Fantastic comment piece from the Times on the giveaway to mortgage holders

lostinrates

Is it possible that 'the middle class' go to their GPs only when more ill, on average?

My father has been to the doctor, like NDG's, only very ocasioanally...three times for an initial GP appointment in my lifetime! On two of these occasions the appointment has lead to an operation...one of which lead to his second period of sick leave ever in his life (cancer) and one of which he took a friday afternoon off to use the weekend to get over the GA so he could work on the Monday. However, on all thre visits they have picked up on various other things that I think many people might have gon to a GP surgery for. TBH, I think a lot of mployed people of all 'classes' probably go to the doctor less than they might if they didn't have to get time off work to go.

Lotus-eater

Can we agree that class systems are stupid and in all classes, there will be snobs who hate others from different classes?

Anyway, I thought we were classless now?

I think it was on a tv prog the other day, man to girl "so are you working class then".
"No, I've never worked av I?"

DirectDebacle

Intereting debate. Is the landed Lord who spends 3 days a week asleep in the House of Lords to claim his 90 guineas a day or whtaever, any more or less of a benefit scrounger than someone who works all the hours they can in a low paid job and claims 'top ups' to make ends meet. Are the well off family spending their child allowance on a nice bottle of wine to go with Sunday lunch any more of a scrounger than the single parent spending it on heat, light and clothes for their children.

It is easy to generalise, categorise and put people in boxes. A couple of thousand years ago someone who has a birthday celebration coming up soon said,'The poor are always with us'.

We need a welfare state to protect the vulnerable and there is plenty of money in the sytem to do that. There is far too much waste and it is not targeted properly.

Our society willl never be equal but it can be fairer. The concept of 'class' does not enhance fairness, it inhibits it.

RecoveringAlcoholic

Really2 wrote: »

Add to that the time Bomb of the 1-2 bottle of wine a night club. But they do not drink cider like their underlings.:rolleyes:

No comment.

neverdespairgirl

lostinrates wrote: »

Is it possible that 'the middle class' go to their GPs only when more ill, on average?

My father has been to the doctor, like NDG's, only very ocasioanally...three times for an initial GP appointment in my lifetime!

I think that may be right. My Dad sees two types of ill-health - the first is where you need hospital treatment and / or serious medical attention. The second is where you ignore it, bar taking two aspirin and getting an early night.

When he went to the GP last month, he had to ring my mother on his way and ask her for directions....

lostinrates

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I think that may be right. My Dad sees two types of ill-health - the first is where you need hospital treatment and / or serious medical attention. The second is where you ignore it, bar taking two aspirin and getting an early night.

When he went to the GP last month, he had to ring my mother on his way and ask her for directions....

I like your dad.

However, its prudent to point out that delaying prompt treatmnt for ill health can make treatment harder.

mine....its so broken its like fixing the wing mirror on a car with no engine, and therefore little point.

StevieJ

kennyboy66 wrote: »

It could have been written by someone on this site.

Unfortunately the figures don't really add up.
If its going to cost £1bn and only help 9000 people then that suggests they are getting £111k in this mortgage interest deferal.

Even if we assume that all those people had £400k mortgages and did nothing for 2 years you can't get anywhere near £1bn.

It has never been compulsory to take out unemployment or critical illness insurance (I have never bothered). Anyone who thinks it is has probably been at the end of a commission hungry tied salesman. The insurance products have usually been terrible value. Its one of those areas where social insurance through the state actually should work out better for everyone (in theory!).

While life insurance was never compulsory, some mortgage companies used to make it a condition of their mortgage.

It's not the greatest policy in the world and looks like it was thrown together to grab a headline but to cost £lbn would probably have to 'help' closer to 100,000 people for the following reasons.

1) The first portion of interest is paid anyway (upto £150k or whatever).
2) hardly anyone will be using this for the full 2 years.
3) This policy was for deferred interest - so only if the householder gets repossessed does the taxpayer pick up the tab.

There are plenty of areas where the "middle class" milk the state, education and health care being the main ones.

Usually very little comment there though.

Top posts Kennyboy, good to see Carol back stoking up the class war, just like old times.

Really2

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Disagree with your view there. In my experience its the other way round.
Certainly the poorer educated people are, the worse their diet IMO.

Agree in part but to busy people both not cooking does not equal a good diet either.

carolt

Really2 wrote: »

Carol these are your coments on this thread relating to the poor/lower classes.

“The middle classes have chldren later, are more likely to pay towards their children's education and contribute more in taxes and take less in benefits than the v poor. Sorry - don't think your point is proved - far from it.”

“Also more likely to work. Full stop.” your coment that the middle class are more likely to work

“They could, but statistically, the poor have far worse health, due partly to bad diet etc. Not saying it's their fault, but it is a fact.”

You come across as somone who as a problem with the "lower Classes" in my oppinion.

On what do you base that I am 'middle class'?

By some criteria I would be working class, by some middle and by some 'upper middle' or even 'upper'. Personally, I don't feel the need to identify myself as anyone of these.

You do seem to have got some strange bee in your bonnet about me and/or about the middle class - I'm not clear which.

As you blatantly haven't read the article, you might be interested to know that far from being an attack on the working classes, it is actually an attack on the govt policy of giving large hand-outs to...middle class voters, whilst attacking (the govt that is, not the article) the poor and scapegoating them for receiving benefits.

And my OP clearly states I strongly agreed with the article.

Go and have a cup of tea - you seem to be het up over nothing.

nickmason

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

I think that may be right. My Dad sees two types of ill-health - the first is where you need hospital treatment and / or serious medical attention. The second is where you ignore it, bar taking two aspirin and getting an early night.

When he went to the GP last month, he had to ring my mother on his way and ask her for directions....

My 80 year-old Dad is similarly stoic; he has been taken once to hospital when what he thought was indigestion and really nothing to worry about (despite his obvious agony) was in fact two gall-stones the size of golf balls apparently. Think that's the only time he's been to the "quack"!

I don't know if it's a class/background thing (he was a submarine officer but from a working class family), or just a generational one.

Either way, I always feel a little ashamed to talk of my "man-flu"!