[DRAFT] @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

[Dexterra]

Update 19 July: moving this back to the draft stage as I expect that, though I submitted this for the contest, I will need to keep working on it after results are released. Note that I'm generally aware of staff's policies and procedure regarding resubmits, and will only resubmit this in the far future when it's overtly clear that this draft has more or less become the equivalent of a birthday card from 1986 stuffed way in the back of the back of the back of the closet. Feel free to make any comments, concerns, questions or suggestions - thanks!

Submitted contest entry:

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: Socialism only, no Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by trading power to the people, it seems the proletariat have yet to seize all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office hours today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a series of medical bills that forewarn a bankrupt economy, while each individual freely markets their confusion and stress until they are left red.


The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to make universal healthcare law despite already banning private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused bureaucracy that was too myopic to do something as obvious as that. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists will see citizens in seconds but health inspectors aren’t sighted for years.


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost a lot from combat. When a person is missing an arm, our people need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted from their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research are uniform comrades.


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should do it by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.


4. Hacking up phlegm while choking through words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Universal healthcare would be a relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. The countryside has plenty of open space, trees and fields for construction crews, just inhale environmental funds and exhale red crosses (cough) instead. All that green might be turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution this could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches stump eco-friendly arborists.


5. Not minding a massive emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, socialism strengthens our people, but universal healthcare won't. We need competition in the healthcare industry so we can eradicate diseases faster, dude! Instead, how about you boost our health in other ways, like bulking up gyms, public outdoor exercise areas and youth sports leagues? Brains and brawn, bro! So what if the disabled might struggle a bit more?”

outcome: the dying pray 'horsepower to the people' when running to the hospital.


6. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "Jim's only half-dollar, er half-right - I bet the only change we need is in our wallets! Universal healthcare - or any state industry - are liabilities for @@NATION@@. With as much business competition as possible, @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ will truly be able to make progress! Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-ownership is terminal from a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

This is a draft of an issue designed to offer Socialist nations options to install the Universal Healthcare policy, maintain the status quo or abandon Socialism outright. Though there's at least one issue that could grant Socialist nations the Universal Healthcare policy, it seems as though having healthy citizens, mid-to-high public health spending, mixed or free-market economic freedoms and/or other statistical factors can sometimes render a Socialist nation unable to receive such issues at least for a very long time, so this issue would provide a solution to that admittedly esoteric, possibly non-existent problem!

I'd like to submit this for the contest, so all edits should be offered by 29 June, please and thank you!

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: must have Socialism, must not have Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by publicly trading power to the people, it seems the proletariat have not yet seized all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a surplus of medical bills, freely marketing their communal confusion and stocky stress until each individual are left red.

The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to frame universal healthcare into law despite the ban on private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused, aimless bureaucracy that was clearly too myopic to picture something as transparently obvious as this. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists can be seen in seconds but IDs are out of sight for years.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes adds notabilities: 'complete lack of public education,' 'complete absence of social welfare,' 'exploding hoverboards,' 'spontaneously combusting cars' and/or 'unlimited speed roads'; sometimes removes notability: 'punitive income tax rates'


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm while standing at attention on a peg leg, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost limbs, friends and my soul from combat. When people are missing an arm, they need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted out of their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research have been scoped as basic comrades.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; sometimes installs No WMDs; sometimes uninstalls Conscription; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes removes notabilities: 'compulsory military service,' 'infamous sell-swords,' and/or 'ubiquitous missile silos'


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should nerve funding by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes adds notabilities 'complete lack of public education' and/or 'complete absence of social welfare'


4. Hacking up smoggy phlegm while choking in-between words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Ahem. Universal healthcare would be a sigh of relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. Our open air has plenty of space, trees and fields for construction crews to breeze through (cough) - just inhale funds rooted in the environment and exhale red crosses into the countryside. All this green is turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution it could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches leave eco-friendly arborists stumped.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; sometimes uninstalls Climate Treaty; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes adds notability 'barren, inhospitable landscape'


5. Able to benchpress all but the massive weight of his emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, universal healthcare will strengthen our people, but we should bulk up their vitals in other ways too bro. Our streets are bulging with taxis, buses and subways, and it's weakening us and ripping our climate. If you work out funds from public transportation, there'd be a surge in physical activity that'd cool down people's need to ever go to the doctor. Brawns not brains, bro! So what if it'd skinny our economy a ton?"

outcome: marathoners and anorexic alike call an ambulance if they need a lift.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes removes notability: 'punitive income tax rates'


(Validity: has Space Program) 6. Palpitating effects of zero gravity, says Sparky the Space Cadet, "Dude universal healthcare would totally be like, the cosmic lifeblood of our kind and stuff, but you know what my heart says would be totally outta this world? Launchin' it by, like, hemorrhagin' extra fuel from our space program. I can't be weightless in space while dudes on Earth sweat the orbit of illness, that's totally what we should be beatin' instead. Help humans first, find ETs second! Though it may flatline our advancement or somethin'..."

outcome: space residency has been lifted off life support to booster cardiology patients seeing stars.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; uninstalls Space Program; adds notability 'national health service'; removes notability 'keen interest in outer space'


6/7. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat as coins fall out of his suit, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "The only change we need is in our wallets. I don't buy that universal healthcare - or any state industry - are valuable assets for the national portfolio; in fact, they're a liability. Without competition, how can health experts cash out progress and achievement? Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-owned industry is terminal after finding a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

effect: installs Capitalism; uninstalls Socialism; sometimes uninstalls AI Planning; sometimes adds notabilities 'barren, inhospitable landscape,' 'deadly medical pandemics,' 'exploding hoverboards' and/or 'spontaneously combusting cars'; removes notability 'state-planned economy'; sometimes removes notabilities 'punitive income tax rates,' 'soft-spoken computers' and/or 'stringent health and safety legislation'

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: must have Socialism, must not have Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by publicly trading power to the people, it seems the proletariat have not yet seized all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a surplus of medical bills gambling a bankrupt economy, freely marketing their communal confusion and stocky stress until each individual are left red.

The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to frame universal healthcare into law despite the ban on private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused, aimless bureaucracy that was clearly too myopic to picture something as transparently obvious as this. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists can be seen in seconds but IDs are out of sight for years.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes adds notabilities: 'complete lack of public education,' 'complete absence of social welfare,' 'exploding hoverboards,' 'spontaneously combusting cars' and/or 'unlimited speed roads'; sometimes removes notability: 'punitive income tax rates'


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm while standing at attention on a peg leg, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost limbs, friends and my soul from combat. When people are missing an arm, they need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted out of their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research have been scoped as basic comrades.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; sometimes installs No WMDs; sometimes uninstalls Conscription; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes removes notabilities: 'compulsory military service,' 'infamous sell-swords,' and/or 'ubiquitous missile silos'


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should nerve funding by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes adds notabilities 'complete lack of public education' and/or 'complete absence of social welfare'


4. Hacking up smoggy phlegm while choking in-between words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Ahem. Universal healthcare would be a sigh of relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. Our open air has plenty of space, trees and fields for construction crews to breeze through (cough) - just inhale funds rooted in the environment and exhale red crosses into the countryside. All this green is turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution it could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches leave eco-friendly arborists stumped.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; sometimes uninstalls Climate Treaty; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes adds notability 'barren, inhospitable landscape'


5. Able to benchpress all but the massive weight of his emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, universal healthcare will strengthen our people, but we should bulk up their vitals in other ways too bro. Our streets are bulging with taxis, buses and subways, and it's weakening us and ripping our climate. If you work out funds from public transportation, there'd be a surge in physical activity that'd cool down people's need to ever go to the doctor. Brawns not brains, bro! So what if it'd skinny our economy a ton?"

outcome: marathoners and anorexic alike call an ambulance if they need a lift.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; adds notability 'national health service'; sometimes removes notability: 'punitive income tax rates'


(Validity: has Space Program) 6. Palpitating effects of zero gravity, says Sparky the Space Cadet, "Dude universal healthcare would totally be like, the cosmic lifeblood of our kind and stuff, but you know what my heart says would be totally outta this world? Launchin' it by, like, hemorrhagin' extra fuel from our space program. I can't be weightless in space while dudes on Earth sweat the orbit of illness, that's totally what we should be beatin' instead. Help humans first, find ETs second! Though it may flatline our advancement or somethin'..."

outcome: space residency has been lifted off life support to booster cardiology patients seeing stars.

effect: installs Universal Healthcare; uninstalls Space Program; adds notability 'national health service'; removes notability 'keen interest in outer space'


6/7. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat as coins fall out of his suit, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "The only change we need is in our wallets. I don't buy that universal healthcare - or any state industry - are valuable assets for the national portfolio; in fact, they're a liability. Without competition, how can health experts cash out progress and achievement? Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-owned industry is terminal after finding a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

effect: installs Capitalism; uninstalls Socialism; sometimes uninstalls AI Planning; sometimes adds notabilities 'barren, inhospitable landscape,' 'deadly medical pandemics,' 'exploding hoverboards' and/or 'spontaneously combusting cars'; removes notability 'state-planned economy'; sometimes removes notabilities 'punitive income tax rates,' 'soft-spoken computers' and/or 'stringent health and safety legislation'

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: Socialism only, no Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by publicly trading power to the people, it seems the proletariat have not yet seized all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a surplus of medical bills gambling a bankrupt economy, freely marketing their communal confusion and stocky stress until each individual are left red.


The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to frame universal healthcare into law despite the ban on private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused, aimless bureaucracy that was clearly too myopic to picture something as transparently obvious as this. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists can be seen in seconds but IDs are out of sight for years.


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm while standing at attention on a peg leg, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost limbs, friends and my soul from combat. When people are missing an arm, they need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted out of their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research have been scoped as basic comrades.


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should nerve funding by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.


4. Hacking up smoggy phlegm while choking in-between words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Ahem. Universal healthcare would be a sigh of relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. Our open air has plenty of space, trees and fields for construction crews to breeze through (cough) - just inhale funds rooted in the environment and exhale red crosses into the countryside. All this green is turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution it could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches leave eco-friendly arborists stumped.


5. Able to benchpress all but the massive weight of his emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, universal healthcare will strengthen our people, but we should bulk up their vitals in other ways too bro. Our streets are bulging with taxis, buses and subways, and it's weakening us and ripping our climate. If you work out funds from public transportation, there'd be a surge in physical activity that'd cool down people's need to ever go to the doctor. Brawns not brains, bro! So what if it'd skinny our economy a ton?"

outcome: marathoners and anorexic alike call an ambulance if they need a lift.


(Validity: has Space Program) 6. Palpitating effects of zero gravity, says Sparky the Space Cadet, "Dude universal healthcare would totally be like, the cosmic lifeblood of our kind and stuff, but you know what my heart says would be totally outta this world? Launchin' it by, like, hemorrhagin' extra fuel from our space program. I can't be weightless in space while dudes on Earth sweat the orbit of illness, that's totally what we should be beatin' instead. Help humans first, find ETs second! Though it may flatline our advancement or somethin'..."

outcome: space residency has been lifted off life support to booster cardiology patients seeing stars.


6/7. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat as coins fall out of his suit, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "The only change we need is in our wallets. I don't buy that universal healthcare - or any state industry - are valuable assets for the national portfolio; in fact, they're a liability. Without competition, how can health experts cash out progress and achievement? Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-owned industry is terminal after finding a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: Socialism only, no Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by publicly trading power to the people, it seems the proletariat have not yet seized all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a surplus of medical bills gambling a bankrupt economy, freely marketing their communal confusion and stocky stress until each individual are left red.


The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to frame universal healthcare into law despite the ban on private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused, aimless bureaucracy that was clearly too myopic to picture something as transparently obvious as this. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists can be seen in seconds but IDs are out of sight for years.


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm while standing at attention on a peg leg, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost limbs, friends and my soul from combat. When people are missing an arm, they need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted out of their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research have been scoped as basic comrades.


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should nerve funding by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.


4. Hacking up smoggy phlegm while choking in-between words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Ahem. Universal healthcare would be a sigh of relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. Our open air has plenty of space, trees and fields for construction crews to breeze through (cough) - just inhale funds rooted in the environment and exhale red crosses into the countryside. All this green is turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution it could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches leave eco-friendly arborists stumped.


5. Not minding the need to benchpress a recent massive emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, socialism strengthens our people, but universal healthcare won't. We need to exercise competition in the healthcare industry so we can more quickly flatline all disease, dude! Instead, how about you boost our health in other ways, like bulking up gyms, public outdoor exercise areas and youth sports leagues? Then there'd be a surge in physical activity that'd cool down people's need to go to the doctor in the first place! Brains and brawn, bro! So what if it'll still skinny disabled wallets?"

outcome: the dying pray 'horsepower to the people' when running to the hospital.


6. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat as coins fall out of his suit, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "Jim's only half-dollar, er half-right - I bet the only change we need is in our wallets! I don't buy that universal healthcare - or any state industry - are valuable assets for the national portfolio; in fact, they're a liability. Without competition, how can any @@DEMONYM@@ cash out progress and achievement? Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-owned industry is terminal after finding a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: Socialism only, no Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by declaring ‘power to the people,’ it seems the proletariat have yet to seize all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office hours today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a series of medical bills that forewarn a bankrupt economy, while each individual freely markets their confusion and stress until they are left red.


The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to make universal healthcare law despite already banning private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused bureaucracy that was too myopic to do something as obvious as that. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists will see citizens in seconds but health inspectors aren’t sighted for years.


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm while standing at attention on a peg leg, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost a lot from combat. When a person is missing an arm, our people need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted from their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research are uniform comrades.


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should do it by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.


4. Hacking up phlegm while choking through words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Universal healthcare would be a relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. The countryside has plenty of open space, trees and fields for construction crews, just inhale environmental funds and exhale red crosses (cough) instead. All that green might be turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution this could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches stump eco-friendly arborists.


5. Not minding a massive emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, socialism strengthens our people, but universal healthcare won't. We need competition in the healthcare industry so we can eradicate diseases faster, dude! Instead, how about you boost our health in other ways, like bulking up gyms, public outdoor exercise areas and youth sports leagues? Then there'd be an increase in physical activity that'd lower people's need to ever go to the doctor! Brains and brawn, bro! So what if the disabled might struggle a bit more?”

outcome: the dying pray 'horsepower to the people' when running to the hospital.


6. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "Jim's only half-dollar, er half-right - I bet the only change we need is in our wallets! Universal healthcare - or any state industry - are liabilities for @@NATION@@. With as much business competition as possible, @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ will truly be able to make progress! Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-ownership is terminal from a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

@@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ Still Footing the Bill

Validity: Socialism only, no Universal Healthcare

The Issue

Though @@NATION@@ stated ownership of the hammer and sickle by declaring ‘power to the people,’ it seems the proletariat have yet to seize all the means of production. Capitalizing on your office hours today, industrious workers, retirees and disabled monopolize your entire desk with a series of medical bills that forewarn a bankrupt economy, while each individual freely markets their confusion and stress until they are left red.


The Debate

1. Bumping into your bookshelf and apologizing to it, says Blane the Blind, “Even I can see that we need to make universal healthcare law despite already banning private enterprise! And we should fund it by shut-eyeing the unfocused bureaucracy that was too myopic to do something as obvious as that. If we saw more general practitioners and less civil servants, our national vision would be 20/20! Even if it darkens the streets a bit..."

outcome: optometrists will see citizens in seconds but health inspectors aren’t sighted for years.


2. Saluting you with a stump for an arm, says Veronica the Veteran, "Blane's only got the peripheral - I ain't got no quarrel with them pencil-pushers. But I lost a lot from combat. When a person is missing an arm, our people need to be missing an army. So let's gear up Operation Universal Healthcare, but with reserves from the military budget so that our taxes buy more medicine than missiles. Make love, not war! Regardless that some might get booted from their jobs..."

outcome: reflex hammers and sickle cell research are uniform comrades.


3. Twitching and stuttering your attention away from his surgery scar, says Brain the Brian-Damaged, "Th-they're right, heading u-universal healthcare is a no-brainer. But we sh-should do it by rethinking all the extra school s-subjects and unem-unemployment checks, because kids can't learn and a-adults can't work if they're unwell. Bodies first, then m-minds! Pay no a-attention to how much dumber we all might get th-though..."

outcome: the epileptic have seized the means, medians and modes of class production.


4. Hacking up phlegm while choking through words, says Ash the Asthmatic Architect, "Universal healthcare would be a relief, but hospitals and doctor's offices need (cough) room to breathe. The countryside has plenty of open space, trees and fields for construction crews, just inhale environmental funds and exhale red crosses (cough) instead. All that green might be turning patients blue! Who cares how much pollution this could (cough) belch?"

outcome: budding hospital branches stump eco-friendly arborists.


5. Not minding a massive emergency room balance, says Jim Brah the Gym Bro, "Homie, socialism strengthens our people, but universal healthcare won't. We need competition in the healthcare industry so we can eradicate diseases faster, dude! Instead, how about you boost our health in other ways, like bulking up gyms, public outdoor exercise areas and youth sports leagues? Brains and brawn, bro! So what if the disabled might struggle a bit more?”

outcome: the dying pray 'horsepower to the people' when running to the hospital.


6. Twirling his mustache and adjusting his top hat, says Rich Uncle @@CURRENCYPLURAL@@, "Jim's only half-dollar, er half-right - I bet the only change we need is in our wallets! Universal healthcare - or any state industry - are liabilities for @@NATION@@. With as much business competition as possible, @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ will truly be able to make progress! Reinvest in private enterprise, and let freedom ring up! Who gives a buck about the poor and needy?"

outcome: state-ownership is terminal from a lump of gold in its breast pocket.

Edits 1-5, 22:00 - 22:50 UTC -5 31 May: updated title tags, one minor word change to issue draft
Edits 6, 17:49 1 June: edited intro, added old draft
Edits 7 and 8, 23:47 5 June: edited OP and this note, lol
Edits 9-11, 21:47 9 June: removed effect lines and saved them in 'Draft 2,' corrected the grammar and timestamp in this log
Edits 12 and 13 21:16 15 June: replaced options 5 and 6 with a new option to maintain status quo (+ minor word edit after the fact), and updated OP to reflect that; also inserted a transition from 5 into the final option
Edit 14 11:49 28 June: placed this draft on last call
Edit 15 01:09 29 June: did line-by-line edit to ease up on the puns and giddy up on the clarity
Edit 16 00:53 30 June: did another line-by-line edit and made some trims in the second and fifth options
Edits 17 and 18 01:04-5 30 June: edited the last call timeframe and title to reflect it
Edit 19 12:38 30 June: edited the last call timeframe and title to reflect it
Edit 20 18:12 30 June: made one final word change, preparing to submit
Edit 21 18:22 30 June: submitted!
Edit 22 21:16 30 June: removed last call, updated to reflect final draft
Edit 23 11:49 19 July: reopened drafting stage
Edit 24 13:10 19 July: clarified reopening

[Candensia]

I think this topic is well covered by #48, particularly by options 4, 5, and 6.

[Dexterra]

I think this topic is well covered by #48, particularly by options 4, 5, and 6.

Thanks, per my OP, "It seems possible that having healthy citizens, mid-to-high public health spending, mixed or free-market economic freedoms and/or other statistical factors can sometimes render a Socialist nation ineligible for such issues, so this issue would provide a solution to that admittedly esoteric problem."

I'll consider the topic well-covered if my, or any of my already Socialist accounts', long wait for #48 is finally over

[Candensia]

I think this topic is well covered by #48, particularly by options 4, 5, and 6.

Thanks, per my OP, "It seems possible that having healthy citizens, mid-to-high public health spending, mixed or free-market economic freedoms and/or other statistical factors can sometimes render a Socialist nation ineligible for such issues, so this issue would provide a solution to that admittedly esoteric problem."

I'll consider the topic well-covered if I, or any of my already Socialist accounts, ever receive issue #48

Socialist countries are eligible to receive #48. Socialist countries will only be eligible for options 4, 5, and 6. Nonsocialist nations are eligible for options 1, 2, and 3. No issue validity is assigned that relates to economic freedoms.

In my opinion the overlap is too significant, but if this issue is intended for socialist nations with *really healthy* citizens, then the intro should explain why not having universal healthcare is a national problem, despite having a healthy populace.

[Dexterra]

In my opinion the overlap is too significant, but if this issue is intended for socialist nations with *really healthy* citizens, then the intro should explain why not having universal healthcare is a national problem, despite having a healthy populace.

I suppose that it explains not having universal healthcare is a national problem because citizens, no matter how healthy, are still on the hook for medical bills. Guess I could make it clearer how citizens still having medical bills is a national problem? Though I'm nervous about making any part of this draft more verbose than it kinda already is

[Dexterra]

Alright, I decided to add the phrase 'gambling a bankrupt economy' in the intro to accentuate the extent of a national problem that Socialist nations lacking Universal Healthcare, causing their citizens to owe medical bills, could create. (Would the words 'citizenry' or 'populace' be better substitutes for 'economy'?)

Hope that improves it. Thanks

[Dexterra]

Oh what interesting timing...



Seems to further suggest that there is some low-key statistical weirdness behind this issue; my Socialist nation in the screenshot which received 48 also has terribly unhealthy citizens and negative public health spending - whereas all my other Socialist nations are the total opposite, and they've never received 48.

And even if such weirdness is but a myth, this shows that there's at least one reason as to why a Socialist nation may not be able to accept 48, and that's if they can't have their government grow, or indeed, exist at all.

Anyhow, I'm still working on my issue draft. Feedback sincerely appreciated as always!

[Dexterra]

I recognize that this draft is long and maybe linguistically cumbersome (i.e., breaks your punny bone). In the interest of making it more readable, I took out all the effect lines and saved them in a copy in the OP for anyone still interested. Hopefully that shortens it enough to at least be digestible.

Other than that, though, I'm currently satisfied with this draft but still looking for any feedback. If this can be changed anyway, anyhow, anywhere, feel free to let me know! Thanks in advance!

[Australian rePublic]

I'm sorry, but I don't see why this would be a problem. Even capitalist havens have universal health care. With the exception of the United States of America, all countries have universal health care, even if it is in conjunction with private health care. If nation was truely socialist, private health care would have been the first, rather than the last, thing to disappear

[Electrum]

This is good writing but I feel like this is a 'list' issue in disguise. There are way too many choices on 'things to cut' and you don't even have an option to continue with socialism while not having a public healthcare system. It needs one. Even if it is counterintuitive.

[Dexterra]

I'm sorry, but I don't see why this would be a problem. Even capitalist havens have universal health care. With the exception of the United States of America, all countries have universal health care, even if it is in conjunction with private health care. If nation was truely socialist, private health care would have been the first, rather than the last, thing to disappear

Well if there's one thing issues are definitely known for, it would be their frank, brutally honest depiction of unremitting reality and cold hard facts . (This part of the issues writing guide does say issues needn’t be realistic!)

Maybe some Socialism-installing issues could install Universal Healthcare simultaneously? I’d be fine with that, not sure about the issues team!

---

I feel like this is a 'list' issue in disguise. There are way too many choices on 'things to cut'

Hi Electrum! It's nice to see you here (outside of NSTT)! Yeah I was actually thinking of whittling away the options to defund public transport or the space program, and maybe I could replace them with...

you don't even have an option to continue with socialism while not having a public healthcare system. It needs one. Even if it is counterintuitive.

...this fascinating little tidbit! A 'maintain status quo' option is an interesting idea, let me mull it over

[Dexterra]

Apologies for the delay!

Since envisioning this draft I've wondered if the options to defund public transport or the space program were redundant, so I think a maintain status quo option might be a better alternative that also provides a segue into the final, Capitalism-installing option. For the sake of several birds one stone, I:

• rewrote the option defunding public transport into an option to continue with Socialism sans Universal Healthcare

• decommissioned the space option entirely, and

• edited the 6th and final option to include a transition from the new 5th which also mirrors the transition between the 1st and 2nd.

Feel free to let me know of any other suggestions! Thanks in advance!

[USS Monitor]

I'm sorry, but I don't see why this would be a problem. Even capitalist havens have universal health care. With the exception of the United States of America, all countries have universal health care, even if it is in conjunction with private health care. If nation was truely socialist, private health care would have been the first, rather than the last, thing to disappear

Have you actually looked at the healthcare situation all over the world, including countries populated by races other than white people -- or you just assumed?

In the third world, some places do have public healthcare, but it's not consistently available everywhere. There are still a lot of people who don't have the ability to access and afford the care they need.

[Australian rePublic]

I'm sorry, but I don't see why this would be a problem. Even capitalist havens have universal health care. With the exception of the United States of America, all countries have universal health care, even if it is in conjunction with private health care. If nation was truely socialist, private health care would have been the first, rather than the last, thing to disappear

Have you actually looked at the healthcare situation all over the world, including countries populated by races other than white people -- or you just assumed?

In the third world, some places do have public healthcare, but it's not consistently available everywhere. There are still a lot of people who don't have the ability to access and afford the care they need.

My bad. I meant to say "all countries that can afford it have universal health care'

[Dexterra]

Have you actually looked at the healthcare situation all over the world, including countries populated by races other than white people -- or you just assumed?

In the third world, some places do have public healthcare, but it's not consistently available everywhere. There are still a lot of people who don't have the ability to access and afford the care they need.

My bad. I meant to say "all countries that can afford it have universal health care'

Well, I can think of at least one country that could definitely afford universal healthcare yet continues to choose partisan gridlock, party lines and an unwieldy defense budget instead . Granted, it's not socialist... yet...^{hopefully one day...}

[Dexterra]

With the contest coming to an end in 48 hours, I am putting this draft on last call^{which didn't fit in my title, lol} for any kind souls who want to offer up final comments, questions or suggestions - thanks in advance!

[Dexterra]

Thank you to Verdant Haven for being an MVHP by suggesting and inspiring a new set of edits. To preface this comment, with 24-36 hours to submit - this is (the beginning of) the end, beautiful friends, of our elaborate plans.

Overall, as I stated above, I am fully aware that my style can be hard to read sometimes, and I can almost, if not often, obfuscate the real meaning of a given text through layers of double meanings. I'd also like to take this moment to say that I am always highly grateful for any constructive criticism offered; as cheesy as this might sound, flowers cannot grow without rain. Ipso facto, I rewrote my draft to make it linguistically leaner and meaningfully clearer.

I did a line-by-line edit and came up with a lot of changes to list with probably more still to come, so in the interest of getting this out sooner to give people more time to review, the most recent draft from which comparisons can be made is preserved as 'Fourth draft' in a spoiler in the OP per my standard operating procedure.

As the clock starts to run down here, thanks again for any further help!

[Dexterra]

Okay, I did some more line-by-line edits today and made additional trims in the second and fifth lines. That's all that I'm brave enough to do, at least for now though. If there's any other place, way or manner in which it can be improved, especially in terms of making it clearer and leaner, please let me know within the next 18 hours max^barry, please and thank you!

As the contest curtains draw to a close, (out of respect) I'd like to submit this draft no later than the afternoon - but, as said, feedback is always appreciated!

[Dexterra]

Out of respect, I'd like to get this submitted within the next few hours. But I've got some RL stuff to deal with today so I won't be able to make any further edits or submit it quite as soon as I'd like. I suppose this is one final last call for any help, thanks!

[Dexterra]

Well, I'll admit I've kept this open longer than I said I would . Still, I made one final word change in the opening sentence, and that - I think - is it.

I'm going to go ahead and prepare to submit this draft, now is the last last call! I will come back to edit this comment when the draft is submitted.

EDIT: SUBMITTED! I can happily say that my contest entry this year is over now.

I would like to thank Candensia, Australian rePublic, Electrum, USS Monitor and Verdant Haven for participating in this draft, and for anyone who read along! Congrats in advance to contest finalists, too. Results notwithstanding, I already have one new issue idea in mind that I'll try to get out in August or September. Til then, though - thanks to everyone again!

[Australian rePublic]

Good Luck!!!

[Dexterra]

Good Luck!!!

Thank you, likewise!