Some information about "socialism" in Germany

So recently a lot of people have said that Bernie Sanders comparing the system in the US to countries like Denmark or Norway is problematic, because the US has over 300 million people and those countries have fewer than 6 million. As a German I couldn't help but wonder why nobody pointed out that our country has 82 million people, which is of course still not even close to the US population but as close as a European country can get (as we are the most populous.) Anyways, here is some information about how things work in Germany, I hope you are interested. I will provide sources, but of course they are in German, so I guess you'll have to trust me :)

DISCLAIMER: Most of this is based on my personal experience and research. If you see things that are wrong, please tell me, so I can correct them. This is NOT meant as criticism of the US or any other country, nor is it meant as propaganda for Germany. There are many of things that are better in other countries (we STILL do not have gay marriage or adoption rights for instance), I merely wanted to give you guys a bit of information about some of the things that people have talked about in recent months, especially in the wake of Bernie Sanders' bid for the Democratic nomination.

Well, I go to a public University in Germany. I pay ca. 250€ a Semester.
For this money I get:
- The ability to attend classes and earn my degree (obviously)
- A ticket for all forms of public transportation in my area (which would be a lot more expensive otherwise, this alone is worth the cost)
- My student ID which allows me to get many discounts (cinema, library, museums etc.)
- I do NOT get my textbooks for this money!

Source: http://www.hochschulkompass.de/studium/studienbeitraege-studienfinanzierung/semesterbeitrag-studienbeitrag.html

- There is a program in Germany called "BAföG", which is short for "Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz" (yes, I know, the Germans and their long words), this roughly translates to "Federal law for the support of education"
- This is a monthly loan from the state, which you have to pay back in monthly rates, beginning five years after you complete your education (or dropped out)
- Depending on how much money your parents are able to provide you, how much money you have in trustfunds, how much you earn from your job and whether you still live at home you can receive up to 670€ a month
- You only have to pay back HALF of what you received and there is no interest
- No matter how much you received, you will not have to pay more than 10.000€
- This loan is NOT indefinite. If you fail too many courses or drop out and start over with a new subject, the state will deny you BAföG

Source: https://www.bafög.de

- There are two kinds of health insurance in Germany, private and public
- I don't know much about the private kind, as none of my family or friends are privately insured
- Depending on your job, income and age, you pay a monthly fee to your insurance
- As I am a university student, I pay around 80€ a month
- Someone who earns 1200€ would pay ca. 100€, someone who earns 5000€ would pay ca. 350€ and so on
- If you're under the age of 25, you are automatically insured through your parents
- For this money you get everything EXCEPT some dental work, most prescrition drugs (which are much cheaper here) and cosmetic surgery

Source: https://www.krankenkassen.de/gesetzliche-krankenkassen/krankenkasse-beitrag/

- If you are out of work (or unable to work for reasons of health), the state gives you money each month
How much money you receive depends on multiple factors:
- How long you have been unemployed
- Whether or not you decline job offers while unemployed (the state will periodically decrease how much you get if you do this)
- However, no matter how many offers you decline, the state will always pay your rent (as long as you don't live in a ridiculously expensive house/apartment) and your gas/energy/water bills
- No matter how many offers you decline, you will not receive less than 300€ a month to live (in addition to your rent/other bills)
- IMPORTANT: I am not completely sure on this point (I have never been unemployed), as there are many factors that go into calculating how much money you receive (Whether you have children and how many, how long you worked before being unemployed, whether you have a disability which does not allow you to work etc.)

Source: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/web/content/DE/BuergerinnenUndBuerger/Arbeitslosigkeit/Arbeitslosengeld/Detail/index.htm?dfC