Comment on Cheryl's Daily Diatribe, from Friday, July 12, 2002:

The so called "dangers of Socialism" are evident in one example. As a citizen of Sweden, making an average of 2,300 dollars a month, I give away 31% of my salary in taxes. 31 PERCENT! That's outrageous! We in America, we don't want to pay taxes! (Please note that the average income of all Swedes is at about $1823 a month, $21,876 a year.

Helen Highwater wrote in a column on the 26th of March that her husband suffers from an ulcer.

Helen lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where the average household reported income of $49,495, before taxes, and was comprised of 2 wage earners. That translates into an annual income of roughly $24,750, or $2062.50 a month per person. That puts the average income of a person in Kansas City not very far from were I am. (Although 234 dollars is VERY much, remember that the average household numbers are often inflated by a very large group of people making much money, thereby eliminating the huge differences between low income earners and high income earners. I know a lot of people who laugh at those numbers saying they are grossly overstated).

Anyway, in Missouri income tax brackets range from 1.5% to 6.0%, but that's just the state of Missouri's income taxes. The US government also has taxes on incomes, much higher taxes, with Social Security and other payroll taxes leaving many Americans with perhaps 60% of their earnings as "take home pay," after taxes. Meanwhile the state of Missouri levies an additional 8-9% tax every time anyone in the state buys anything, plus an extra bite when anyone buys booze, gasoline, cigarettes ... In the end I doubt many working Americans, even those with low income, keep half what they earn, but it would take hours or days of research to quantify everything and come up with an accurate number.

Let's just say, Harry and Helen presumably pay a lot of taxes, yet that money doesn't cover very much. As Helen stated in an update to the aforementioned article:

"Well, we received the bill from the emergency room yesterday (4/8). It's about three times the highest figure we could imagine. For an hour and a half in the ER, most of that time spent waiting, we owe $3,300. That's just what we owe the hospital; the bill's small print informs us that any "physicians, anesthesiologists, pathologists, cardiologists, and radiologists will bill separately for their services," which is certainly nice to know. "

That's 3,300 dollars, for an ER visit. It's interesting to note that the very same visit in a Swedish ER would've cost you ... hang on now ... 22 dollars. That's right. 22 dollars.

Had you been forced to stay in the hospital with the lowest form of health insurance (which in Sweden translates to about 17 dollars a month) you might have been eligible to pay anywhere from 120 dollars to 200 dollars, which you can pay of monthly anywhere from 7 months to the maximum 16 months. Say you are made to pay 200 dollars over a period of 16 months, that translates to 12.5 dollars a months. How's that for affordable, huh?

In Sweden we have a "roof" for how much we pay for medicine. Most medicines are heavily rebated, and you only pay up to the amount of 126 dollars for a 12 month period. When you have paid 126 dollars, you get 95% of all medicines for free. There are some medicines that are only covered to a certain degree of the costs. I think its 94% to 98% depending on were in Sweden you live.

This is just one example of where my Swedish taxes go, while US taxes are buying bombs for Afghanistan.

Let's go through a quick recap of other evil socialist thingies. A dental appointment costs 23 dollars, with extra costs ranging from 45 to 60 dollars if you need some fixing. Every student who goes to school receives a monthly grant of 75 dollars, called child-care subsidiary, until they graduate from school at 18 years old. This grant is not paid out during July and August when all schools are closed for holidays. This subsidiary is given to ALL students, no matter what income bracket their parents belong to.

So, I guess that's what taxes does for you, huh! And you thought you had it good ...

Good evening folks.

I've just spent more than a week in your lovely country. What's that you say? A European who likes your country? For those who keep in touch with foreign media might feel a bit depressed right now. It seems that everyone hates you, the American people right now.

Asia hates your guts, Africa hates your guts, Imperialism-partners-in crime Europe hates your guts. Well guess what, we don't "hate" YOUR guts. No no no no! Its that damn military Junta that's trying to wreck everything you've built. Although there's been wrongdoings by your governments in the past, you must all be aware (and proud) of the fact that many many American things have been a blessing for humanity. (Although the jury is still out on Pop-Tarts and Michael Bolton)

You mustn't forget that the continent I come from, Europe is a very bad continent as well. As is yours, our economy is also built on slavery and cheap Asian labour. People tend to forget that the British came up with the concept of colonialism and imperialism. You guys just followed suit.

By You guys I mean the government of course. That's the problem I've been having recently. All the journalists (and I use that term loosely) have this fixation with America these days. Its all about how bad and evil the American Bush-junta is right now, (The word Junta is just my description, of course they don't use that term) But its seems like domestic coverage these days Is out the window.

I wanna know about the GATS treaty.

The sale of illegal chemicals by Britain to Syria and other "Rouge states" (doesn't it all sound like bad B-movie slang?). The rise of the extremist right in Europe (I don't know if you remember, but the collective shame of Europe is the fact that we either allied with Hitler, or we knew but didn't oppose him.)

Herein lies one of my problems, and these are just my views. When will you, the American citizen realize that there is a world outside America? The world doesn't end in Florida or New Orleans. There's a whole other world outside your borders. And we're just as Americanized as you are!

We've got Burger Kings, Starbucks, Jack In The Box's, Subways, Blockbuster Videos, Seinfeld reruns, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Hershey Bars, Skittles, Slipknot, Britney Spears, GAP, Nike Towns and about a billion other American entities in our society. I guess that's one aspect of that whole globalization thing. The goal of only having to create one ad-campaign, and then letting it runs itself to death all over the world. Yes, we are very similar to yourselves. Of course we are different, like every country is different to each other, but for christ sake (if that's what you believe in) 75-80% of the worlds population speak English.

And no, all Swedes aren't named Sven and Inga. Our grandparents were named Sven and definitely not Inga, but not anymore. Inga is Austrian by the way.

So the next time you laugh at a crazy Swedish blond named Inga, get angry at the fact that the television networks think you are stupid, and make some god damn noise! Call your local branch of CBS and complain to them: Shout and say that you are not as stupid as they think you are. Its simple: Make some god damn noise!

Problem number two: Were is the social commitment of you guys? You, the everyday people, the cornerstone of a well working democracy, seem to be content and happy with your everyday lives. You don't want to stand out in a crowd for fear of the social repercussions. And this isn't just some post-September 11th syndrome. No, this has been going on for much too long. The last 10 years it just stopped!

Until recently that is.

During my last visit in New York I realized that I had been too overconfident in my assessment of the social commitment of the American people. Something's happening. People are handing out pamphlets, people are speaking out against the injustices, people are protesting mayor Bloomberg's rise to power solely through the money-ladder. There are marches against the Bush-Junta, against corporate greed etc etc. The change in attitudes are startling. In just a few months its gone from zero to 100mph...and Its steadily climbing.

Somethings really cooking in the land of the free.

And are you like me? Do you have that feeling that something glorious is about to happen? The voice of the people is slipping through the cracks. You can't take it no more. Maybe its the realization of the fact that the current regime isn't working in your best interests. They are truly only for themselves and the big corporations.

And the outright lies about their knowledge of September 11th, the blocking of any kind of investigation into the matter, their squeezing of the media, the abolishment of human rights, the war for oil in Afghanistan and Iraq (more on that later), the rigged election etc etc. The people are upset. Hopefully enough of you, who don't already, will create the change that so many of you yearn for. I'm rooting for you.

Yours sincerely, Frank.