The Howard government has systematically set about undermining the public health care system. It also established a massive public subsidy of the private health insurance industry. All private insurance is eligible for a direct 30% government subsidy, uncapped, completely open ended. It costs billions these days. The result is that Australia already has a two-tier system of publicly funded health care, the "public" system, with long waiting lists in public hospitals, and the "private" system (publicly subsidised) for those with private insurance.
My 79 year-old mother is one of the lucky ones, she gets a war-widow's pension and as such is entitled to a "Gold Card", through which the government pays the full cost of all medical expenses. So when she needed a hip replacement operation, she was able to get it done immediately in a private hospital all expenses paid. Otherwise she would have had to spend months on a public hospital waiting list, in constant pain and unable to move about. Thousands of people have suffered like that in John Howard's Australia.
All to prop up what was a dying private health insurance industry when the Liberals came to power. The deficiencies in the public system and consequent misery had to be manufactured, so as to create a demand for private health insurance. Scare stories wouldn't work without some reality to back them up.
But don't think this was all done by the Howard government merely for ideological reasons, as the social democrats would have you believe.
From the point of view of defending the capitalist system it was all quite necessary. Capitalism depends on scarcity and if scarcity has to be manufactured, then that is what has to happen. Even if it is scarcity of something as important as basic medical services, capitalism simply cannot function without scarcity and will have to manufacture it, should necessity arise.
So all you people talking as if a good public health system that provided for everyone was feasible within a capitalist system need to wise up.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas ****************
Great class analysis, Bill. I'll bet that the Canadian conservatives are doing something similar to undermine that State's single payer system. The German conservatives (even those hiding out in the SPD) do it. Which only proves that you can get a universal health program within a capitalist system; but you'll never keep it from being undermined by your class enemies. Reagan wasn't unique; he was just blunt. Thatcher too. The conservatives will cut State funding to public services and then howl, "See! Big gov'mint doesn't work. You need to e.g. privatize your water supply etc. (that's the issue they're yapping about now in Western Australia). C'est la vie in le capitalist society.
The struggle goes on and on and on and on....
Mike B)
"Would you have freedom from wage-slavery.." Joe Hill "http://iamawobbly.multiply.com/
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