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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DarkKestral" data-source="post: 4184022" data-attributes="member: 40100">Jurgen: those flags involved in digging, the utilities DO keep maps. The problem is simply that the stuff underground occasionally moves, so the maps aren't always correct. the actual pipes and lines can be a meter or two off from where the lines are expected to be, so they come out and find the actual location after consulting the map.And sadly, yeah, we don't have centralized health care. That's probably likely to change sooner or later; a major part of the presidential race has involved candidates stating their positions on how to create a national health care system that rewards preventative care properly while also paying for emergency care appropriately. However, the pharma companies complain that under such a regime, they'd be forced to go under as apparently "Europeans don't pay enough to account for the companies' R&D costs." (Am I correct in my guess Germany has capped prices on pharmaceuticals?) This may or may not be true, but they're MAJOR lobbyists, and they seem to promise cushy jobs to any ex-Congress critter if they're willing to go back as a lobbyist. So they have some significant power. Frankly, if it was an issue, I'd expect their profits to be lower, but eh..</blockquote>