I was surprised to learn how much the government provides and supports the citizens of France. The 80% coverage and 20% coverage for the population and farmers, respectively, was very interesting to learn about as well because it is not the case in the United States. Over the past decade I would say, the citizens of America have struggled to find a universal health care plan that allowed those who had low income to be a part of their human rights. Therefore, I was shocked and refreshed to hear that more than half of the French population has access to proper health care.
It also shocked me to know how much less doctors in France make than doctors back home in the United States. I guess it makes sense that since doctors in the United States must go through so many years of education and testing that they would be compensated accordingly. Though it may seem like anyone would like to have this country-wide healthcare system, I am not so sure I would want it simply because of my knowledge of the superior medical services in the United States. It gives me comfort that the doctors I am trusting with my life have been put through the wringer to know everything there is to know about medicine. Something about seeing a doctor that only had to take a free test to become a doctor does not sit right with me if I had a life or death situation.
In United States there is technically no age that you must retire at, whereas in France you must retire at the age of 70 if you are employee. I do not necessarily agree with this system because I think it should be up the individual’s own volition as to when to retire. I believe in having control of your own life, not having the government control it. The United States has the same retirement system in the sense that the current working population contributes money through taxes to those who are already retired, not for themselves. I see a problem with this though because there is an aging population and I honestly do not think that there will be anyone for my generation to rely on for social security. Who is going to provide for me when I’m old, cannot work, and broke? Who knows, but it will be interesting to see if the pension and social security system will alter with any political power changes.
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