So, will the people who raised such a ruckus about Big Brother listening in on phone calls be equally incensed about government inspection of shopping cart contents?
"Excuse me, ma'am, but we'll have to confiscate those [fill in name of favorite non-nutritious snack food]. You can petition for their return when your cholesterol level is within normal range."
Implicit in universal coverage is the unavoidable reality that qualified doctors and health-care professionals will inevitably be preempted and co-opted by politicians and bureaucrats, groups currently viewed almost as favorably as cancer. Don't like your benefit structure? Have fun lobbying both houses of Congress for minor revisions.
Dude...just...dude.
My biggest thing is that even the "professionals" can't agree on what is "perfect" nutrition...and high calorie foods? Does that include nuts? Not all calories are the same, not all fat is the same. Who's going to determine what's good and what's bad?
I have no issue with individual insurance companies giving breaks to those with healthy habits and penalizing those who don't. But the government? Seriously? How can ANYONE see this as a good thing?
There are MAJOR issues with nutrition in this country, and yeah, the government should certainly be concerned about it, but this? So not the answer.
given the numbers of people who think there should be something, and the measure being how many people are covered, I know what the answer is.
Same as the answer to life the universe and... everything.
42.
If you don't bother to ask a real question then anything will do as the answer.
My question always starts, "do you want your doctor to be like the DMV?" most people blanche at that, 'cuz I'm ev0l. Comprehensive government bureaucracy has never really solved much, and is tolerated where needed, like the IRS, or the DOD. Stuff like comp healthcare? yeah? no. Actually if you really want to scare people, don't use the DMV as the question. It will be more like the IRS.
'we have decided to audit your caloric intake, and will fine you based on what we find.'
I don't have a problem with getting vending machines out of schools and reducing the amount of fast food in poor neighborhoods. But that's because I fear the fast food and junk food industries' control over the lives of children and the poor more than I fear government control. Fast Food Nation, indeed.
Best way to improve the health of the nation is to reduce the price and raise the quality of produce. The poor cannot afford fresh food, and in what used to be a nation of farmers (a profession that is no longer a clicky box on the census because less than a million people now list farming as their primary occupation) that is sad. When people can afford to make better choices, some will.
The other best way is to create farm-to-school programs. If we teach healthy eating habits to children, and get them involved in the missing culture of slow food, they won't become adults who eat most meals out at fast food places. Then the fast food places will leave the poor neighborhoods on their own because they won't make enough money.
and those are actions that local communities should be taking. it's not the government's job to be omniscient; they do it badly and the job's already taken.
I beg to differ. Most of those living below the poverty line are able to purchase fresh produce. Most of the ethnic grocery stores I've gone to (which are usually in the poorer neighborhoods and mom & pop in origin and/or non-union) feature fruits and vegatables that are much, much cheaper compared to the larger supermarkets. They also shop at farmers markets or take part in their own community gardens where they grow their own vegetables (i have many patients that do this).
Further, the reason that fruits and vegetables are as expensive as they are is due to farmer' unions not allowing more fruits and vegetables from other countries in that would be competitive with their own due to protectionist import laws that the farmers have lobbied for. Also, if one shops at union grocery stores, their costs are, of course, going to be much higher for produce.
But, I don't think that the appeal of fast food is necessarily because it's cheap albeit for the homeless, that is true. But for those that have homes, it's really convenient and I think that for some - especially working single moms - that might be really what pushes them. There's a finite amount of time in the day. and that goes for students too. They already have a lot of requirements with regards to what they need to learn in school. Where in the course of the school year can long term teaching about healthy eating habits take place?
Also, many schools have physical education requirements that are being "met" by students standing around waiting to play baseball. I know that I got a quarter off of PE in high school to take a heath class (not just sex-ed). What if that class was in an edible garden instead of in a windowless classroom? What if it wasn't taught by a gym teacher who didn't know the subject, and we weren't all asleep?
Most kids are going to forget most of what they learn in school. If we could get them started on healthy eating habits, maybe they can go home and teach things to their parents.
This summer I got a whole classroom of kids off their bottled water addiction. I got these kids and their families to drink tap water (which is regulated, unlike bottled water, and much cheaper.) I didn't change all of the kids' minds. However, most kids want to make the world a better place and be the healthiest they can be.
I hate the mandated lesson plans in public schools. It's why I can't teach public. However, the system is in place. If we could get lesson plans that will save children from a myriad of diseases as they grow, we could really engage in preventative health care.
and who's going to determine how much time out of any given day those lessons will require over the rest of what kids need to learn, and how much it will require for the lessons to be effective?
How do they determine anything? How do we figure out any national educational standards? How do they determine math or English standards? Who is qualified to do this? They don't do a very good job of it; that's how they do it. That doesn't ztop them from trying, however.
Plus, as something like an edible garden gives kids a hands-on interactive way to learn the other subjects, which tends to be a better way to raise test scores on the existing standards than a lot of methods being used currently, it wouldn't be in addition to the other subjects. It would be a way to teach the other subjects.
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sforzinda
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 03:43 am (UTC)"Excuse me, ma'am, but we'll have to confiscate those [fill in name of favorite non-nutritious snack food]. You can petition for their return when your cholesterol level is within normal range."
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 03:46 am (UTC)raise a ruckus about something the Left is doing? surely you jest.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 04:02 am (UTC)Dude...just...dude.
My biggest thing is that even the "professionals" can't agree on what is "perfect" nutrition...and high calorie foods? Does that include nuts? Not all calories are the same, not all fat is the same. Who's going to determine what's good and what's bad?
I have no issue with individual insurance companies giving breaks to those with healthy habits and penalizing those who don't. But the government? Seriously? How can ANYONE see this as a good thing?
There are MAJOR issues with nutrition in this country, and yeah, the government should certainly be concerned about it, but this? So not the answer.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 04:22 am (UTC)nope, not by any stretch. my body is not the government's business; not in any way, shape or form.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 04:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 05:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 04:44 am (UTC)Same as the answer to life the universe and...
everything.
42.
If you don't bother to ask a real question then anything will do as the answer.
My question always starts, "do you want your doctor to be like the DMV?" most people blanche at that, 'cuz I'm ev0l. Comprehensive government bureaucracy has never really solved much, and is tolerated where needed, like the IRS, or the DOD. Stuff like comp healthcare? yeah? no. Actually if you really want to scare people, don't use the DMV as the question. It will be more like the IRS.
'we have decided to audit your caloric intake, and will fine you based on what we find.'
hello George.
Orwell.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 05:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 05:55 am (UTC)Best way to improve the health of the nation is to reduce the price and raise the quality of produce. The poor cannot afford fresh food, and in what used to be a nation of farmers (a profession that is no longer a clicky box on the census because less than a million people now list farming as their primary occupation) that is sad. When people can afford to make better choices, some will.
The other best way is to create farm-to-school programs. If we teach healthy eating habits to children, and get them involved in the missing culture of slow food, they won't become adults who eat most meals out at fast food places. Then the fast food places will leave the poor neighborhoods on their own because they won't make enough money.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 06:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 07:37 am (UTC)I beg to differ. Most of those living below the poverty line are able to purchase fresh produce. Most of the ethnic grocery stores I've gone to (which are usually in the poorer neighborhoods and mom & pop in origin and/or non-union) feature fruits and vegatables that are much, much cheaper compared to the larger supermarkets. They also shop at farmers markets or take part in their own community gardens where they grow their own vegetables (i have many patients that do this).
Further, the reason that fruits and vegetables are as expensive as they are is due to farmer' unions not allowing more fruits and vegetables from other countries in that would be competitive with their own due to protectionist import laws that the farmers have lobbied for. Also, if one shops at union grocery stores, their costs are, of course, going to be much higher for produce.
But, I don't think that the appeal of fast food is necessarily because it's cheap albeit for the homeless, that is true. But for those that have homes, it's really convenient and I think that for some - especially working single moms - that might be really what pushes them. There's a finite amount of time in the day. and that goes for students too. They already have a lot of requirements with regards to what they need to learn in school. Where in the course of the school year can long term teaching about healthy eating habits take place?
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 08:19 am (UTC)Also, many schools have physical education requirements that are being "met" by students standing around waiting to play baseball. I know that I got a quarter off of PE in high school to take a heath class (not just sex-ed). What if that class was in an edible garden instead of in a windowless classroom? What if it wasn't taught by a gym teacher who didn't know the subject, and we weren't all asleep?
Most kids are going to forget most of what they learn in school. If we could get them started on healthy eating habits, maybe they can go home and teach things to their parents.
This summer I got a whole classroom of kids off their bottled water addiction. I got these kids and their families to drink tap water (which is regulated, unlike bottled water, and much cheaper.) I didn't change all of the kids' minds. However, most kids want to make the world a better place and be the healthiest they can be.
I hate the mandated lesson plans in public schools. It's why I can't teach public. However, the system is in place. If we could get lesson plans that will save children from a myriad of diseases as they grow, we could really engage in preventative health care.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 05:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-04 10:15 pm (UTC)Plus, as something like an edible garden gives kids a hands-on interactive way to learn the other subjects, which tends to be a better way to raise test scores on the existing standards than a lot of methods being used currently, it wouldn't be in addition to the other subjects. It would be a way to teach the other subjects.