|
From
Sun
Media this morning:
Federal
inmates are getting "deluxe" medical treatment behind
bars, with cost per prisoner roughly double the average Canadian
on the outside. Taxpayers spend $81.5 million to keep 12,500
offenders healthy last year, providing free access to
prescription drugs, medical treatments and a controversial
methadone program for heroin addicts.
For
me ever to vote for a Conservative politician, he or she would
have to promise not to bite on Angry Canadian Taxpayer crap like
this. It's not looking good. Peter MacKay "insisted
criminals don't deserve a greater per-capita share of health
care" and said "It seems the whole image around Club
Fed continues, and it's not a myth." Randy White,
meanwhile, said "inmates get 'deluxe, first class'
treatment — two-tier health care" (note that
"two-tier healthcare" is author Kathleen Harris' turn
of phrase, not White's). "Things that you and I pay
for," Randy bellowed, "they don't. Canadians will just
shake their heads and say, 'There it is again. You treat
criminals better than law-abiding citizens'."
Holy
cow, this is so stupid:
·
It costs double to keep prisoners healthy because
they have more health problems than the average Joe; and they
have more health problems than the average Joe because they're
in prison. "Aging is brought on much earlier because
inmates suffer from the cumulative effects of incarceration,
substance abuse, poor diet and unhealthy lifestyles" —
that's from a Correctional Service Canada spokeswoman! If Mackay
and White are so upset about the healthcare bill coming out of
CSC, perhaps they might lobby for a prison system free of needle
drugs and poor diets. I'm not holding my breath.
·
Inmates can't pay for their prescription drugs,
dental care, eyeglasses, etc. — the things Randy White pays
for himself (he has declined his benefits package, apparently)
— because they're in prison and they don't have any money.
They're in prison because we put them there; they don't have any
money because we
pay them almost nothing for the profit-making
work they do. Sorry, Peter and Randy, but this isn't Laos — we have a responsibility to keep inmates
healthy.
Also,
Randy, you insufferable rube, don't you dare tell me when I will
and won't shake my head.
-contact-
|
