Just because you add "durrrr" to things doesn't make them false or true. Guns ARE scary. There are way more massacres because of them (we used to have as many massacres as the US, then after Port Arthur in 1996 our prime minister brought in tougher gun laws and we have had none since) and police are cornered into being brutal because of the large risk anyone they interact with could have a gun and would feel to qualms about shooting them. I used to think maybe there was something wrong with all American policemen or maybe the system was bad somehow, every time I saw on the news that yet another American policeman shoot an innocent bystander. But someone pointed out what it is like from a policeman's point of view and now I sympathise.
Having no public system to fall back on is awful. If you can't afford health insurance, you could die from a treatable illness. Not to mention, there is very little regulation so hospitals and drug manufacturers can charge what they like. Here, we have a system called the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Certain drugs are placed on it (ones that have proven to be very effective and safe, and needed by a large number of people) and it means that people can buy them at a capped price with the government paying the remainder. This way everyone has access to life saving medication no matter what their circumstances. The government negotiates prices so the drug companies can't charge too much, if they want their drug on the Scheme (which they do, because then you get an insane number of sales). In the US, the government lacks that buying power - it can tell drug companies that they would like them to only charge a certain amount but they would just laugh. Very few people have access to the US' equivalent (Medicare drug benefit D), only the disabled and elderly, and even then they have to pay for it. So the government has no power to stop them charging ludicrous amounts of money for stuff people need to stay alive. In fact, the government doesn't even negotiate with them as a whole, it makes each insurance company providing the Medicare benefit D negotiate with the drug companies individually. And how do you think a little company facing a massive drug conglomeration is going to fare? Quite badly - therefore very expensive drugs. Capitalism doesn't work with medicine - how much is your life worth? You can't just choose not to buy it because it is too expensive. Capitalism works when people can choose not to buy your stuff if you charge too much, so you are forced to charge less if you want sales. But medicine can be "worth" infinity $ since we are talking about your life.
In terms of hospitals, here, there is a set benefit paid per item number. Hospitals can charge more if they wish, but people can always choose a public hospital that only charges the set benefit (so free for the patient) or their insurance provider can direct them to go to a private hospital that charges a lower amount over. This keeps hospital prices at an acceptable level, plus someone who can't afford any insurance can still be treated, they might just have to go on a waiting list or be in a large shared room. In the US, with no free services for people to fall back on, hospitals can charge what they want because the alternative is death.
Minimum wage being low should concern everyone. Not just because those working full time on minimum wage would be living in abject misery (have some compassion for your fellow countrymen!) but also because they can't afford to be spending much which makes businesses suffer. It is a bit of a vicious cycle - you reduce prices (in a business that low income earners tend to spend at, say fast food or a grocery store), and pay your staff less, and they in turn have less disposable income and spend less in your shops. Increasing the minimum wage (very slowly and gently) would mean more business for those stores and they could afford those wages without losing money overall. If they can be clever about it they can even benefit from the increased spending power of the poor without their wage bill going up too much - and profit from the whole thing. It would also increase pressure on the higher paid workers - not the rich ones but the ones just below middle class), because they would complain about getting minimum wage and would want to still be a little above the ones really at the bottom. This would push the middle class up a tiny bit, and then people above them would hardly move at all, then the slightly rich would probably not move, with the actual rich not really noticing the whole affair. It benefits everyone, not just the actual poor who are getting a massive boost to their pay packet.
Saturday dude. 
JM 
