It’s a consistent complaint that those wondrous social democracies over in Europe get so much more from government, so why can’t we here in the U.S.? Some advocating this are even willing to make the (true) point that to get so much more from government, we’ll all have to pay so much more, as they do, in taxes.

Well, as long as people are willing to point out both sides of this, that we can only get “free” healthcare and college if we pay for it, then that’s fine. It becomes an argument over what is either efficient or fair as a method of delivering those things which we know we’re going to have, healthcare and college.