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One of my former friends has gone over to the dark side. He now participates in an Ayn Rand echo chamber that circulates ugly propaganda. The latest (here) contrasts sparkling night aerial photos of Hiroshima with photos of blighted sections of Detroit and suggests that the latter is caused by run away welfare programs. It says that Japan has no such programs, asserting that those who don't provide for themselves are on their own, which is a blatant lie of course. Wikipedia says just the opposite:
The health care system in Japan provides healthcare services, including screening examinations, prenatal care and infectious disease control, with the patient accepting responsibility for 30% of these costs while the government pays the remaining 70%. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance programme administered by local governments. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice and cannot be denied coverage. Hospitals, by law, must be run as non-profit and be managed by physicians. For-profit corporations are not allowed to own or operate hospitals. Clinics must be owned and operated by physicians.
Social welfare, assistance for the ill or otherwise disabled and for the old, has long been provided in Japan by both the government and private companies. Beginning in the 1920s, the government enacted a series of welfare programs, based mainly on European models, to provide medical care and financial support. During the postwar period, a comprehensive system of social security was gradually established. [1] Government expenditures for all forms of social welfare increased from 6% of the national income in the early 1970s, to 18% in 1989. The mixture of public and private funding have created complex pension and insurance systems. But a much older tradition calls for support within the family and the local community.
As the election rhetoric heats up we will see more of this
propaganda made viral by extremists like my ex-friend. It's
untrue, vicious, racist, and generally fosters stinkin'
thinkin'. I suppose is says more about the sender and his
buddies than it does the philosophy it purports to support. I
don't even like seeing my name in the message header.
