$2.61/gal

[Tarmac]

Originally posted by beet1e
Tell me about school funding - you pay $30,000 for each child every year, but what happens when the school needs some major funding - eg, for a new gymnasium? I've heard the Principal has to "hit up" the parents...

I've never heard of that.  If you're talking about colleges and universities, of course they have funding drives - mostly targeting alumni and businesses, as parents are usually not real happy to fork over more $$ on top of tuition.  Public schools (primary and 2ndary) may have funding drives (bake sales and similar BS that obviously aren't much beyond teaching kids how to fund-raise).

But like any other institution, colleges, universities, and gradeschools pay for most their capital investments out of their budgets - usually by taking out loans and paying them back out of their tuition income.

ed: I was paying around $15k a year for in-state (subsidized by the state of Michigan) tuition and housing at a major public university, while an out of state student would have paid around $18k-20k a year (no subsidy).

[NUKE]

We have great prices on almost anything there is : housing, cars, gas, utilities, food, hotel lodgings ( stayed in a suite in CA last night, full kitchen, high speed internet etc, $109.00, in another right now, $129.00)

It's not hard for people that are motivated to make a great living here. I would never want to mess up our way of life and become a high taxed, socialist society.

We also do not depend on anyone for our self defence. We pay for our military, space programs, development ( like the internet itself), we have among the best medical facilities on earth and still pay less taxes and live better than almost any country.

Yeah, we have a good system. Is it the best? I would never say that, just that I love it here and I think it's cat's arse!

[Tarmac]

Originally posted by NUKE
I would never want to mess up our way of life and become a high taxed, socialist society.  

Ahh, but we're already well on our way.  It's up to people who think like you and I to stop it, because the republicrats aren't going to do it.  

Our way of life is already messed up by socialism.

[_Schadenfreude_]

Originally posted by Toad
Yep, to each is own. I had an airplane for a while worth as much as a lot of holiday houses.

But then, I don't blame you for wanting to get out of the UK if you can swing it.

lol I actually like living and working in the UK, I won't retire here but Wimbledon is pretty nice for London, I tried the US for a year after working in Hong Kong - well California which probably isn't a good example of America I suppose and find the UK less of a culture shock than the US was.

It's interesting to see the "no free lunch" argument that was raised, I'd agree, but I'd say low fuel prices are America's free lunch whilst American's would say, free healthcare and education for everyone was ours....

[NUKE]

Originally posted by _Schadenfreude_
lol I actually like living and working in the UK, I won't retire here but Wimbledon is pretty nice for London, I tried the US for a year after working in Hong Kong - well California which probably isn't a good example of America I suppose and find the UK less of a culture shock than the US was.

It's interesting to see the "no free lunch" argument that was raised, I'd agree, but I'd say low fuel prices are America's free lunch whilst American's would say, free healthcare and education for everyone was ours....

You don't have "free" heathcare, lol.

We have almost everthing less expensive over here, plus we fund the most powerful military on earth...all the while paying less tax than you. A lot of the socialist EU countries might be impressed by "free" healthcare, but most could not even defend their nation without outside help.

We have it all in America.

[_Schadenfreude_]

Why are you lot so defensive and so eager to proclaim that your way of life is "better" than anyone else's?

I'm very happy for you but it is a bit like watching 9 year old's argue that McDonald meals are the best in the world and the only thing that's worth eating!!

[Holden McGroin]

If you want to settle for second best, okay..

[NUKE]

Originally posted by _Schadenfreude_
Why are you lot so defensive and so eager to proclaim that your way of life is "better" than anyone else's?

I'm very happy for you but it is a bit like watching 9 year old's argue that McDonald meals are the best in the world and the only thing that's worth eating!!

When exactly did I say my way of life was better than yours?

I will say that my way of life is better protected than yours

[txmx]

Originally posted by GScholz
They won't tell ... they'd hate to give you the opportunity to say "Well I pay only $xxx in tax for that".

We get what we pay for!
Like he said the best medical care in the world.
No long waiting lines for office visits.

And dont even get me started on the dental problems you britts have LOL Geez how do you eat with those thangs LOL.

[txmx]

Originally posted by lada
chmmmm ... Cuba, quantanamo or alcatraz ?

Yeah we gotta have somewhere to keep the trash.

[lada]

Originally posted by NUKE
We have great prices on almost anything there is : housing, cars, gas, utilities, food, hotel lodgings ( stayed in a suite in CA last night, full kitchen, high speed internet etc, $109.00, in another right now, $129.00)

 

Last year i used to stay in some corean hotel at Istambul
there were empty kicken (w/o food i mean) but there was high speed internet, living room, TV, for 8€/night

over here i realy dont know it is somewhere between 25-80€

[lada]

Originally posted by txmx
We get what we pay for!
Like he said the best medical care in the world.
No long waiting lines for office visits.

and what other medical system did you see ?


For example, when i were in hospital at Kermanshash at 20:00
there were no queue and band of great doctors, whitch did know name of our president


here you can find queue on some specialized stations sometimes.
but our medical system is pretty FUBAR

[lada]

Originally posted by NUKE
You don't have "free" heathcare, lol.

We have almost everthing less expensive over here, plus we fund the most powerful military on earth...

Something is called standart health care and its free here (you pay something like 20€ as insurence for it)
If you wanna something way better, here are a lot of private clinics.

So i have no problem with professional health care over here.

We can chose what to use.

Actualy how often and for how long time do you travell abroad ?

Im not quite sure if you have everything most cheap.
I can bet that food is much more cheap over here.

[Holden McGroin]

Originally posted by lada
Something is called standard health care and its free here  

Sorry lada but it ain't free.

Doctors and Nurses need to be paid, drugs need to be purchased, electricity needs to be generated, hospitals need to be built and maintained, etc, etc, etc.

It all costs money.

It either comes out of your pocket directly in a bill, or indirectly in insurance, or indirectly in tax.

Aint nothin free in this world.

[beet1e]

Funny how NUKE is in CA and hasn't noticed how it is progressing towards socialism. Even I have observed that, since the 70s. Wasn't CA a staunch republican state back then? Home to Nixon? And now what is it - Kalifornia, Democrat, and welfare bums.

Schaden - you live in Wimbledon? In the 70s, I spent some years living in Raynes Park - or West Wimbledon as the snobs knew it. One of my friends of that era still lives in the area - New Malden.

Strk - I read somewhere you played trombone? Same here - lol - B-flat tenor, ie without the left thumb job for a virtual 6 on the slide. Would love to get hold of some CDs of big American bands.