data.

As for broadband, I pay $25 a month in the U.K. In the U.S., the average broadband cost appears to be closer to $65 a month.

Evil #10: State-owned industry

One thing conservatives love to do is discredit state-owned industry by pointing to failed states like Venezuela. Fair enough, but they conveniently leave out Norway, which took ownership of the oil and gas industry decades ago. Revenue from the industry goes into a $1.8 trillion wealth fund that supports welfare projects. This may sound too radical for Americans, but the conservative state of Alaska has a similar policy for its oil and gas industry. Every year, every Alaskan gets a dividend ranging from $1,000 to $2,000.

Evil #11: Reasonable taxes

None of the above benefits are free. They’re paid for by taxes. You might assume your tax bills would be devastatingly high with all these generous programs (and they can be high for the well-off), but they’re quite manageable for the average earner. For someone who earns around or beneath $40,000, like myself, you might pay a Scottish income tax rate of 21%. In the U.S., it’d be 22%. In other words, I’d pay more in the U.S. It must be said that if you’re a Scot who earns more than $57,000, then you would pay higher taxes compared to an American at that same income level.

U.S. income tax bracket

Scottish income tax rates

Paid subscribers get to see Evil #12, honorable mentions, plus what I’ve been reading, watching, and consuming… Plus, I’m leaking news about who will be my next two very exciting podcast guests.