In countries with Socialized Medicine, should Government legislate what people eat?

I'm aware of the concept of "food stamps" -- but it is only a policy in place in the USA.

Food stamps don't excist in Europe.

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To adress you question of why not supplying the poor with healthy foods. Well, I think it is flat out wrong to force an adult what to eat. Everyone can fall down -- the last thing you need is the humiliation of someone telling you what to eat like you are some sort of idiot.

 

um...Americans can eat any food in the World. We can consume any alcohol we want and we can smoke cigarettes or not smoke them.

let's compare Belgium to the US

Life Expectancy:

Belgium = 79
US = 78

wow...on average, you guys get 1 extra year to sit on a porch, yell at squirrels and eat pudding!

I'm jealous...lol

 

Do you know what for reputation Belgians have?

"Belgians eat French foods in German quantities".

It's a miracle that, on average, we don't die at age 58 or something.

 

Socialism only ends in two ways, either revolution or complete slavery to the state. Most civilizations have rebelled their way out of them.

The American Constitution was drafted in hopes of ending this inevitable end. Even it could not stop the lust for power of the state and the inevitable weakness of the populace to become willing slaves to the state.

Telling people what they can eat is just another sign of progression. It is a shame that the freedom lovers have to share the world with too many human cattle.

 

Actually I didn't know that...interesting.

maybe that goes to show how some indulgence leads to less overall stress...it's about having a good balance.

 

Why not go for options?

Offer both government provided and privately purchased insurance.

If you are on the government program, government can tell you what to eat, how much to eat, how much to exercise, etc. - after all, they have a vested interest in your health.

If you are on a private program, the government has absolutely no say on how you live your life, since you are taking personal responsibility for your health.

 

Don't forget the drooling and the Depends! Hey, wait a minute, I'm 70!

 

The truth is that most people who favor socialism favor it precisely because they expect it to improve individual liberty. Whether they're accurate or not is another question.

 

How 'bout we don't let the government tell you what to do either way? That sounds a lot more rational to me.

And a private program isn't taking personal responsibility any more than a government program is.

 

I agree to a fault......I think that if the federal government is gonna offer tax paid health care, it should not be in the form of insurance ...it should literally be government hospitals that are operated and paid for by taxes......

The private hostpitals would be available for those who want to use them and insuancr companies would exist...but for everyone who want to simply pay a higher tax and not have to worry about insurance can use the state hospitals...

 

Pfft, yeah right. For starters socialism was a nonexistent concept in the 18th century - secondly, the Constitution was drafted as a means of centralizing government power after it became clear that a decentralized federal system was not viable. Finally, the Constitution was drafted by the middle class for the middle class; make no mistake, the Founders weren't entirely as altruistic as they might have appeared.

 

You shouldn't be jealous but saddened.

Lets compare the rest of Europe.

Out of the 20 countries with the highest life expectancy 12 are European nations. In the top 20, also include Australia (5th) and New Zealand (13th). Two Asian countries top the list, Japan and Hong Kong.

America rates as 36th, equal with Cuba also on 36th. Even Costa Rica (30th), Puerto Rico (31st), Chile (34th) have a higher life expectancy.

Something isn't right in the US of A. Here we have a country with the strongest economy, the most richest people on the planet, the powerfullest miltitary and you are rated as 36th on the list (United Nation's table). Even the CIA's table rates the US of A as a lowly 34th. There is definitely something wrong in the USA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

 

While I agree that the word "socialism" has been demonized here, I support having an NHS in America.

 

We actually have something similar here. America doesn't have a national VAT or sales tax, but most states have a sales tax (which is similar to a VAT), but they apply a lower % to most food while applying a higher % to certain other foods.

 

I'll take the 78.3 years living in the US to the 78.6 years living in Costa Rica

The difference between the US and most of the top countries is 1 or 2 years and the top spot is a mere 4 years.

big deal...4 extra years of sitting in a rocking chair eating pudding and talking to imaginary squirrels.

no thanks!

I'll stick with the US

 

Be a little honest about it. America has the lowest life expectancy in the developed world irrespective of the small increments. One would think with all the resourses, technology and medical care available it would sit at the top. The lowest of any G20 nation.

Life expectancy is one of the factors countries are measured against in terms of development, human achievement and poverty. Others are safe clean drinking water, calory intake, access to medical care and access to education.

Look, I'm not knocking America, it's a fine country generally speaking,, but somehow there are things that are drastically wrong, especially for a country with such a strong economy.

 

It woulkd be a good thing for America and all Americans.

 

Has it occurred to anyone that the higher homicide rate in the US could account for the slightly lower average life expectancy? Everyone wants to pin it on healthcare but there hasn't been any evidence presented to correlate the two.

Just a thought.

 

Depends on how the life expectancy has been calculated.

 

Life expectancy can be attributed to a number of factors.

Diet, access to medical care, lifestyle choice and even genetics.

Laos for example has a pretty poor life expectancy, especially in males. But in the last 10 years it has jumped considerable from about 52 years to about 58 years for males. This is due to better dietry awareness and access to medical care.

 

True. I can't think of any reason to not include homicides if what you are after is the average life expectancy of a given population. People who were murdered were part of the population right up to the point where they were killed.

 

And even the propensity of a given population to go bungee jumping...

 

Well, if you're calculating life expectancy based off healthcare homicide and such really isn't pertinent.

Although, one could say due to more available healthcare people are more likely to survive violent battery.

This is, of course, speculation.

 

Bungee jumping was originally a New Zealand thing,, those crazy Kiwis.

I bet you , most Kiwis have never done bungee jumping.

 

Sure, except the source was just a calculation of life expectancy. It had nothing to do with healthcare or anything else...just life expectancy of different nations.

Errr, stretching is more like it.