Age-old struggle

by Alan Tyers

Healthcare for the elderly might not be the sexiest topic for debate, but it will become a political war zone.

In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. By 2048, it might be that the primary struggle in our society is not class against class, but young against old.

One key battleground will be healthcare: the Government is planning to create a National Care Service that it hopes will reduce the so-called “postcode lottery” of care for the old by normalising standards and guaranteeing minimum rights.

With an aging population and ever-improving medical care, this is going to be staggeringly expensive. But these oldsters vote, a lot, and they want their due: woe betide the politician that takes on the grey vote.

Within just 20 years, there will be a £6bn gap in the funding for social care. And with more and more people also drawing the state pension, where is all this money going to come from?

The answer? From the working population. Already the state pension age is creeping up: it’s clear that the country just doesn’t have enough money to pay 61-year-old women not to work. By 2046 you will have to be 68 to get a few pennies out of the state – and who knows if that will be pushed up again?

As people live longer, though, reducing the minimum age for pensions becomes less effective. Those still working will be taxed harder and harder. The young, or at least the middle-aged, will be pitted against the old.

One group will own most of the property, but will not really do any work and will expect deference from the others, who will be so hard-worked and hard-taxed that they’ll have nothing spare with which to accrue any capital or property. The old play the role of the bourgeoisie, the young the proletariat: that's your future struggle.

Comments

[Shafted]

Someone mentioned a republic! Well, I for one wouldn't like that, one iota.

[LES LEE]

and it has to be said that what you mention why.. was the express intention of this labour government from 1997 onwards .......
destroy england financially and make it subservient to the european union !!
AND THE JOB IS ALMOST COMPLETE !

[WHY?????]

This country sells electricity to europe during the summer at VERY LOW prices which saves europe money in not having to run their power stations.

During the winter this country BUYS electricity back at TOP DOLLAR prices.

WHY?????

Because the powers stations are owned by the FOREIGN companies and this country is a SOFT TOUCH and EASY to FIDDLE and our FEEBLE and seemingly corrupt government allows it to happen.
WHY????

Because all the politicians must be on the boards of these companies and are making millions as well.

They feel they are being kind to the old folk by giving them a handout to ease the burdon of the rip off prices we pay.

[Shafted Briton]

We might have 'beat' the Germans but they now flog us our electricity back to us???

Do we work for them???

So in truth they won us in 1945?

[CARE FOR OUR OWN]

If Britain got RID of its burdens and millstones then THIS COUNTRY COULD REALY CALL ITSELF "GREAT" AGAIN.

We DONT want WARS.

We DONT want IMMIGRATION.

We DONT want to be the SOFT TOUCH of Europe.

We DONT want utilities owned by FOREIGNERS.

Give us back OUR country and sod the rest of the worlds dregs.

That way we will be able to CARE FOR OUR OWN.

Let the rest take care of their own.

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME.

[Brian Wylie]

If, like me, you are over 70 then, if you look like you will need care, ensure that you have less than £6000 pounds in savings when you request it. That is the current limit for free care. Whatever you do don't go back to work. I did and have just received Gordon's tax bill for it. I won't do it again. meanwhile since 1997 my income has got further and further away from my expenses. Anyone who votes Labour must not aim to get old.as it is now unaffordable in Brown's Britain.

[PROBABLY]

And dont forget all these illegals claiming support for their wife and five children here are also claiming for their five wives and fifty children back in their home country.
Some of them have more than one wife here as well.

Are they going to bring all their overseas families into good old blighty for health care and nursing home places??

PROBABLY.

[after Gordon does the dirty]

How many care homes will be owned by BRITISH companies after Gordon does the dirty again on the English.?

The majority of care homes are FORIEGN owned at the minute.(Until they have had all the grants they can get)
Then they close down and start again in another town.

[Dot.com]

Before immigrants came over in droves into this country the general concensus of opinion with indigenous couples was that two children would be the norm, two children to replace the couple when they died. This would not cause any strain on the housing available. This way there was an unwritten rule that couples would have only two children.

As soon as immigrants came in you could see these people with four or five children in tow and the mother with a bump at the front. Even as far back as then there was quiet dissent about how much they claimed in child benefits, bumping up their income, as well as the houses they took whilst we had to wait that much longer.

Why should we keep quiet now we shouldn't have kept quiet then. I'm sick of these PC people and games that have worked against us not for us.

[How many was there????]

And ALL the ILLEGAL immigrants working in the houses of parliament as SECURITY GUARDS.
How many was there????

They will want looking after because we cant afford to repatriate them at a MILLION pound a family.

A shed at the bottom of the garden is not allowed anymore.
They have to go into care homes and take up beds needed for our own.

[les lee]

gordon is AGAIN ducking and diving in a frantic effort to cloud the issues that are destroying this country courtesy of .... gordon brown /// tony bliar and their unworkable policies since 1997......
it was the trades unions .. therefore labour initiated.. policies that destroyed british manufacturing from the sixtiesonwards ....making our goods far too expensive and therefore not wanted worldwide ...... irrespective of the far superior quality of most of our goods .....
couple that with the average ammount(2) of children born into a family compared with double that for the immigrant families and it doesnt take long to put the indigenous brit into the position of the underdog in their own country !
whilst the entire population is being taxed to the hilt to pay for the gold plated pensions of the politicians .... not forgetting the sleazy misfits in OUR local councils ... only mr and mrs average will have to scrimp and get by in old age,,, as the fat cats are able to pay for the best private healthcare courtesy of we that are too stupid to have a revolution like the third wold countries that we seem to be sliding into

[Anon]

Easy Peasy Poundsies Carl for all those immigrants working in the NHS and care homes for the elderly, all that cash that comes from selling their homes when really they are entitled to treatment on the NHS, but the NHS thinks they should go away without the treatment they deserve and die quietly.

Just like Baby P! Go home and die quietly.

[Dot.com]

Posted by: Carl | 14 July 2009 at 15:39

Well actually Carl, it does have something to do with immigration you just haven't seen it yet.

Besides what about all those houses that immigrants occupy? and all those immigrants whose wages we are paying for working in NHS hospitals and care homes for the elderly? and the rest of it. Think again Carl.

[Shafted Briton]

Oldies in Scotland don't have to pay for their healthecare, they get it free!

Don't they Gordon?

Further, a lot of oldies having to sell their houses to pay for care might not have to. I have heard of cases where these people were entitled to care on the NHS and were refused. NHS care is for everyone.

Just another way of stealing from the public.

[Carl]

You guys DO realise this issue has nothing to do with immigration?

Good job keeping on topic. *thumbs up*

This is something governments of the future are going to have to work on - society has too many freeloaders (and say what you want about immigrants, most immigrants I know work harder than our natives) and eventually something is going to have to give.

[Problem Solved.]

Look after OUR OWN and kick all the foreigners back to where they came from.

THAT WOULD SAVE BILLIONS.

Problem Solved.

[WHY WHY WHY ???????]

We live in what is supposed to be a UNITED KINGDOM.
HA HA !!

Why do we have such TOTAL DIFFERENCES between England,N/Ireland,Scotland and Wales????

WHY is England the WORST off region in everything???

Including immigration we always get the WORST OF THE LOT.

WHY WHY WHY ???????