Privatisation of n h s

[truman]

It is tory owned and biased. The tory boys are merely attempting to make privatisation of everything look right. Give it a face of acceptability. You are merely a tory boy who cannot see the big picture. You are a ten bob millionaire type.

 

:hihi: bury your head if you want..it doesn't alter the facts..

[Triffid]

'This is much more important than playing party politics with the issue', mikem8634 pleads early on in this thread, but it seems his words have been forgotten.

 

What is essential to appreciate is that the neoliberal agenda has triumphed, and this is going to mean that ordinary poeple are going to see their services decline, their jobs disappear, pay reduced, terms and conditions eroded, and all so that a few wealthy private equity and corporate executives can further enrich themselves.

 

There are many politically aware individuals of all party persuasions who are shocked and appalled by what is going on - tradfitional conservatives who are horrified by what has happened within the tory right, and labour supporters haunted by the betrayal of social principles by a cynical target-led and corporate-friendly New Labour executive.

 

Behind all this is the unmistakeable influence of powerful corporate interests. The UK has become a captured state, and all our services and infrastructure are up for grabs.

 

 

 

Which is what I said.

[Cavegirl]

In all seriousness, does nobody ever question the repetetive nature of these discussions and look for a new solution?

 

All we ever hear is Labour do a bad job, the Tories do a bad job, the Lib Dems given a chance would do a bad job and private companies do a bad job.

 

Who does that leave? Well all of us of course! The NHS budget for 2011-12 was £53 billion and there are 63.2 million of us, which means that the cost per person in Britain is under £900 per year. If we can figure out a fair way of spreading the costs so that those who can't pay or can't afford to pay are covered by those who can, we could easily fund the NHS directly ourselves and as a consequence, have a greater input in how it is run. Payments could be made online monthly and social pressure would be sufficient to ensure that the vast majority of people pay up (look at what effect it's had on smokers!)

 

If we cut out the government we can sack managers or staff that don't perform, choose which equipment we would like our local hospitals to specialise in, actively demand a high level of cleanliness and care etc etc.

 

The NHS would settle into a more stable system since it will no longer be used as a pawn in political maneuvering and if things go wrong we'd actively change things because we would be ultimately responsible.

[Triffid]

'This is much more important than playing party politics with the issue', mikem8634 pleads early on in this thread, but it seems his words have been forgotten.

 

What is essential to appreciate is that the neoliberal agenda has triumphed, and this is going to mean that ordinary poeple are going to see their services decline, their jobs disappear, pay reduced, terms and conditions eroded, and all so that a few wealthy private equity and corporate executives can further enrich themselves.

 

There are many politically aware individuals of all party persuasions who are shocked and appalled by what is going on - tradfitional conservatives who are horrified by what has happened within the tory right, and labour supporters haunted by the betrayal of social principles by a cynical target-led and corporate-friendly New Labour executive.

 

Behind all this is the unmistakeable influence of powerful corporate interests. The UK has become a captured state, and all our services and infrastructure are up for grabs.

 

 

 

What I find most disturbing is that people are sitting idly by and allowing the tory boys to do this. It is time to take action.

[Staunton]

You do not get a fairer system by reducing government, but by making government accountable. And the system in place for funding the NHS and all our statutory public services is tax. But with routine tax avoidance and unrepresentative parliamentary practice, the very notion of democracy has been systematically dismantled.

 

As I have pointed out in a previous thread 'under neoliberal practice, business stops being about making things like steel or sugar, and becomes about making money', and I shall add that it also stops being about providing the services they promise to deliver as well.

 

Private equity and corporate sector players have no intention of supplying jobs or services. Their only interest is maximising the bottom line, and they do so at our expense.

[Triffid]

You do not get a fairer system by reducing government, but by making government accountable. And the system in place for funding the NHS and all our statutory public services is tax. But with routine tax avoidance and unrepresentative parliamentary practice, the very notion of democracy has been systematically dismantled.

 

As I have pointed out in a previous thread 'under neoliberal practice, business stops being about making things like steel or sugar, and becomes about making money', and I shall add that it also stops being about providing the services they promise to deliver as well.

 

Private equity and corporate sector players have no intention of supplying jobs or services. Their only interest is maximising the bottom line, and they do so at our expense.

 

 

 

Unfortunately you are quite correct. Thatcher introduced a devil that we have never managed to exorcise. The tory boys here do not see that as they are so blind that they will never see clearly again.

[tinfoilhat]

It is tory owned and biased. The tory boys are merely attempting to make privatisation of everything look right. Give it a face of acceptability. You are merely a tory boy who cannot see the big picture. You are a ten bob millionaire type.

 

And there goes all you credability. That post is very similar to members who are no longer allowed to post. How odd.

 

I agree with Staunton - it does come down to accountability and it's sadly lacking throughout society. The original post (I'm not knocking the poster btw) but its "gloom and doom" rather than "right, let's pull our socks up and make us unsackable". Both private and public employees should work harder and public and private management need to stop taking the mick.

[donkey]

The failings of the NHS are massively exagerated, and have been for years, by a bunch of right wing zealots who can't wait to sell it off so they can get a piece of the action, while at the same time doing away with any last vestiges of a society with an ethos of doing things for each other without there neccessarily being a profit in it for the wealthy.

 

The fact that Murdoch's comics have led the chorus of professional moaners in their ceaseless dirge against the NHS should be enough to alert anyone who isn't either a complete thicky or blinded by their own dogmatic fervour, that there is an agenda behind all the negative press.

 

Any organisation the size of the NHS is - by the law of averages - going to be involved in some major blunders from time to time. However, an objective examination of the facts demonstrates that' compared to the fully privatised US health system, we get far better value for money, and the NHS also compares favourably (pound for pound) with the far better resourced health services in France and Germany.

 

Much of the data we are fed about the health service is cherry picked to present the worst possible picture.

 

All this is irrelevant, however, as to whether the Tories should privatise the NHS. The fact of the matter is, they didn't put any such proposal in their manifesto, because they know the vast majority of the public are utterly opposed to any such move. Therefore they have no mandate - and no right - to do it. I don't suppose that will stop them trying though. And yes, Labour are just as bad. None of the three main parties are in any way representative of ordinary people any more. They all represent broadly the same interests, and all the rest is just window dressing to give people the illusion they are exercising some fundamental choice every four or five years. Hilarious!

[tinfoilhat]

The failings of the NHS are massively exagerated, and have been for years, by a bunch of right wing zealots who can't wait to sell it off so they can get a piece of the action, while at the same time doing away with any last vestiges of a society with an ethos of doing things for each other without there neccessarily being a profit in it for the wealthy.

 

The fact that Murdoch's comics have led the chorus of professional moaners in their ceaseless dirge against the NHS should be enough to alert anyone who isn't either a complete thicky or blinded by their own dogmatic fervour, that there is an agenda behind all the negative press.

 

Any organisation the size of the NHS is - by the law of averages - going to be involved in some major blunders from time to time. However, an objective examination of the facts demonstrates that' compared to the fully privatised US health system, we get far better value for money, and the NHS also compares favourably (pound for pound) with the far better resourced health services in France and Germany.

 

Much of the data we are fed about the health service is cherry picked to present the worst possible picture.

 

All this is irrelevant, however, as to whether the Tories should privatise the NHS. The fact of the matter is, they didn't put any such proposal in their manifesto, because they know the vast majority of the public are utterly opposed to any such move. Therefore they have no mandate - and no right - to do it. I don't suppose that will stop them trying though. And yes, Labour are just as bad. None of the three main parties are in any way representative of ordinary people any more. They all represent broadly the same interests, and all the rest is just window dressing to give people the illusion they are exercising some fundamental choice every four or five years. Hilarious!

 

Pretty much agree with that, particularly the last bit.

[janie48]

Pretty much agree with that, particularly the last bit.

Me too.

So perfectly expressed donkey!