NHS crumbling away...as predicted

[Seth]

I believe the only way of saving the NHS, as with much else here, is to remove all foreign interests starting with American ones. Same with everything else really - change is homegrown. Tag your chute with a bigger guy with a larger failed chute and you only hit the ground faster. Time to jettison America.

Fine by me. Why we would want to be helping to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic is beyond me anyway.

[Seth]

It's entirely unsurprising that the NHS is a failure and that rationing of health care takes place, I've know that to be true since socialized medicine began.

It's such a failure, the parties are falling over each other to claim that THEY are the ones most committed to it, in the current election campaign.

Unsurprisingly, there is NO demand to pay nearly three times as much per person, for a system that doesn't cover everyone. Like they do in the US.

And the US has far more rationing of health care.
The only difference is that it's insurance companies who do the rationing.

No, it's the consumers who do the rationing of their own health care, which is exactly how it should be.

[mistermack]

It's entirely unsurprising that the NHS is a failure and that rationing of health care takes place, I've know that to be true since socialized medicine began.

It's such a failure, the parties are falling over each other to claim that THEY are the ones most committed to it, in the current election campaign.

Unsurprisingly, there is NO demand to pay nearly three times as much per person, for a system that doesn't cover everyone. Like they do in the US.

And the US has far more rationing of health care.
The only difference is that it's insurance companies who do the rationing.

No, it's the consumers who do the rationing of their own health care, which is exactly how it should be.

Except that the consumers in the UK don't give a fuck how you think it should be.
Funny how people who actually use the NHS all want to keep it, whereas ignorant people overseas get upset by it.
Maybe it's because it's a socialist success story. In contrast to the failure in the US of private enterprise.
Some things are just not suitable to be left to the market. National Health is one. National defence is another. Policing and justice are another.
It's not rocket science. Private enterprise doesn't suit every requirement of a civilised world.

You just have a screw loose when it comes to anything to do with government.
That's the only possible explanation for supporting a system that costs nearly three times as much and doesn't cover everyone. It's an obsession very similar to religion.

[Brian Peacock]

Quite.

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS

[piscator]

It's entirely unsurprising that the NHS is a failure and that rationing of health care takes place, I've know that to be true since socialized medicine began.

It's such a failure, the parties are falling over each other to claim that THEY are the ones most committed to it, in the current election campaign.

Unsurprisingly, there is NO demand to pay nearly three times as much per person, for a system that doesn't cover everyone. Like they do in the US.

And the US has far more rationing of health care.
The only difference is that it's insurance companies who do the rationing.

No, it's the consumers who do the rationing of their own health care, which is exactly how it should be.

Except that the consumers in the UK don't give a fuck how you think it should be.
Funny how people who actually use the NHS all want to keep it, whereas ignorant people overseas get upset by it.
Maybe it's because it's a socialist success story. In contrast to the failure in the US of private enterprise.
Some things are just not suitable to be left to the market. National Health is one. National defence is another. Policing and justice are another.
It's not rocket science. Private enterprise doesn't suit every requirement of a civilised world.

You just have a screw loose when it comes to anything to do with government.
That's the only possible explanation for supporting a system that costs nearly three times as much and doesn't cover everyone. It's an obsession very similar to religion.

QFT

The last Von Mises-approved head of state was Augusto Pinochet.

[Brian Peacock]

Nurse! We need a kidney dish and some mouth wash over here. Stat.

[JimC]

I for one actually agree with this policy.

If your BMI is >25... literally rethink your entire lifestyle.

Setting some limits for public assistance to the health care of individuals whose lifestyle decisions have caused their health problems is reasonable, I think. And this applies no matter what the mix is between private and public in any given national health system.

As always, the devil is in the details...

[Seth]

It's entirely unsurprising that the NHS is a failure and that rationing of health care takes place, I've know that to be true since socialized medicine began.

It's such a failure, the parties are falling over each other to claim that THEY are the ones most committed to it, in the current election campaign.

Unsurprisingly, there is NO demand to pay nearly three times as much per person, for a system that doesn't cover everyone. Like they do in the US.

And the US has far more rationing of health care.
The only difference is that it's insurance companies who do the rationing.

No, it's the consumers who do the rationing of their own health care, which is exactly how it should be.

Except that the consumers in the UK don't give a fuck how you think it should be.

I know, but they are inbred microcephalic morons who think that NHS health care is "free," so I don't give a fuck what they think, if they think, which it's pretty evident they do not.

Funny how people who actually use the NHS all want to keep it, whereas ignorant people overseas get upset by it.

Well, maybe except for all those people who have to wait six months for an MRI or die waiting for a specialist appointment. But it's not surprising that the lumpen proletariat like the NHS, they are after all Marxist useful idiots who think that the Money Fairy pops by to fund their health care needs.

Maybe it's because it's a socialist success story. In contrast to the failure in the US of private enterprise.

It's not a success story, which is what the story is about. It's an abject and entirely predictable Marxist failure that's only going to get worse, until everybody gets an equal amount of health care which consists of one aspirin and a sticking plaster, no matter what's wrong with them. The ones who like it now are the ones who are stealing other people's money to pay for their poor lifestyle choices and bad luck, and of course they like using OPM. That doesn't make them either moral or ethical, it makes them cupidinous thieves who are getting the goods before the well runs dry. Shortly, however, everybody over there will be entirely fucked when the entire economy collapses under the weight of universal unlimited health care for all... oh wait, rationing has already started hasn't it?

Some things are just not suitable to be left to the market. National Health is one. National defence is another. Policing and justice are another.
It's not rocket science. Private enterprise doesn't suit every requirement of a civilised world.

Sure it does, it just doesn't suit your particular Marxist mind-set because you can't get what you want on somebody else's dime.

You just have a screw loose when it comes to anything to do with government.

Government's what's screwy.

That's the only possible explanation for supporting a system that costs nearly three times as much and doesn't cover everyone. It's an obsession very similar to religion.

Your system doesn't cover everyone either, and it will cover fewer and fewer people as the coffers run dry of OPM, and then nobody over there will get anything.

You make the fundamental liberal mistake of thinking that just because you think it's not "fair" that some people can't afford or obtain health care that something either can or must be done about it. You are unwilling to face the simple economic fact that no society can provide unlimited health care to everyone for "free." It's an economic impossibility and all you do when you try is bankrupt the country, which leads to chaos and even more death and suffering.

Life is not fair. Everyone cannot have everything they want or need. It's a planet of limited resources and someone has to get the short end of the stick because they are at the bottom of the bell curve. All Marxist attempts at "fairness" and egalitarianism do is impoverish everyone so that nobody has anything at all. Viz: Venezuela, where they don't even have toilet paper while having one of the largest oil reserves on the planet.

Life isn't fair. It sucks to be poor. Don't be poor. If you're poor, figure out how not to be poor. If you can't, then you're just fucked because, well, life ain't fair and nobody else owes you a damned thing, particularly not their labor or property, and you have no right to steal it from them, even using the expedient of jackbooted machine-gun carrying government thugs with "IRS" on their jackets.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it is harsh. That's life. Adapt or die.

[Seth]

I for one actually agree with this policy.

If your BMI is >25... literally rethink your entire lifestyle.

Setting some limits for public assistance to the health care of individuals whose lifestyle decisions have caused their health problems is reasonable, I think. And this applies no matter what the mix is between private and public in any given national health system.

As always, the devil is in the details...

The simplest way to make people take responsibility for their health is to make them financially responsible for their health care. I take care of myself because I don't want to spend a big pile of money because I did something stupid or ignorant that got me hurt. If I do get hurt or sick, I have money set aside for dealing with that, and if it's not enough to deal with the problem, well, sometimes you die. Get over it, it's gonna happen eventually anyway and the fact that you want to stave it off for another day or month or year doesn't give you license to steal from other people to fund your desperate attempt to live. Suck it up and check out, you selfish pricks. You're not needed on the planet anyway, and outside of a couple of people who know you, nobody on earth gives a flying fuck whether you live or die, and most of them would be just as happy if you die because it means more pie for them.

You liberal simps just cannot face the hard truth. You want somebody to save you from the inevitable and you're willing to take what you need by force, but you have no better right to preservation of your sorry life than anyone else does, and preserving your life certainly isn't a priority for people who save up so that they can preserve THEIR lives on THEIR dime.

Why any of you think you are entitled to the labor or property of anyone else is a complete mystery of reason and logic. You get born (if your mother doesn't abort you), you live for a while, and then you die. Get used to the idea. Your desire to live longer than the next guy is meaningless and selfish beyond all comprehension, particularly when you demand that they fund your efforts.

When it's time to die, just fucking die and leave other people alone. Nobody guaranteed you a damned thing when you were born, so be thankful for what you have and move along, because nobody gives a shit if you take another breath.

Really. Nobody. I dare one of you to find a single person who would take a bullet for you or agree willingly to die in your stead if they weren't forced to it.

So fuck off with your simpering faux concern for the poor and disadvantaged, you're all hypocrites because you would not willingly turn over everything you have, including your health, to a poor person and take his place begging for alms on the roadside. You'd all fight as hard as you possibly could to keep from having to do so because you're all selfish cunts, and so am I. My life is important to me. Your life means nothing to me when it comes to the narrow passage. This means that until my needs are fully met, you can't have a fucking dime that belongs to me unless I choose to give it to you for reasons of my own.

Is that selfish? Yes, it is, and every single human being on this planet is at least as selfish as I am because it's part of our genetic programming, which means it's a trait necessary for survival.

[pErvinalia]

You just have a screw loose when it comes to anything to do with government.

Not true. He loves the government when it is spying on us, executing people, and blowing up Muslims.

[Seth]

You just have a screw loose when it comes to anything to do with government.

Not true. He loves the government when it is spying on us, executing people, and blowing up Muslims.

Don't need government for that...

[mistermack]

Seth, you're living in a fantasy world. Your ideal of being left alone will never happen, and never did happen in the past.
When nobody is in charge, somebody takes charge. That's human nature. And then they tell you what to do and effectively own you. You have to follow their rules.

It used to be kings, and aristocrats. Now it's governments. And if they want something from you, they can take it. Kings would take your land, and give it to their friends, on the slightest pretext.
Now we call it tax.
People will NEVER fuck off and leave you alone.

Why don't you just buy a Davy Crockett hat and go and live in the Alaskan woods? That's the only way you will even get close to your ideal.

Sensible people work on the system that we've got, and try to improve it here and there.
My ideal is to give all kids as equal a start as you can, and then let the lucky ones flourish and look after the unlucky ones.

You're just a selfish cunt who hates everyone. I'm glad you're all bitter and twisted.
It's all you deserve.

[Brian Peacock]

I think Seth needs to get seriously laid. I mean, like, seriously.

[laklak]

The key is to minimize your interactions with other ground apes. You can never get away from them entirely, but you can limit their effect on you. It's a multi-pronged approach. You need to isolate yourself, physically, financially, and emotionally. Physical isolation can be as simple as good fences or as complex as a farm on a mountain top or (soon, motherfucker, soon) a boat big enough to live on. If you don't have assets sufficient to cover all your expenses then you'll need an income, but you want it as passive as possible. Try to avoid going into work every day if you can. A good tax accountant is a necessity, as you want to give the other apes as small a percentage of your dosh as you can. Emotional isolation is trickier, and some people can't do it. You'll never be completely cut off from society, nor would you want to be, but you can certainly decrease your dependence on and level of interaction with others. Last is an exit strategy. No point in doing all the above and then getting stuffed into a nursing home with a bunch of other smelly, ancient, crumbling apes. You can't be sure your chosen strategy will work until you pull the trigger, though, it's not something amenable to a dress rehearsal.

[cronus]

Pubs crumbling away is a more serious matter.