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Avoiding care home fees.
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Spadoosh, You state, "Free at the point of use care homes isnt compatible with our tax system or willingness to pay for it."
I'm in my mid eighties and apart from being hard of hearing and diabetic reasonably fit but I no longer manage a four mile a day run. I have a better understanding of the care industry than most in that when I retired I undertook a course of training organised by our Local Authority and as a retired HR Manager I was not impressed with the performance of the care home I did my placement with. One of my daughters works as a care assistant and the management she experiences appalls me. Yet all round the area that I live in new care homes are springing up most staffed by utter incompetents. However, we are obliged to accept that the elderly population is increasing so something has to be done and I believe that such an exercise can only be managed by Government supported by central taxation if those of the elderly population are to be cared for in a civilized manner.
If you disagree then please offer an alternative.
I'll give you an example of what I think Splash means.
In Wales when free prescriptions came out, people went to GPs for over the counter medicines such as paracetamol items they'd have quite happily have bought previously.
Authorities got wise to this & put a stop to it.0 -
Lol, inheritance tax should be voluntary but care should be paid for by tax?
Which tax exactly?0 -
A new one.0
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The fact that you are in your 80s would mean you would little if any increased taxation to meet any of your own care costs, that would fall on younger generations. Do you think that fair? Those generations have already lost the generous pensions and high levels of job security the likes of you and I have had, and yet you expect them to support an every growing number of older people who already have the means to support themselves.0
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A new one.
And have you been an advocate of more/higher taxes over the last 30 years or so, or is it a relatively recent thing?
Don't get me wrong, I'm in favour of increasing taxes to fund better social provision (especially for the elderly and those stricken by dementia etc) but it would seem that over the last 40 years or so those political parties that have wanted to do this have not proved popular with the electorate.
(Personal rant warning: we even have governments trying to extend life expectancy by reducing smoking/drinking whatever, but no f****** clue as to how to fund future care for these people as they "enjoy" their newly extended life expectancy. Rant over. Where are those cigarettes?)0 -
These people who have squandered their money rather than been lucky enough to be able to afford to buy a home of their own will have to manage with whatever care home package the councils will provide. As will thousands of others who have worked all their lives and only earned enough wages to pay the bills,
You, on the other hand have a choice of where you end up because you have been in a privileged position of being able to buy your own home when it was a lot easier to do so.
Would you expect those people struggling to make ends meet nowadays to pay more tax out of their wage to pay for your care when you can afford to do so yourself. Surely the money/property/assets you have are there to keep you comfortable wherever you live.
You accuse people of squandering their money, living off benefits and sponging off the state.
Surely if you are allowed to give your money to someone else so you can get your care paid for that is also sponging of the state.0 -
I seek a political solution which we will never get from the Tories who resent taxation but a political solution has to be sought because the whole Care Industry is a mess at the moment.0
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And have you been an advocate of more/higher taxes over the last 30 years or so, or is it a relatively recent thing?
I have always advocated asking the electorate if they were prepared to pay more tax to achieve an effective NHS and in spite of opinion poles saying that the electorate would be prepared the Tories refused to consider it.0 -
“You, on the other hand have a choice of where you end up because you have been in a privileged position of being able to buy your own home when it was a lot easier to do so.”
I had no such choice so I worked two jobs both in the days when I was a manual worker.
“Would you expect those people struggling to make ends meet nowadays to pay more tax out of their wage to pay for your care when you can afford to do so yourself.”
Where on earth did you get the idea that I can afford anything? The early part of my working life I was a manual worker when there was no such thing as a pension.
“Surely the money/property/assets you have are there to keep you comfortable wherever you live.”
What assets? When did property keep one comfortable?
You accuse people of squandering their money, living off benefits and sponging off the state.
Surely if you are allowed to give your money to someone else so you can get your care paid for that is also sponging of the state.
I find that statement confused.0
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