Free*
2008-05-29
As of yesterday, an asterisk will need to be added to the Czech
Constitution at the point where it guarantees free healthcare. A
footnote will have to say in Clintonian fashion that it depends on
how you define the word "free." The Court's implied definition is
that free healthcare must be "less free" if too many people try to
avail themselves of it, because there isn't enough "free-ness" to
go around. Fees of Kč 30, Kč 60 or Kč 90 are merely various
expressions of the reverse comparative form of the word "free,"
the Court suggests, while Kč 0 is the superlative form and
equates to "absolutely, existentially free." Granted, this is a
convoluted way to justify health fees that, constitutionally
speaking, are unjustifiable. A cleaner way to resolve the issue
would be to declare the word "free" unconstitutional. Just as
there is no such thing as a free lunch, everyone knows there's no
such thing as "free" healthcare anyway.
[Czech Republic Bill medical]
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