Sweden Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom

Alison Gerber is an American woman living in Sweden and she went on a must-read Twitter rant describing what it is like to live in the highly taxed, ‘socialist nanny-state hellscape of the GOP’s fantasies.’ Frankly, it sounds amazing. From top-notch medical care to low-cost pre-schools, here is the thread:

x I don't worry that a minor accident, illness, or other bump in the road will derail my family's future or mean that we lose everything. We have excellent health care and social insurance, and the state steps up when we are in a crisis. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x The local hospital in MalmÃÂ¶ took a couple of hours to get me through intake, doctors, x-rays, and diagnosis. They sent me home with a soft cast and instructions to come back for a hard cast in two weeks or so. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x Their goal is to provide the aids necessary "to independently, or with help, meet basic personal needs and perform daily activities.". In my case, this meant that they installed a seat in my shower and fitted me out with a wheelchair. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x They gave me a crazy grabber stick thing so I could get things from the comfort of my sofa, and pimped the crutches we'd gotten from the doctor with reflectors and soft grips. All of this was free. They gave me their numbers so I could call if I needed anything else. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x (after scolding me for not calling earlier and for trying to work, which she found ridiculous). I was unpaid for one mysterious "karensdag", then received the standard 80% of my salary as long as I was out sick - plus a bump up to 90%, since i was employed by the state. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x Later I got the hard cast, got the cast removed, got more x rays, then started physical therapy with an amazing PT that I chose from the many options in town. Money was never a part of my decision making. You do pay a small amount to see a doctor here, up to about $50, Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x About a year after the accident the zipline place's insurance company sent me some money - about $1000 - intended to cover any costs I might have had : new shoes with better support, a couple of taxi rides, etc - this because they had filled out a form when the accident happened. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x We chose to have our kid at an extremely hippy dippy hospital about an hour away from where we lived; it was the home of Swedish Midwifery. The main differences were, as far as we could tell, that a) it was not a big deal to get vegan meals and b) Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x An ultrasound had suggested our kid might have something up with his kidneys, so he saw a doctor earlier than most; on day 3 they took him for a lil' scan. Everything was fine. We stayed for "only" 3 days with the cable TV and vegan food deliveries, then headed home. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x I have a meeting to go to. More on the costs of kids, transit, and other parts of my life that are different in this dark hellscape when I get back. Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x What that meant for us was, more or less, we split child care 50/50 that first year. One of us was always with the kid while the other one was working. When you were "staying home" with the kid, you were never really stuck at home: Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x where parents could bring their pre-preschool-aged kids to a giant very well stocked playroom and hang out. There were rooms full of toys and full-time professional pedagogically-trained staff to play with the kids, but you didn't drop them off: Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x and was a place to meet friends, make friends, give your kid some time with other kids, give yourself a break. Most of the parents there were pretty chill. You can't put your kid in public child care till one year of age, so it's assumed that everyone will take at least Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x We were assigned to a preschool in the building next door to ours, and we didn't love it. We thought it was a bit too dark and that they didn't spend enough time outdoors, and we liked some of the teachers a lot but weren't in love with some others. It was full-time care, with Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

x the reputations of all the preschools within walking distance of our place (and yes, this was an incredibly frustrating process, since officially all of the preschools are of exactly the same quality and have exactly the same amenities and procedures etc etc... Ã¢ÂÂ Alison Gerber (@alisonkgerber) December 20, 2017

All while Americans are stuck with a conservative government, elected by a minority, hellbent on cutting any and all services that help people, all so a handful of the most extremely wealthy among us can have even more. What are we doing?