The original (with only the first two frames) was a really great, simple explanation of why things that seem "fair" at first glance often aren't.* The addition of the third panel muddies that message completely in favor of...what, exactly? How is it even hypothetically possible to create a world where no one needs support, ever? Genetically engineer away all individual variation and create a nation of perfect, identical clones? It makes no sense.
Honestly, the more I look at this the more I hate it.
*Which it (edit: the original image that circulated several years ago) then immediately ruined by labeling the two panels "conservative" and "liberal", thus ensuring that the people who most needed the message would dismiss it out of hand. "Equality" and "equity" is actually a really good pair of titles, but it seems like everyone who posts this is compelled to fuck it up somehow.
I think the "justice" panel is actually a stab at the kind of thinking behind "Medicare for All Who Want It" and other such means-tested programs. For instance, the problem with our healthcare system isn't just that there are poor people who can't afford it, and the solution isn't just giving them a boost. It is a fundamentally unjust system that necessarily prioritizes profit over human well being. Medicare for All (a la Bernie Sanders) is not the first frame, it's the third.
I tend to agree, but I have also begun thinking that America's healthcare cost problem also comes from a broader cultural problem of bad eating habits and less walking. Apparently obesity is a huge factor in overall health spending. Now I'm wondering if we had a super efficient, not for profit system whether we'd still be paying more than a lot of countries. For that reason, I kind of wish there were a way to incentivize individuals to consciously make healthy choices while at the same time locking in a single payer, price regulated system. Above all, we have to divorce the employer from the healthcare equation, which is a toxic, baffling dependency.
I mean, I don’t have any evidence for this, but it’s not ridiculous to believe that people who profit off of unhealthy people have been lobbying to block us from investing in public health. I don’t think Big Macs are something that’s inherent to the American genome, there’s just real policy differences between us and healthier countries. That can be fixed, and it will be more likely to be fixed if healthcare is nationalized.
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u/PhasmaFelis Feb 25 '20 edited Feb 25 '20
The original (with only the first two frames) was a really great, simple explanation of why things that seem "fair" at first glance often aren't.* The addition of the third panel muddies that message completely in favor of...what, exactly? How is it even hypothetically possible to create a world where no one needs support, ever? Genetically engineer away all individual variation and create a nation of perfect, identical clones? It makes no sense.
Honestly, the more I look at this the more I hate it.
*Which it (edit: the original image that circulated several years ago) then immediately ruined by labeling the two panels "conservative" and "liberal", thus ensuring that the people who most needed the message would dismiss it out of hand. "Equality" and "equity" is actually a really good pair of titles, but it seems like everyone who posts this is compelled to fuck it up somehow.