Viagra is off the menu in Milwaukee

Mention socialism in our country and the majority of people will have a bad opinion. It seems the very idea of redistributing resources has a negative value. In part, this also explains the objection to taxes for their function is to take from the people who can afford it and to use the money for the benefit of the community. Unfortunately, many unChristian people feel the unemployed, disabled and the old are merely scroungers who sit and do nothing so they can live at the expense of those who have paid their taxes. This is all rather strange because everyone benefits from having a road system and water supplied from rivers and reservoirs. It seems the majority would prefer access to all resources be based on the ability to pay — so toll roads and metered water from the faucet for everyone. Of course the one topic most likely to cause anger is healthcare. It seems we want care denied to all those who cannot pay for private insurance. In the rest of the world, the state directly or indirectly pays for medical treatment. This works well as everyone who falls ill is guaranteed a basic minimum level of care, regardless of their means. All of which brings us to Milwaukee.

The people who work with chemicals or different processes in our mining or manufacturing industries can be more prone to particular types of illness. The responsible employers pay for health plans that cover the specific illnesses arising from the employment. The others pay the lowest rate they can get away with and leave the sick to care for themselves. This would not happen in other countries. Since society usually benefits from the use of whatever is extracted from the mines or made in the factories, the taxpayers all contribute to the care of the people who sacrifice their health for society’s benefit.

One of the more common causes of erectile dysfunction is stress. As part of a general loss of self-confidence, men can find their sexual performance also declines. Teaching is one of the more stressful occupations in the US. Whereas other countries value education and respect their teachers, our schools are full of barely suppressed physical or emotional violence. For some time, teaching unions have been able to persuade employers that a comprehensive health plan was essential. This involves sitting down in individual negotiations to decide which treatments and drugs are to be included in the plan — something that can produce significant unfairness depending on where a person teaches. In Milwaukee, the school boards agreed to pay for Viagra. It then appeared that the majority of male teachers were having problems and that element of the costs began to rise fast. Reflecting the need to keep the deficit under control, the school boards then announced they would stop supplying erectile dysfunction drugs. The union sued for an injunction.

Going to court is expensive and not always the way to make friends with the opposition. Wisely, the union has now withdrawn the action. All the money wasted on attorneys could have kept more teachers in employment. So, for now, the teachers in Milwaukee must dip into their own pockets to pay for Viagra as needed, while the school boards get back to balancing the budget.