You cynic!

I once formulated a similar theory re bus passes. Old people are given bus passes to encourage them to travel by bus. But the service is so poor they end up with hypothermia while waiting at the bus stop.

I think we should behave ourselves now :-)

old people cast more votes than any other bit of the population, your paranoia has been defeated by cold hard FACT.

A lot of old people who would like to vote, can’t make themselves heard by the people who feed,wash and ‘care’ for them; let alone politicians. Vulnerable people speak in whispers.

Not the old people I go to - they have trouble getting to the toilet without assistance, let alone voting.

old people don't get sicker than young ones?

And who do politicians like to have their photographs taken with?
The young, babies, children: you don’t see TV footage of them on a 'walk about' of ‘care homes’ only schools and ‘youth projects.’ Maybe is because they are ‘selling a dream’ of future prosperity and being old, sick or dependant doesn’t fit in with that profile. Most of the public, unless it affects them directly, chose to ignore that getting old is an unavoidable fact of life. Now if a government were to have the ‘Department of Immortality’ think what a vote catcher that would be!

Actually shockingly enough retired old people do pay tax. If you have a private pension in addition to your state pension or receive your deceased partners private pension you pay tax on the whole amount you receive (including the state pension). Which is the situation my mothers in. Nice.

I think that was when I decided to move to another country.

Oh grief...

But hasn't tax been paid on it already? Or am I being thick?

that's exactly what I said! But sadly it seems for three years after my fathers death she was on the wrong tax code - leaving her on a pension and paying off a 2000 pound debt to the tax office.

In actual fact they can't charge tax on the state pension, but if you receive any kind of private pension tax for the full amount (including the state pension) is taken out of it. She would be better off not receiving half of my dads pension.

Mr. Brown living up to his name methinks. There's just no excuse for taxing pensioners.

Good points!
I thought it was cos the NHS costs a large fortune to run, and the money that it takes to run us could easily be given to the government ministers to spend on rent boys/ prostitutes/ football clubs etc therefore, that is why they hate all us clinical professionals (apart from G.P's cos they play polo/ golf with above ministers and let them win!)
But thats just my humble opinion.............

Not just the elderly - by definition anyone who's a heavy user of these services is unlikely to be in work and is therefore a "useless eater" of money that could indeed be paying MP's and their cronies.

I absolutely agree! They're killing off the least fit so there's more for the fittest.

This story is kind of related: Phone firm "pressures patients" - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6690675.stm

And, shocking.

Interesting thought...

as an additional comment I would add this Guardian article:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,2088072,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

The quotes from it.. are interesting to this post and most other past posts about care!

Eug

The only person who ever entered the Houses Of Parliament with good intentions was GUY FAWKES