snl55 said "I’m all for free healthcare. I feel like the government has a sense of responsibility to look after the population. However, I don’t feel that’s I should be spending my hard earned money on people that can’t look after themselves. Many on today’s health problems are self inflicted. Diabetes from a poor diet. Heart and lung disease from smoking. A lot of medical issues could be solved with some self care. Why should I be on the hook for the bill. "
And they raise quite an interesting side topic. While I agree slightly to a certain extent if a certain aspect of " self care"is neglected or abused, that's the fundamental grey area of a modern "free society".
Politically, religiously, socially, we are all allowed to do, think, act, and move about in society within reason and within certain tolerable limits.
The reason we have such high rates of medical issues compared to other countries is because of our free ability to neglect our health, all while maintaining it slightly, at the same time. Why do some cultures in the east have less incidences of arthritic issues, mobility issues, such as knee replacements when compared to our "modernized" western society? The fact that in our culture, relaxation and ease of use in our day to day lives is on the rise? Why strengthen our knee and hip flexion by practicing bending over or squatting when engaged in activity when we can relax in a recliner? Why eat foods low in sugar and additives when we can grab a quick snack in a vending machine or have take out? And yes, I know, many countries can have les nutritional foods according to macro needs, but they can also have less preservatives and saturation overall.
Technological society brings undue stresses on each and every one of us. Our modern environment isn't exactly clean. Manitoba has one of the higher rates of radon in our ground compared to anywhere else provincially, leading to a higher rate of cancer.
There are so many factors to consider. Alcohol consumption is on the rise . Alcohol (beer, whiskey, etc) is recognized as a carcinogen by the body, much like cigarettes. If we want to remove the products that cause more health problems, we would be systematically dissecting our every day consumables. And sure, there are many that abuse their bodies and abuse the system that we live in, but to completely remove care of those individuals neglects the population as a whole( If I neglect the substance abuser, where else will they turn to but a life of absolute crime in order to survive and support themselves with basic needs such as food and water? ).
And in order to re establish those who society judges as being abusers of the social care system into mainstream society, we need proper education and mental health programs. I read a report once where a town in Scotland had an absolutely astounding high rate of crime, based on alcohol abuse, and drug abuse. Hospitals were overburdened. Schools were experiencing low rates of education. Jails were full of drug users and abusers. The streets had homeless people in alleys, etc. Then, someone came up with the radical idea that people were in need of help. A program was developed to assist people with education, and jobs after incarceration in jail. I can't remember the exact timeline or number, but I remember that the turnaround numbers were astounding. Well over half of the inmates and abusers of the social support system of welfare turned around and became productive members of society. Of course, not all did, but it's an interesting point.
Sure, we live in a tight fiscal situation that borrows from the future, and even the futures, future. No doubt we need to make adjustments, but we also need to make concessions.
The biggest question facing us as a province is not what problems we face that require a tighter belt, but what solutions can we give that will give us expanded growth?
Economically, we can't survive by continuing to throw money into a broken system that is bleeding cash, sure, but morally, can we afford to continue to drown whatever seeds of hope we have left to offer? No matter how much we try to deny it, there is a lack of understanding that implicitly dictates our place in the broken culture of Manitoba. Those who are given no chance to succeed will have no choice, and that is a cycle that has been absorbed into our fabric of society far too long.
I'm no fan of conservative agenda, but no fool either when it comes to understanding that change is needed in order to fix things.
Can we steer each other? Can we stand together? Those are the biggest questions facing Pallister and the PC's. Is the plan to reduce the defecit temporarily, and gradually increase the potential we have, and invest in a better system of production, or will we face a continual downward spiral of limited resources that we can't direct ourselves beyond?
Instead of a standard argumentative political format, are any parties willing to be bipartisan, and work together to build Manitoba? We will see.
I'm no political major, not even a good high school graduate, lol, so my points may seem vague and rather obscure, but I think we can agree that there are many, many different viewpoints on what needs to be done. I do find interest in your points and topics, and think you have many good issues to consider . Ultimately though, to answer your question of "why should I be on the hook for all of (that)?", I guess the answer is simply because at this point, we have to be, because the alternative offers us limited choices and removes the axiom of our belief in a "free society".
Edited by brianathome99, 2019-06-25 12:34:35