Maybe a welfare state isn't so bad after all....

The New York Times Magazine discusses how the Netherlands moves beyond universal health care to provide early life support, safe housing, and family-friendly policies. Apparently living in a so-called "welfare state" is not be so bad! Read the article to learn more about how the Dutch government works with other institutions to promote health, and whether or not such policies could be incorporated in the United States.

"[There is] something that seems to be overlooked when Americans dismiss European-style social-welfare systems: they are not necessarily state-run or state-financed. Rather, these societies have chosen to combine the various entities that play a role in social well-being — individuals, corporations, government, nongovernmental entities like unions and churches — in different ways, in an effort to balance individual freedom and overall social security." One Dutchman noted: "My American friends say they live in the best country in the world, and in a lot of ways they are right. But they always have to worry: ‘What happens to my family if I have a heart attack? What happens when I turn 65 or 70?’ America is the land of the free. But I think we are freer.”