I'm not someone who has a naïve utopian view of other countries in the group we're usually lumped in with (Yurp, Canada, etc...). They all have their problems. But I think it's fair to say one thing we absolutely win at, hands down, is the degree to which people are one calamity away from destitution, or at least from a hole that can never be climbed out of. It isn't the only reason, but our health care system - and the fact that health care providers have license to write down random 7 figure numbers on a bill and shove it into your pocket while you're in a coma - is enough of a reason for this to be true.
