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Originally Posted by Old Mechanic
Healthcare paid by gas taxes? Sounds good to me since we spend 3 times as much for health care as we do for gas.
I'll bet there are few Americans here who can even name all the taxes we pay.
regards
Mech
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As I tapped its swings and roundabouts - it also removes the "freedom" to choose whether to pay for it or invest in a healthier lifestyle. For the UK the idea of a family going into poverty by temporary illness of the main breadwinner was considered unacceptable, so the NHS was designed to do that. It has grown too much since then though.
On the other hand uk.gov does take a lot of my cash and
give it to others who could do better for themselves with a bit of effort.
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Originally Posted by BBC
Raymond, a former educational software writer, has been jobless since 2001. His wife Katherine suffers from bipolar disorder with an anxiety disorder and is unable to work.
Ray says: "The market for my skills dried up 10 years ago - there's a total lack of work in my area of expertise."
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Bollocks, I write software for a living and am paying for him.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BBC
Weekly outgoings includes food and household goods, 24
cans of lager, 200 cigarettes and a large
pouch of tobacco and "Entertainment £20" and Sky TV £15
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Stuff I can't afford...
Quote:
Originally Posted by merccom
does nobody understand the differance between chooseing to live a life of austarity and having it imposed upon you?
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I would make two points here - our system (state healthcare and other benefits) removes one cost and imposes another. Arguably the effect is not neutral but thats a lot of detail and analysis to get to. Secondly the price of gas in the US is more sensitive to world prices than in the EU so our higher prices kind of cushion us against the effects of changes. And world oil prices, like nature, don't negotiate.