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February 06, 2004
Cap'n
Whilst I in no way wish to get into a protracted discussion over this, as it is
not the place for it, but I do feel your comment needs to be answered, and
some of the 'myths' surrounding our health system blown away.
The first 'myth' that needs to be removed is that our 'health system' is NOT
free. Nothing is free in this country - someone has to pay, and in our system
the payment burden lands on the lower-middle class income earners. They
pay via a direct tax called National Insurance which is currently around 8% of
total income earned. (this % varies depending on the type of employment
you're in). This payment goes towards the NHS system, Benefits and Welfare
and a small pension. There is no opt out of this system by the way, you pay for
it whether you want to or not, and you pay for it all your working life.
The second 'myth' that needs to be removed is that our 'health system' is the
best in the world. This is rubbish, the NHS is a crumbling, bureaucratic
monolith burdened by masses of innefective middle and senior management
tiers. The waiting list for operations is horrendous, the waiting list for
hospital beds is horrendous and people die becuse they simply cannot get
the treatment they need in time.
The only major difference between our system and your system is that in our
system those who cannot afford to pay for health service are still entitled to
receive it, and those who do pay for it get in line behind them when they need
treatment. It's no wonder this country is such a magnet to Immigrants
throughout the world, the ease of getting into this country and the lure of all
the free handouts and free health treatment is just too much to resist, while
the rest of us have to pay for it and receive a sub-standard system in return
because its so over-burdened with people taking out and not putting in.
Personally I'd rather they gave me my NI contributions back and I took out my
own Health Insurance so I can actually receive a decent level of service that I
pay for, instead of paying into one large pot that everyone draws out of
whether they pay for it or not. This is supposed to be the wonder of our
Socialist Welfare State System.
So Cap'n please don't point to our Health System as being worth living here
for, the time our Health Service was worth paying for are long gone, the only
people who benefit from our Health Service now are those who don't pay for
it. Those who do pay for it, often have to pay twice as they simply cannot wait
the length of time it takes to get treatment on the NHS and have to go private
for it - and this is meant to be a fair system.
Nigel
"amukdigiphoto" < amukdigiphoto@... > 29119
Posted on February 6, 2004 01:28 PM
Posted to category(s) Restoration
