01-14-2022, 01:12 PM
(01-14-2022, 10:49 AM)ac3r Wrote: Some people are already suggesting the tax isn't very logical (although it is, seemingly, legal):
Quote:McGill University biomedical ethicist Phoebe Friesen was concerned the logic of taxing unvaccinated people could be extrapolated to other behaviors seen as driving health spending – obesity, for example – but that are tied to marginalization.
"If you want to be consistent and logical, you should charge all sorts of people for their hospitalization if it's based on behavior that they're 'responsible' for," she said "... And it's incredibly tricky to figure out what that looks like."
The legality isn't even the thing, it's a question of medical ethics. But as the article points out, it has already demonstrated that there are still hold-outs that are now suddenly booking appointments, which is a good thing. We saw that happen in Ontario when the government announced plans for a vaccine passport system and when employers began to mandate vaccines in workplaces.
But you're still going to have a large chunk not vaccinated because they still haven't clued in. I've mentioned it a few times before, but many immigrants who have poor language skills still have no idea what's going on, and if they do, they have no idea what they need to do. My 'aunt in-law' was kicked out of a McDonalds because she had no vaccine documentation. It's not like she's stupid, but she has zero clue how bad covid is, other than travel restrictions and she can't go to church. She has zero clue how to get a vaccine. And it doesn't help that she's Italian and has a serious mistrust of governments because of all the shit that happened in Italy years ago. Her kids, who were born in Canada, aren't exactly vaccine proponents.
And you're still going to have indigenous who won't get vaccinated no matter what. They have been treat like shit by current and past governments, I personally don't blame them.
Media and government have done a poor job at messaging when it comes to who is getting sick, and what their background is. It's either 'vaccinated or not vaccinated'. But I guess if they said 'the who' it would be politically incorrect, unless they show a video of a white, obese, male anti-vaxxer dying in the hospital, who, upon reflection says, while grasping for air, "Covid is real".
As for weak-minded anti-vaxxers who get their information from FaceBook and radio talk shows -- that blame goes directly to the government and (social)media for allowing that shit in the first place.
But I do agree with what Friesen says, we go down this road to tax someone who refuses a medical procedure, it opens a pandoras box of other things.
The reality is this: if people took care of their health, our hospital capacity would be a fraction of what it is today. And, if people took care of themselves, this virus would have affected very few people. But we built hospital capacity around people who take risks, around people who abuse their bodies, and around poor government policy that make people get sick.