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Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to launch a communist China-style social credit score app that will reward families based on government-approved choices at the grocery store.
"Healthier" choices will be rewarded with "loyalty points" in the app which will translate into discounts and other incentives.
Boris Johnson is supposed to be a "conservative."
What could a far-left radical like Joe Biden and his further far-left administration "imagine" for the United States?
Don't think for a moment that "public servants" like Fauci, Harris, Sanders, Warren, and others are not considering how to take care of we Americans.
Be informed, not misled.
Not letting the crisis go to waste.
The supposedly Conservative government will launch an app by the end of the year to monitor the supermarket spending habits of families in the UK. Those who choose "healthier" options such as fruits and vegetables or engage in exercise will be rewarded with "loyalty points" in the app, which will translate into discounts and other incentives.
The London based "Telegraph" is reporting this story, but because it requires a subscription, I haven't linked it--- but they are reporting that "the whole team in Downing Street is working on this, and the Prime Minister thinks that "we simply cannot go on as before and that we must now tackle it head-on."
"It" is the people's health. Johnson says he has been on a very rigorous diet and exercise since he had Covid-19. He also believes that his poor diet contributed to his getting the coronavirus.
So, it's for the people....sort of.
Lord Stevens, the outgoing head of the National Health Services (NHS), says: "Countries, where more than half the population are overweight, have had 10 times more Covid death."
He also observes that the UK's "socialized health care system will be weighted down in the future if the government failed to tackle the rising obesity in the country."
Win-win. This new "social credit app rewards people for being good, improves their lifestyle---and it props up their failing socialistic medical system for a while.
And there's punishment for those who don't participate.
Calvin Robinson is a political commentator. He wrote in response to Johnson's new deal, "The party of small state and privacy has become the party of nanny state interventionism. For shame."
The party of small state and privacy has become the party of nanny state interventionism.
— Calvin Robinson (@calvinrobinson) July 24, 2021
For shame.
The Conservative Party needs new leadership. https://t.co/Y7NpBjzBsp
Stevens says, "The layers of the onion...stretch out to things that are obviously beyond a healthcare system's control..." but this is a great first step.
If Boris Johnson is a "conservative" imagine what a real leftist American administration can do with an idea like this and a crisis like Covid.
Communist China leads the way with its social credit score.
It's much like our own credit score system. If you manage your credit responsibly ---pay your bills on time, etc., your score goes up, giving you more credit to buy more stuff with credit cards and loans.
And it gives "good" citizens advantages that are withheld from "bad" citizens.
Here's how your social credit score is determined.
The Communist Chinese Party working through both government agencies and private companies are collecting massive amounts of data on individuals, i.e., individual finances, social media activities, credit history, health records, online purchases, tax payments, legal matters, and people you associate with, in addition to images gathered from China's 200 million surveillance cameras and facial recognition software.
This data indicates non-compliance with legally prescribed social and economic obligations and contractual commitments are flagged and aggregated on a government-wide level to determine the trustworthiness of companies and individuals.
The trustworthiness score can fluctuate based on actions---up for good deeds, down for bad deeds, which includes getting a speeding ticket.
Actions that adjust your social score.
Purchasing diapers for a child might bump your score (the system assumes you're a responsible caregiver) while it might take a hit when you purchase alcohol. It's better for your social credit score if you never cheat when playing video games, but if you play video games more than 10 hours a day, your social credit score will likely be lower than the diaper-buying caregiver.
If you are found guilty of disrupting or blocking check-in counters or passageways in an airport, your social credit score can be lowered.
Consequences for bad citizens.
Citizens with a social credit score above 650 at one hospital allow an individual to see a doctor without lining up to pay.
Individuals with lower scores might find their ability to purchase what they want, such as high-quality goods or a new home, is restricted.
They might also be prohibited from buying airline and train tickets or renting an apartment.
People with low social credit scores are often blocked from dating sites and are unable to enroll their children in the school of their choice.
How do the Chinese people feel about this system?
Forbes quotes several polls that show Chinese citizens have a favorable view of it---showing 80% of the citizens either somewhat approve of it, or strongly approve of it.
They say they believe it is a more efficient way to promote good behavior and protect them from fraud and bad business.
Not surprisingly, the people who achieve higher social scores like it better than those with low scores.
Chinese people have always known their government knows a lot about them so it seems to me this was a gradual---incremental process.
We must also remember that people who told a pollster they weren't all that excited about it likely got their social credit score lowered---if they were fortunate. If they were not so fortunate---who knows?
The Chinese Communists think that as long as the people believe the social credit score system is fair and transparent, they will embrace it. And they're right for the most part.
Beyond China's borders.
All companies with a Chinese business license, a requirement for any company operating in China, were brought into the social credit system at the beginning of the program.
As a result, some experts believe the system is already influencing the behavior of foreign businesses.
I get a communist regime putting a system like this in place. I find it inconceivable that people in the UK are going to submit to anything close to this---but it appears the process is underway.
A number of polls have been taken over the past couple of years all showing that Americans and Europeans are not ready for anything close to this, yet Boris Johnson in the UK is embracing it.
And surprisingly, a number of people in the US and UK feel like it provides security for the citizens.
Boris Johnson is not proposing this, but he is putting his toe in the water---which is the first step down this path.
Could our current leftist administration try something like this?
With the confusion and chaos surrounding the pandemic, the new surge in cases---and of course, "climate change" which has been transposed to "climate crisis" is almost ensuring either another lockdown or another government-run and sponsored power grab.
As a candidate for the Tory Party leadership two years ago, Johnson promised an end to the "continuing creep of the nanny state."
Last month, the government---no, not China's government, the UK government, announced "new laws will ban the advertising of food high in fat, sugar or salt on television and online before 9 PM" when children are most likely to see them.
This month a government-backed review--- the UK, not China---is calling for increased taxes on sugar and salt to reduce obesity. There's more to come.
Two years ago F.H. Buckley wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "Social Credit May Come to America." And gave the reasons why.
The New American, heavily quoting Tucker Carlson, says, "Watch what you say, and don't dare hold opinions offending the Machiavellian minions. For the consequence may be that you can't send an email, transfer money, sell a book, rent an apartment, or make a decent living."
They continue: "Welcome to the Chinese 'social-credit-system', American Style: a corporatocracy, a model in which big government and big business work hand in glove exercising monopolistic control over the mouths and minds of Americans"...calling it a "dark and developing reality."
Who needs the communists when we have the social media giants?
Buckley says if you thought some people were too far out on the right on this issue---maybe you should think again.
Indeed.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.