Health Care Trojan Horse

Imagine a country where the government regularly checks the waistlines of citizens over age 40. Anyone deemed too fat would be required to undergo diet counseling. Those who fail to lose sufficient weight could face further "reeducation" and their communities subject to stiff fines.

Is this some nightmarish dystopia?

No, this is contemporary Japan.

The Japanese government argues that it must regulate citizens' lifestyles because it is paying their health costs. This highlights one of the greatly underappreciated dangers of "universal healthcare." Any government that attempts to guarantee healthcare must also control its costs. The inevitable next step will be to seek to control citizens' health and their behavior.

The whole article is readable here.

Some time ago, Coyoteblog coined the phrase 'health care trojan horse' to illustrate the idea that socialized health care is the gateway to regulating every personal aspect of individual lives.

Once 'society' is responsible for the costs of health care, everything you do becomes justifiable for regulation - eating, drinking, smoking, TV watching, exercising, sex, bicycling, tobogganning, driving... ad infinitum.

No element of your personal life remains beyond the realm of bureaucratic scrutiny.

Let me suggest another phrase that might apply perfectly and offer an immediate solution for free people everywhere: Peaceful Non-Compliance.