And guess which category the lobbyists and a significant proportion of the current government fall into. Hence the issues that Nexxo pointed out at the start. The NHS is vital, and good value. Could it be better? Yes. Cheaper? Yes. Better and cheaper? Not a chance.
Interesting fact about the NHS. Its the third largest employer in the world after the Chinese army and the Indian State Railway Service. That puts complaints about inefficiencies and bureaucracy in perspective.
It is plain to see that the conservatives have one agenda which they will pursue above all others - opening up any sector of government which could possibly make a profit to private ownership (usually by their rich friends) for exploitation. Eg. BBC, NHS, Student Loans, Rail Network, Communications, Utilities etc The ONLY people who will benefit from this are the people who end up owning these assets, while the taxpayers who have financed their establishment find themselves facing ever higher costs as the new owners seek not just profits, but 'growth' for the shareholders. This we have seen. Not one person who does not own shares in BT has benefited from its privatisation. The same goes for the rail companies, and the utilities. There are certain services which are critical to the continued well being of the population and should be run as non-profit (but not necessarily free) ventures with the sole purpose of providing the best service possible to the largest number of people. Instead, our dependence on these services is being exploited for profit by a select few with little regard for the way it disadvantages our society. The day we allow the NHS to be picked apart by greedy jackals will mark a sad undoing of one of this country's greatest ever achievements.
The rioters are a noisy minority, most of us just languish in bed not caring about politics unless it physically enters the house As for political apathy, a big part of the problem is a lack of clear information. I'm not stupid or unconcerned but I honestly don't have (and am unable to form) an opinion on privatized vs. state healthcare. Learning the relevant information would take days of reading and thinking. There's also the problem of futility - our only methods of interaction with the politics of this country are peaceful protest (which does very little until it turns restless, at which point you lose all credibility and sympathy and the police completely **** your **** up) and letters to your MP (and all we can know for sure is that they'll be "taken into consideration" - it's not direct action). We can't usefully enact a change even if we want to. That people in this country are apathetic towards politics isn't a failure of the people, it's a failure of the system to give them any power or responsibility. People respond to being uninvolved by not involving themselves, it's natural. Anyone with half a brain in this country can't help but notice that they have nothing to do with how it's operated, and that knowledge is very defeating.
Apparently WalMart has around 2.1 million employees, making it the 2nd largest employer in the world. NHS is 4th now.
If you are unlucky, it works out any time of the week. The wards I work at are full of young people who suddenly, out of the blue and for no reason, after a life of not even suffering the common cold get something like, say, Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Prognosis if left untreated is terminal within two years. Treatment (which, incidentally stands a good chance of suddenly killing you all by itself) involves chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, all delivered under exquisitely delicate conditions while in antiseptic isolation for up to months. The price tag for all this? Up to £200.000,--. Easily. Even something as simple as a Hickman line (a silicone and plastic canula inserted under the breast bone to deliver chemo in a vein deep in the chest), which may need replacing every week (even inserting it may waste one as it is a tricky procedure and if you have to pull it back out for another go you can't reuse the same one) costs £200,--. Cancer is pricey. And the kicker is: tomorrow it could be you or me. That's how AML works: like the Spanish Inquisition, when you least expect it.
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!! On the subject of health, IF we consider health to be a luxury service that people must pay fully for themselves then we must do the same for safety, namely police, army and firemen, if we do not then we must be considered hypocrites.
It's true man, it's why I just shrug things off... My nan was perfectly fine, Never ill her whole life, never actually went to her doctors after she was 25... hit 63, diagnosed with cancer and was gone from us forever 14 weeks later. Since then I've taken life as special... done what I want, when I want (thus why I skydive) and generally enjoyed life. Illness and/or death can come for anyone at any time, so enjoy life really. I know thats a derailment and the idea of "Wait... you skydive, wont you end up with the NHS more often" doesn't really make alot of sense, but it works!
I love the NHS. They do a fantastic job for the meagre amount they cost us. The number of times I've done something retarded to myself, walked into an NHS building, pointed at my ****up, explained it in degrees of "ow" and come out with it fixed.. Well, I'm a happy NHS user. I've experienced, though the downside to the NHS. I had something before I went to the US that the NHS said "nothing can be done", I got to the US and the doctor we saw on Fords healthcare plan was fantastic, and the issue was cleared up incredibly quickly. However, I wouldn't change the NHS out for anything else. Proportionally, I've probably not paid nearly as much as I've cost the NHS in doctors time, nurses time, and x-rays (I don't often get drugs, because pretty much anything stronger than paracetamol and I'm hallucinating) and other such things. Where do I go to keep my beloved NHS?
This. Unfortunatly I think the more expensive treatments are just out of financial viability for them. Which is suckage, but it's a price we pay, or don't... as this thread makes out, *raises eyebrow*
Way ahead of you. Last week, Paulette and Gene Cranick's grandson started a fire in a burn barrel outside the couple's Tennessee home. He added garbage, then went inside to take a shower. A few minutes later, he noticed an adjacent shed was engulfed in flames. It didn't take long for the fire to spread to the house. The South Fulton City Fire Department arrived, but because the Cranicks hadn't paid a $75 fire service subscription fee, they refused to spray an ounce of water on the flames. A lot of these laws originated during segregation as a way to exclude blacks from receiving public services.
Sadly, when it comes to politics, Brits have never fought like hell to keep anything. Just keep taking what comes, stiff upper lip and all that.
What can I say, were just cattle. Existing now only to toil ourselves into ruin in order to fill the pockets of scum. They make a mockery of existence, they cheapen and forsake everything with their capitalist lust for power.
I beg to differ. It's just now if we dislike something we don't have the right to do anything about it... remember, if you're protesting, you're potentially a terrorist, or a student... depending ^.^
I think you will find we have a noble tradition of protest and quite often violent protest at that. In recent times we have had protests over, student fee's, Iraq, poll tax, minors strikes and others stretching all the way back to the middle ages. We don't strike on a weekly basis like the French or the Greeks but we like a good protest.
We do like to protest, though when was the last time a mere protest achieved anything? You can't exact change on a major level if you're not willing to push a few boundaries, and that is one thing the average Brit is still unwilling to do. "Steady on now...don't want to cause a scene". On top of that, you've got the frankly astounding crowd mentality; you need only look at the public reaction to the student protests: Joe Public bought the 'students = criminals' spiel hook, line and sinker. By the time it's too late, of course, it won't much matter.
I think a good first step would be for us as a nation to demand the power to sack our MP as was promised to us during the election.
