I think the parent point is that democracy is an illusion in that only few people have any real power, and the masses choosing government representatives is very different from the masses choosing policy.

Did the population at large want National Health, sanitation, vaccination and the EPA? Or did a small group of people in government decide that was best for everyone. I suspect the latter, especially when looking at the National Health system that doesn’t seem to help as well as other systems. You’re right it’s not all “the feels”, but a lot is about making the population feel like they are looked after without doing much to actually look out for their best interests.

> Did the population at large want National Health, sanitation, vaccination and the EPA?

Yes. Literally every one of those was very popular when it was passed. The National Health in particular continues to be popular.

The EPA was passed under Nixon and he did not veto it because the feeling that the need for it was so widespread that he didn't dare.

I’m not saying they weren’t popular, but that if you had actually implemented what the public wanted then you would have ended up with universal healthcare.

Same with the EPA. It’s an improvement, so people like it, but it’s not what people actually want.