Topic: Health Care
The Great Food Insurance Program A histroy of Utopia's great food insurance program and how it all came out.by Rodger Gamblin
(libertarian)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tales from Utopia: Food History
By T. Truehart
This is a very short summary of the factors that brought about problems with the food supply in Utopia. During the Second Great War with Perdition too many farmers and their children went to war; and, with shortages like fertilizer and such, production dropped. Though no one starved, rumors abounded that many people were reduced to eating dog food. At the same time wage and price controls were imposed. In order to attract good workers and help with the food problem, businesses began to supply credits that could be used for the purchase of food.
This program was very popular and soon spread throughout the business community and into public service jobs. The reason for this spread was not hard to find. Credit companies sprang up to run such programs and found a ready market. Their operations began to increase demand for higher priced goods from farms and stores, which, in turn, found people to hire to supply the need. In addition, since employers could charge the cost of programs as business expense, and it was not income to employees, no money need be sent to the tax man. Some people did not benefit, of course, including sole proprietorships, professionals, and day laborers, but they tend to have little power any way.
In time the war with the Perds ended in victory, and matters returned more to normal. Because of the popularity of food credits in general, they were maintained after the war during times of great prosperity. The initial soundness of the food supply system in Utopia permitted the credit system to flourish with, apparently, minimal cost. Steaks, lobster, imported cheeses, fancy wines, and exotic fruits flooded the stores. People immersed themselves in cooking schools and learned the best of fancy recipes from all over the world. Food suppliers became wealthy, and the credit companies flourished and became one of the most profitable sectors in the economy.
Slowly at first, but then more rapidly the overall cost of food began to rise. After about seventy years, the cost of Utopian food had risen to over twice what it was elsewhere in the industrialized world. Utopian food was better than elsewhere, but its cost had become a drag on the economy and contributed to a period of deep depression. It seems that no one in the new food supply system had an interest in controlling its cost. Employees had no control. Businesses didn't care much either, since, at least until close to the end, they just passed any extra costs onto their customers. Credit suppliers did not care since the more food cost the more money they made. Finally, food suppliers didn't care since they had never had it so good. Economists say this problem will always exist with what they call a "third party payer system'"
Be that as it may, during the great depression which followed, these problems led to a huge argument about the food supply. There were those that said the problem was the third party pay system, and the solution was to return to a free market. On the other side were those who said the problem was the free market, and the only way to fix was to let the government run things.
At the time, the Abomination administration (a humorous name given to the presidency of Populus Abomus) came to power so that the government chose to nationalize food production and distribution. President Abomus named a panel of prominent Ivy league scholars under the direction of food Tsar, Warren Harding Gassey. This group set out to produce a universal food; nutritious, inexpensive, environmentally sound, and devoid of products made from animals of any kind. By this means the distinguished panel managed to come up with what they call the perfect food. In a stroke they solved all obesity problems in Utopia, and reduced the cost of the food supply to ninety-five percent of its former value. Well, that is what we eat now. Old timers say it tastes like dog food and many now have gardens and fruit trees. Animal husbandry has pretty much disappeared, and so have squirrels, rabbits and stray dogs. But, in the words of President Abomus, "the world is now a kinder and gentler place."
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 2 thumbs so far
The views expressed in this
article are those of Rodger Gamblin only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Rodger Gamblin is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
