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>social programs created with the 1930's and 1960's in mind Its these social programs that help cushion the fall during a recession. Countries without them oft

>social programs created with the 1930's and 1960's in mind Its these social programs that help cushion the fall during a recession. Countries without them often are the receiving end of a peasant revolution or coup when the economy goes sour. I'd say this is very much a feature, not a bug. Meanwhile, China's affluence doesn't percolate to the rural area and a serious economic downturn would hurt the most vulnerable, which in autocratic states are poor children and the elderly. >In one study of 1,800 infants in rural Shaanxi province in China’s north-west, 49% were anaemic and 40% were significantly hampered in developing either cognitive or motor skills. >About one in three Chinese elderly report having poor health, and nearly one in four have consumption levels below the poverty line I don't mind my tax dollars feeding poor children in rural USA, supporting seniors, etc. These programs made sense in 1930, 1960, today, and in the future.

anthony_romeo 11y ago
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I am against social programs. On the contrary, I'm a supporter of universal health care in the US. This is the sort of thing I was alluding to when I said "created with the 1930's and 1960's in mind." Anyway, these systems, like our other infrastructure, have not been properly maintained (I quickly wrote an article about one example on my blog a while back (which I haven't updated in forever), should be the first article: http://boldboldness.com/ http://boldboldness.com/) and should be modernized in some manner. I'm not under the illusion that the Chinese health care system is better than in the US, and I'm aware that my observations were limited to the city. I was actually able to visit a local hospital in Guangzhou while I was there (interestingly, it was the hospital where the first SARS patient was treated), and I was surprised at how old and chaotic it was compared to the extravagance built in the remainder of the city. Very dark, loud, full of people, and run like a bad DMV in the US. Hopefully when China slows down they'll attempt to focus more on the health of their citizens.

anthony_romeo 11y ago

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I am against social programs. On the contrary, I'm a supporter of universal health care in the US. This is the sort of thing I was alluding to when I said "created with the 1930's and 1960's in mind." Anyway, these systems, like our other infrastructure, have not been properly maintained (I quickly wrote an article about one example on my blog a while back (which I haven't updated in forever), should be the first article: http://boldboldness.com/ http://boldboldness.com/) and should be modernized in some manner. I'm not under the illusion that the Chinese health care system is better than in the US, and I'm aware that my observations were limited to the city. I was actually able to visit a local hospital in Guangzhou while I was there (interestingly, it was the hospital where the first SARS patient was treated), and I was surprised at how old and chaotic it was compared to the extravagance built in the remainder of the city. Very dark, loud, full of people, and run like a bad DMV in the US. Hopefully when China slows down they'll attempt to focus more on the health of their citizens.