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November 11, 2003
Joys of national health and other social ills
Having had an enforced few days at home thanks to a bad attack of hiatus hernia and now inflamation of the gall bladder, I have once again had to run the gauntlet of the NHS. You may be doubled up with pain and seeing double as a result, but you still have to go to them and not the other way round. Then you also have to wait while your doctor writes (that's right - a letter not an e-mail!)to a specialist somewhere else to make an appointment so you can have an ultra sound to check if you need an operation. It shouldn't take more than about a month I'm told. Not that many years ago, and in a different country I would have been seen by my own GP, blood samples taken and referred to another clinic immediately to have the scan. But, this is progress - and purportedly unfair, because you see I had to have medical insurance for it.
I also didn't have to pay an inordinate amount of money in so-called "national insurance" which is supposed to pay for health and pensions, but is, in reality, just another Treasury cash cow. It has recently gone up dramatically for people like me but we are not entitled to most of the benefits it is supposedly funding. It is a bit annoying when you see on the news a couple who draw £50k in benefits every year, tax free! Thats almost £20k more than I earn in a rather high stress position before tax. Someone tell me there is justice in this somewhere!
Talking of pensions (and being fairly close to be able to draw one) we have a rather interesting situation here. Ever since this bunch of Vampires fastened their teeth into the nations throat we have had a raft of very stealthy tax rises. This is supposed to pay for things like more nurses, more teachers, more policemen. What is happening in reality is that for every policeman, nurse or teacher hired, there are almost two extra paper shuffling civil servants hired. If anyone can actually tell me what most of these people do that contributes to the productivity of the nation I would be glad. Perhaps if we didn't have to hire them, there would be no need for the Chancellor to steal £5 billion a year from pension funds, a situation that is causing most firms to close them down. The Chancellors raids, coupled with a poor stock market performance means that most of these funds now do not have sufficient income after tax to pay their pensioners.
Well done Mr Brown, can't have these wealthy pensioners living off the fat of the land while all your cronies need extra handouts now can we.
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 11, 2003 10:31 PM