Typical Rahm version of 'choice' for working people... Failing to 'choose' corporate wellness costs each family at least $600 per year... Rahm trying for Guinness Book of World Records with fascist 'wellness' program
Instead of challenging corporate malfeasance from sugar cereals to tobacco products, the plutocracy's favorite fascist, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, pushes "wellness," which is just another forced "choice" that veils the corporate horrors behind it. Imagine if the current wars had been bigger and Rahm had preaches "wellness" by telling legless veterans to grow a new leg? But on August 23, 2012, Chicago's mayor, who can't even get social ills like graffiti taken care of in a timely manner, issued another puff piece with the following announcement about the city's "wellness" program.
Above, German girls of the Hitler Youth in a poster from the mid-1930s. The fascist "wellness" programs of the totalitarian states of Europe were the opposite of democracy, as is Rahm Emanuel's wellness program in Chicago in 2012.The privatization of food services to Chicago's public schools has left many children — and faculty who eat school food — at the mercy of Chartwells dubious menus. While Chicago's corporate propaganda touts most of Rahm's initiatives, the refusal of the Chicago public schools to provide its students and student athletes with adequate facilities for physical education, swimming, dance and other healthy activities is a national scandal. One city principal who bragged that her school didn't need a librarian at the Board of Education's August 22 meeting was praised by members of the Board appointed by Rahm Emanuel.
And, finally, left out of Rahm's announcement is the fact that families who refuse to participate in the Rahm Wellness Program are fined at least $600 per year for refusing to place their health information into data bases maintained by corporate Chicago.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 2012, CONTACT: Mayor’s Press Office, 312.744.3334
press@cityofchicago.org
MAYOR EMANUEL ANNOUNCES 47 PERCENT PARTICIPATION IN WELLNESS TO DATE. Whopping 99.8 Percent of Respondents Choose to Join the Program
Just over three weeks into the sign-up period for the City of Chicago's innovative wellness program, Mayor Emanuel today announced that nearly 50 percent of City employees and eligible spouses have joined the program.
"Our program will change lives, make our workforce healthier, and save taxpayers money," said Mayor Emanuel. "It will only work if people join and I'm so pleased to report that we've had well over 22,000 employees or spouses join the program."
22.420 employees or spouses have joined the program. Virtually every respondent has chosen to join the program. Only 54 employees or spouses have reported and chosen not to join -- a staggering 99.8% acceptance rate. There are still approximately 25,500 employees who have yet to either join or decline to participate.
Despite claims that "everyone did it," not every Austrian boy joined the Hitler Youth and saluted with an upraised right arm, as the child above was doing during the 1940s, a half century before he became Pope. But, like Chicago's wellness program, the program above did have "participation" of more than 98 percent.The Wellness Program, Chicago Lives Healthy, is an innovative program that provides free annual health screenings, check-ups, call-ins, and programming for employees and eligible spouses. The program includes workers from the City of Chicago as well as four sister agencies — the Chicago Park District, The Chicago Housing Authority, City Colleges of Chicago, and the Chicago Public Schools. With over 47,000 eligible employees and spouses, it is the largest municipal wellness program in the world.
The Wellness program will accept responses from employees and spouses until August 31. The website for the program is ChicagoLivesHealthy.org.
