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spending, Obama as a Democrat seems ideologically committed to maintaining or
increasing it. He is particularly well known for introducing the eponymous programme
of healthcare reforms known as ‘Obamacare’, officially the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act that became law in 2010. The ambitious and controversial reforms
he promoted promise to reform the health insurance industry and provide affordable
healthcare insurance to all Americans, including the 44 million previously unable to get
cover.

Ashoka was also concerned to provide healthcare, although on a more limited
scale. In his fifth Rock Edict he writes that he has ‘everywhere ... made provision for
two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment
for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available,
I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not
available I have had them imported and grown.’ Ashoka was also very concerned for
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the welfare of prisoners and refers to this point several times, noting that by the 26
year of his reign he had declared an amnesty for prisoners twenty-five times (Pillar
Edict 5). Ashoka also refers to other improvements to better the lives of his subjects:
‘Along roads I have had banyan trees planted so that they can give shade to animals
and men, and I have had mango groves planted. At intervals of eight krosas, I have
had wells dug, rest-houses built, and in various places, I have had watering-places
made for the use of animals and men.’

Economy

Turning to the economy, we learn from the Cakkavattisihanada Sutta that wise
financial management is another key responsibility of the righteous king: if he makes
the wrong decisions on spending, his kingdom quickly declines, or as we might say
today, slips into recession. In that sutta we see that one of the successors of King
Dalhanemi, departing from the practice of his predecessors, made the mistake of not
giving money to the poor as a result of which his kingdom began to decline and theft
arose. In an attempt to rectify this error the king then gave away property to thieves,
sparking off a further cycle of crime. The message here seems to be that appropriate
provision for welfare must be a priority, but that misdirected spending on welfare can
create problems as well. Western democracies spend between 20%-40% of GDP on
welfare, including education, which forms a significant part of their expenditure and
10
is difficult to sustain especially in an economic recession. To apportion responsibility
for getting into recession is a task that would occupy economists for weeks on end,
without any guarantee of unanimity at the end. I will not, therefore, enter into that International panel discussion
quagmire, and instead limit myself to noting that the national debt of the USA
currently stands at around $16 trillion. One of the jewels of a cakkavatti is said to be
‘a full treasury’, which I take to mean, or include, freedom from excessive debt, and
it is clear that the USA is far from being in this position. A good part of the

10 Wikipedia, ‘Welfare State’.