A very close relative has the misfortune to be a stroke victim now diagnosed with stage 2 cancer in Zimbabwe. Her treatment will cost upwards of £3,000 with, as with such medical procedures, no guarantee of cure or remission. Despite being a fully paid up member of a Medical Aid Society (a sort of medical insurance scheme), payment of this kind of treatment is not covered. Zimbabwe does not have a ‘National Health Service’ like we in Europe are used to.
Here in the UK, various government departments are claiming that they will be able to create ‘efficiency savings’, £2bn in education "without affecting what happens in the classroom", another £2bn with some £500m from the police budget, and £180m from the universities. After year on year cuts, how is this possible? A sadly humorous view on this matter can be found at “Today the tooth fairy turns cuts into efficiency savings.”
The truth of the matter is there is no more efficiency savings to be had. We know this because we go to the hospitals, where countless charities try to make up for funding shortfalls, we go to schools where every little extra activity requires a ‘donation’ from parents and school and building funds are the norm. Our soldiers die every day in foreign lands because of the lack of proper equipment and our graduates leave universities with so much debt, leaving home is not an option. Exactly what efficiencies are being made because our public services do not seem to be improving?
It is a bit weird that as we, especially in the UK, seem to be moving at great pace towards the USA ‘s ‘pay your own way and tough if life hands you a lemon’ whilst the US president has convinced enough people in the US that looking after those less well off then yourself is a social responsibility. I suspect he has more up his sleeve and good for him. I was even surprised to find that the growing economy of Brazil (why was I surprised?) has the smattering sta rt of a social service for the very poor.
Some of you may answer that the Government should pay for these services. Well, I have news for you; the Government does not have any money. The money it uses is what we give it or what it borrows. Since Thatcher’s time, we have been conned that good government is one that reduces our tax bills, we want less tax, we want to pay less tax, hell the rich do everything not to pay any tax including paying more for the avoidance than the tax is worth. The question is then, who will pay for it all? We cannot keep borrowing to pay for our services, sooner or latter, somebody will want paying back and many of us know that feeling if current statistics are to believed.
Over the years, we have been lead to believe that public services are inherently ‘inefficient’ and ‘financial black holes’ that needed proper management etc etc. That might have been true at some point but after years of cuts, are we to believe there is yet more efficiency savings in the system? I put it to you, there is not, because our public services are suffering to the point of not working. Are the ‘private sector’ type managers that have been appointed over the years failing?
Now if I were in my relative’s shoes, I would rather have paid 10% or even 20% more tax over my lifetime to know that the treatment I require at this time will be available to me, even if I happen to have been made redundant from some company that shipped my work out to India a few years ago. Hell, call the tax payments insurance premiums!
Human beings are social animals and as such we have had rules and responsibilities in our societies from pre-historic times that allowed us to survive and prosper. Even cavemen took care not only of themselves and their immediate families but they had a role to play in the larger society in which they operated. We too, in the modern world must accept our rules and we must accept our responsibilities. Paying tax is one of our social responsibilities; it is the price we pay to be a member of this club. We must not shirk this responsibility and must punish and/or ostracise those that fail to play their role even if they are very rich!
If we want improved public services and we should, we must pay for them. Very simple this, isn’t it? We must all pay, the rich, the poor, the middle class. The alternative will not be pretty.
[First published on my NotTheNews blog on specified date]