When shit likethis is actually being seriously considered by our government?
One can't help but wonder how the value of a human life will be determined. Will one's value be determined based on the contributions one has made under the NI taxes throughout one's lifetime? Or the contributions one has made throughout a set period, such as the preceeding 10 years?
If the first option, then the young, the very poor, people who have been homeless or disabled or otherwise unable to work and pay tax, will be hard hit. The poor will intrinsically be given a lower value than the rich, having paid less tax overall, and will be denied healthcare that the rich enjoy without problems.
If the latter option, then the elderly and retired, or those who previously worked but have recently hit on hard times, will be the worst affected. I find it highly unlikely that our "labour" government, so far removed fromt he values upon which the party was founded, will be happy to apply the same upper limit of monetary value to their own lives as to the lives of the general populace, so certainly some inequality will be "justified".
In our failing economy, work is harder to come by. This is especially true for those who have until now had difficulty finding employment. My OH was homeless for a few years in his late teens, and only escaped his circumstances when he moved in with me. He has been looking, without success, for permanent employement of any sort for about 3 years now, and thus far we have simply doen the best we could with lots of temp employment through agencies. That work is rapidly drying up, and we are already feeling the pinch. Similarly disadvantaged people, and those worse off than ourselves, will be even less able to cope as work becomes ever harder to obtain. Meaning overall that the poorer will find their "value" to the government and the NHS reduced even further.
Or would a "moral" basis be put into effect? Will lifestyle be the clincher for such decisions? Will smokers be denied cancer treatment? Will those who drink, even in moderation, be allocated fewer funds for kidney or liver diseases? Will the overweight be denied medical treatment for... everything... under the current trend to demonise fat as the cause of all ills, against all medical evidence?
How many of us would be that surprised to find exemption clauses included for government officials and NICE employees?
And if this comes into affect, will I be allowed the choice to stop paying NI contributions, saving the money for private medical insurance? Somehow, I doubt it.
The British government are relying too much on the general complacency and apathy that has infected our populace. So few of us bother to turn out to vote int he elections, and so few of us bother to speak up against injustice, that they fancy themselves accountable to no one. It is time that we made it very clear to our leaders that the British people will not stand for this sort of nonsense. Contact your MP, and his/her rivals in office, pledge your alleigance to the party that pledges to end the slow creep to the right of our government, and make it very clear what your views are, what your opinions are, and that you will vote int he next election, but AGAINST those who have made spin and money-grabbing their career.
How can we have so much money to pour into a failed business like Northern Rock, and the funds to provide massive, multi-course banquets at government talsk regarding the starving poor in third world countries, but cannot afford to treat our own populace?