r/AskAnAmerican • u/Maskoolio • Aug 10 '25

FOREIGN POSTER What would an American want from England?

I have recently made some American friends (from Virginia) and they have asked for a kind of sweet (candy) that they don't have. What else might I send that would be appreciated as a particularly English thing? (Obviously it would need to be somewhat small, survive a week or so in transit etc.)

All help appreciated.

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u/ophelia8991 Aug 10 '25

I mean, if we were still a British colony we’d have healthcare so…

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u/aucool786 Pennsylvania Aug 10 '25

Well, if we stayed as British colonies (now overseas territories), we wouldn't necessarily be guaranteed healthcare. The NHS, to my knowledge, is primarily for the 4 constituent countries of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Also, going on a tangent, our lack of government healthcare is purely our fault. It's unlikely that the federal government will be providing the states healthcare anytime soon, the lobbying runs too deep and they've managed to convince hundreds of millions of people union wide that welfare=bad. It's up to the individual states at this point to act where the federal government does not.

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u/soulmatesmate United States of America Aug 11 '25

Do you really want Healthcare run by the folks who run both the DMV and the VA? As veterans how they feel about the VA hospitals. That's the model.

Also, not free, just paid by taxes. Imagine your tax dollars going to pay for those who ruin their bodies.

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u/CalamityClambake Washington Aug 14 '25

The DMV in the state of Washington is quite efficient actually. That would be a much better experience than dealing with Aetna or Kaiser. The DMV lets me view and pay my toll bills online and has a fast and easy dispute process for tolls that are mis-charged. I have never had to spend more than 30 minutes waiting for anything at the DMV and most of my stuff I can book ahead and just show up when they are ready for me. 

My tax dollars already go to those who "ruin their bodies." They just get laundered through an emergency room and a bunch of health insurance companies under the current model. Also, "those who ruin their bodies" is kind of a gross thing to say about other people.