Once again, may I clarify. Kaiser Wilhelm (a king) introduced

[JDPriestly]

monarchy.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Wilhelm II (German: Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Preußen; English: Prince Frederick William Victor Albert of Prussia) (27 January 1859 – 4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918.

Health Insurance Bill of 1883
The first bill that had success was the Health Insurance bill, which was passed in 1883. The program was considered the least important from Bismarck’s point of view, and the least politically troublesome. The program was established to provide health care for the largest segment of the German workers. The health service was established on a local basis, with the cost divided between employers and the employed. The employers contributed 1/3rd, while the workers contributed 2/3rds . The minimum payments for medical treatment and Sick Pay for up to 13 weeks were legally fixed. The individual local health bureaus were administered by a committee elected by the members of each bureau, and this move had the unintended effect of establishing a majority representation for the workers on account of their large financial contribution. This worked to the advantage of the Social Democrats who – through heavy Worker membership – achieved their first small foothold in public administration.<35>

Accident Insurance Bill of 1884
Bismarck’s government had to submit three draft bills before they could get one passed by the Reichstag in 1884. Bismarck had originally proposed that the Federal Government pay a portion of the Accident Insurance contribution. Bismarck’s motive was a demonstration of the willingness of the German government to lessen the hardship experienced by the German workers as a means of weaning them away from the various left-wing parties, most importantly the Social Democrats. The National Liberals took this program to be an expression of State Socialism, which they were dead set against. The Center party was afraid of the expansion of Federal Power at the expense of States Rights. As a result, the only way the program could be passed at all was for the entire expense to be underwritten by the Employers. To facilitate this, Bismarck arranged for the administration of this program to be placed in the hands of “Der Arbeitgeberverband in den beruflichen Korporationen”, which translates as “The organization of employers in occupational corporations”. This organization established central and bureaucratic insurance offices on the Federal, and in some cases the State level to perform the actual administration. The program kicked in to replace the health insurance program as of the 14th week. It paid for medical treatment and a Pension of up to 2/3rds of earned wages if the worker was fully disabled. This program was expanded in 1886 to include Agricultural workers.<35>
Old Age and Disability Insurance Bill of 1889

The Old Age Pension program, financed by a tax on workers, was designed to provide a pension annuity for workers who reached the age of 70 years. At the time, the life expectancy for the average Prussian was 45 years. Unlike the Accident Insurance and Health Insurance programs, this program covered Industrial, Agrarian, Artisans and Servants from the start. Also, unlike the other two programs, the principle that the Federal Government should contribute a portion of the underwriting cost, with the other two portions prorated accordingly, was accepted without question. The Disability Insurance program was intended to be used by those permanently disabled. This time, the State or Province supervised the programs directly.<35>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Bismarck#Health_I...

Universal government-provided health care was a right-wing monarchist invention, not a socialist or NAZI plot. Who are these ignorant idiots that make claims about things without checking for veracity?

What pundit or TV commentators or politician is finally going to point out to these idiots protesting health care reform by screaming Socialism and NAZIsm that they are wrong on their history? This misconception needs to be corrected.

[teenagebambam]

1. Surely you've heard

that facts have no place in the Health Care debate.

[JDPriestly]

2. I hope someone will pick up this fact and say it on TV.

I write my rep and senators and strangely hear my ideas my language out of the mouths of some of them. This has happened more than once. I think it is because of the Congressional District that I happen to live in.

Also, I earned my living writing persuasive arguments. I've had lots of practice. I also make an embarrassing number of typos because even I cannot type as fast as my words pour out of my brain (and I am a very fast typist).