Thank You Tommy Douglas!
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Last week I had a ‘minor’ medical procedure on both eyes. Because I live in Canada, the cost of this procedure was entirely covered by our excellent medical system – Thank You Tommy Douglas!
The entire process was delivered by private, for profit entrepreneurs.
I arrived at a parkade that was built by for-profit contractors and administered by a for-profit parking company. I entered a building that was owned by a private for-profit company, maintained by private for-profit contractors and staffed by a private for-profit building company. After being covid-19 screened by private for-profit contractors, I rode (alone) in an elevator that was manufactured and maintained by a private for-profit company.
I arrived at the desk of a private for-profit medical professional company. I was treated by this doctor and staff using the very latest laser equipment which had been invented, designed and perfected by, you guessed it, a private for-profit company!
I was sent away with a prescription which I took to a private for-profit pharmacy who filled it with a pharmaceutical invented, tested and distributed by a private for-profit company.
I got home and realized that none of this was free. It was paid for directly by us taxpayers, but the cost was lower because the service was delivered entirely by private for-profit companies. We could never have afforded this level of service except for the profit motivation!
I also occurred to me how absurd is the phrase (which also originated in the time of Tommy Douglas) “People Before Profits”. That argument is like the body parts argument of who is most important. The moral is: profits and people are mutually dependent.