MacIver News Service | July 21, 2010 [Madison, Wisc...] State health officials Wednesday released a long-range health vision that proposes increased taxes on alcohol, placing community health centers in middle schools, restricting the sale of alcohol at public events and would begin public schooling for children as young as three years old.
According to the Department of Health Services, the Healthiest Wisconsin 2020: Everyone Living Better, Longer sets out several major health improvement targets, including smoking prevention, lowering obesity rates, ensuring access to good nutrition and increasing exercise levels. The plan also emphasizes the need to improve systems that support health, such as research, health literacy, sustainable funding, partnerships and information systems.
“Everyone — public health departments, educators, health care providers, advocacy groups, employers, community coalitions and residents — can use this plan to make progress on at least one of these important goals,” said State Health Officer Seth Foldy.
The objectives also hit on some hot-button issues that may make the plan politically unpalatable. A push for universal pre-kindergarten, for example, would stretch currently strained public education budgets even further. Elsewhere in the plan the Department of Health Services states its intent to “promote policies that assure societal norms regarding healthy sexual expression.”
The document also includes several obscure policy goals, including one proposal to “Allocate funding to establish the use of electronic methods of payment at farmers markets.”
Critics assailed the plan as an attempt to grow government and increase taxes.
“It is ironic that the day after the Supreme Court ruled the Doyle administration’s raid of the patient compensation fund was unconstitutional that the Democrats announce they won’t address that issue and instead will tie the next Governor’s hands and force him to deal with it; meanwhile they unveil this expansive new plan to increase the cost, scope and size of government,” said State Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette). “It is hypocrisy at its worst.”
Wisconsin Statute Section 250.07 (1)(a) requires the Department to produce a public health agenda for the people of Wisconsin at least every 10 years.
“The vision, goals, and mission of this plan are anchored in a set of core values that form the moral and aspirational compass for the plan,’ writes Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake at the beginning of the proposal. “These include using science and evidence to solve problems, set policy, and take action; striving for fairness and justice; relying on leadership at all levels; and seeking to prevent rather than treat disease, injury, and disability.”
According to the Department, more than 1,500 people statewide participated in the development of the plan, and implementation is scheduled to begin this fall. The objectives outlined in the vast document will be integrated into the work of foundations, universities, state and local government agencies, private industries and healthcare organizations.
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Electronic sales at Farmer’s Markets – talk about your proactive government!
Oooo….we got a group of people out there doing a cash business we need to tax!!
Oh my goodness, there could be a way for people to set up an entire black-market economy to get around government regulations and violating people’s privacy.
Once the dollar is worth less than the peso maybe people will start to barter for food and services and the government can’t allow that – personal capitalism might eventually allow them to get back to where they will have more resources than what the government allows them to subsist on and then they might forget their chains and who is master.
[...] the McIver Institute, of Wisconsin: “State health officials Wednesday released a long-range health vision that [...]
Is it just me or does study after study show that the majority of the “unhealthy” are low income people…? So shouldn’t this study be focusing on getting people off the public dime? Not only that but it’s no one’s damn business what anyone feeds their kids or themselves or smokes or drinks. You have “unhealthy” people in all classes. It’s a choice; it’s about LIBERTY and FREEDOM! I also love how someone like Jim Doyle, a whore to WEAC, comes up with this nonsense as he expands the school lunch program. A food program run by the schools that feeds these poor kids food that McDonald’s wouldn’t serve their customers…
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-08-school-lunch-standards_N.htm
Also, why did it take Jimmy until NOW to come up with this so we could see the magnificent results? Another boondoggle for the next Governor to clean up and get rid of. How many new bureaucrats does this create…?
“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” – Vladimir Lenin
Paradigm Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:10 PM
Amen, Rocco. Most people do not realize the damage mind-control programing can do to a human being between ages 3-6. The rest of childhood is bad enough. This is serious stuff. The several items pointed out in this article are typical of encroaching tyranny.
[...] Read More [...]
Healthiest Wisconsin 2020 provides the roadmap to align policies and systems to improve and create healthy communities, families, and individuals. Aligning policies and systems between government, public, private, nonprofit and civic organizations provide tremendous opportunities to increase productivity, prosperity, participation, and prosperty where all people are the direct beneficiaries. This plan calls to all sectors to work together to address upstream problems that result in downstream problems that impact quality of life often with deadly consequences. Investing in prevention saves lives and saves resources. The people of Wisconsin deserve only the best from its institutions. By working together for the public’s health we can create conditions in which all people can be healthy. We are a great state with great people and institutions. Let’s get started. Thank you.
It is ironic that Rep. Nygren is speaking on behalf of the ‘critics’ of the plan. He clearly hasn’t read the entire document because if he did, it would be evident that this plan is NOT about expanding government, but instead expanding the partnerships among all groups-public, not-for-profit, private, volunteer, etc., to foster the conditions that promote health in Wisconsin.
Speaking as if he knows or understands something, now, that is hypocrisy at its worst.
Paradigm Reply:
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Hey Pepe, what are you talking about?