Oiling The Cogs

Investment in healthcare is investing in an intangible: It maintains the units of capitalist production. Strangely, though, the authorities often opt to spend as little as possible on intangibles in favor of the tangibles such as industrial production.

This does not compute, especially in an economic sense. An economy that spends appropriately (as far as needs are met) on these intangibles would have a steadier stream of healthy workers and thus enjoy greater per capita productivity. By oiling the cogs of the machine, the cogs will simply perform better.

Some may argue that the presence of such incentives may encourage freeloading, to the extent that efficiency actually falls. While I concur, there are measures that can be taken to reduce if not eliminate freeloading. Enforcement is one way, and raising workplace morale is another. With increased morale, the motivation to skive is reduced or removed considering the fact that one can improve one's reputation at work by not doing so.