Small addition: The german health care cost can rise up to about 400€ if you earn significantly more.

Also, half of the total cost of health care fees have to be paid by the employer (i.e. €185 employee + €185 employer = €370) - and there's no legal way an employer can choose to avoid paying for his employees health care costs.

According to wikipedia, in 2005 the median (not average) annual personal income for those over the age of 18 was $25,149. For those over the age of 25, it was $32,140. 

As for taxes, they vary widely based on both income level and place of residence. For federal income tax, the tax rate increases with income. The first $7,550 is taxed at 10%, the next $23,100 is taxed at 15%, etc. all the way up to 35%. There are also a lot of tax credits and deductions that make some or all of your income non-taxable, and which ones apply vary widely from person to person. Many states also have their own income tax, and some towns and cities tax income as well. I don't know what it's like in Germany, but there's no way to look at a number for US income and say, "This is how much they would have to pay in income taxes." You would need to know where they live, and also know their taxable income for each tax in order to determine that. It's a stupid and horribly complicated system, I know.

In addition to income tax, there is also Social Security tax (12.4%, $13,243.20 maximum) and Medicare tax (2.9%). Both of those are half paid by the employer. I should point out that Medicare only covers seniors aged 65 years or older, and usually doesn't cover any of the people paying for it.

The federal government also collects unemployment tax of 1.2% on the first $7,000 of income. Some states collect additional unemployment tax as well. My state charges just over 4% on the first $8,500 for new businesses, and the rate changes depending on the ratio of money paid in to the system versus money taken out by business' ex-employees.

My state also mandates that all non-state employees have disability insurance, and the cost gets taken out of your paycheck. I don't know the rate off-hand but it's not large.

So... At the median income of $32,140, assuming it's all taxable (which it won't be), and assuming they live in Florida or some other place with no state or local income tax, you get:

Income: $32,140.00 ($2,678.33/mo)

Federal Income Tax: $4592.50

State Income Tax: (varies by state, some don't tax income)

Social Security (FICA): 1,992.68

Medicare: $466.03

Net Income: $25,088.79 ($2,090.73/mo)

This is without any health coverage. That has to be paid for out of the remaining income, and keep in mind that average incomes and the cost of living varies widely within the US. A quick Google search shows that the cheapest you can rent a studio apartment in Manhattan is $1300, while in my area it may cost half that. Comparing income levels between two places isn't that useful if they have a large difference in the cost of living.

Now, I'm currently looking for health insurance, so I have some rates handy. This is for plans offered by a healthcare co-op that leverages the buying power of a large number of small businesses to negotiate lower rates (much like one of Obama's recent proposals suggested) and is located in the state of New York, which I'm told is rather more restrictive towards insurers. (i.e. It's illegal to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, among other things.)

For a single person, rates range from $245 to $425 per month. The ones I'm looking at are priced near the middle.

For a family of three or more, it goes from $680 to $1100 per month.

I'm assuming the numbers you gave for Germany are for an individual. If so, that means German public health care costs about the same as the cheapest private plan available to me in the US. (which gives only basic health coverage plus generic-only prescription drug coverage.)

Germany, 2006.  Hilarious, really.  The doctors went on strike in 2006, anyone remember that?  Oh right, 15,000 doctors on strike didn't rate the big three's news...  They also had a bunch of hospitals facing bankruptcy, like a third of them.

Find a place that actually pays for health care, and get facts on them.  Picking the fastest downward spiral in the western world isn't good for a comparison.

@psychoak

Thank you for trying to derail this thread. Your opinion is important to me. Please create a new thread with the topic you wish to talk about and invite me to it.

@Jalicos

Thank you for your numbers. I admit I don't have an idea on how large  income/tax/insurance varies between different states but it's interesting to see any numbers from a foreign country.

I didn't mention apartment rent because they vary too much to be comparable. And I imagine that a perceived decent apartment size is quite different when comparing countries like Germany, USA and Japan.

But judging from your number, your personal health care costs correlate with the national health care costs in relation to other industrialized countries - about twice as high. Expensive, but at least it seems affordable for the "average" american.

One more thing: In case a german loses his job, social security comes in and pays for the public health insurance fees (amongst other things). I think it's the same in france and britain, but I have no first hand information about that.

He was born April 2nd -- one day too late.

I'm just guessing, but your real initials are a.k.?

Just a note.......Wikipedia, while useful is by no means official or verified. I would look for better sources.

We don't need to - we already know it.

Australia

Population 21,885,016

GDP 1,010 Billion

Per capita 47,400

Average Income A$4906 per month

Tax deductibles 

Income Tax A$960

Medicare Levy A$74 (1.5%, If your yearly income is <21,000 you don't pay)

Surcharge A$49 , An additional levy of 1% is imposed on high income earners without private health insurance

Income A$3823 or US$3058 est (around the 80 cents mark at the moment)

The Australian Government spends around 8.5% of GDP on health.

They spend very little on health care in the Sudan. Perhaps we should emulate them...

CNN has an ongoing series on specific details in the evening news lately (probably devised from this)... stay tuned, the propaganda machines are on the loose.

You could even pull exact & categorized figures from this interactive data search engine by WHO.

Sudan? I thought that's why the US invaded Iraq, to emulate their health care system.

You have to admit Saddam's regime worked. They systematically eliminated all their sick people - health care issue solved!

I hear, though, that if the UN Development Programme has it's way, they'll end up paying a lot more. Who says global socialism is dead?

I would have recommended Cuba, to be honest. They have the highest life expectancy to healthcare spending ratio of any nation.

You should also do Canada's