OK. So the Government have raised income tax. I can deal with that. I really don't mind paying the extra. Why? Because the reason the tax has increased is to fund the National Health Service. Better health care, as and when you need it, without having to worry about paying. Damned good idea. But wait. Suppose the extra money we paid did not actually reach the NHS at all. Right, for those of you who don't know, the way it works in the UK is that if you go to hospital, you get treated and it doesn't cost you a penny, because the entire health service is funded by the state. so a little bit of your tax goes to the hospitals around the country, meaning that nobody ever has to pay for medical care, and the service is still world-class. Well, that's how it works in theory. In practice, it's slightly different. UK hospitals are usually stretched to breaking point every day. Nurses find themselves working 12 hour shifts just to keep things going. Hospital waiting times can be up to EIGHT HOURS. And most worrying of all, waiting lists for major operations can be up to 18 MONTHS. So surely the tax increase and extra cash flow is a good idea, right? Well..... The NHS already gets a lot of funding, but most hospitals end up returning most of their grant at the end of the year because they have 'nothing to spend it on'. I'm not entirely sure just who makes the decision to spend all this money, but I have a sneaky suspicion that they're in perfect health and have a lot of money. So, if millions of pounds are being wasted even before the tax rise occurred, does that mean that even more will be wasted now? Probably. So what can be done about it? Well, for staters, setting up an internal bank within the NHS would mean that there was a big reserve of cash ready for an emergency. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. If the NHS really wants to get turned around, money needs to be spent on HIRING MORE PEOPLE. Every hospital I have been to in the UK was running on a skeleton staff. There was hardly anyone about, and I had to wait hours before they'd stitch up my hand. But people don't WANT to work in the NHS, because they know they'll have to work ridiculous hours for shitty pay. So where's the incentive in that? If the NHS increased the average wage of nurses, and got MORE of them, they could work normal hours, for a reasonable sum, and more people would be interested. It would also stop a lot of that wasted money. Will it happen? Will it fuck. But why stop at the NHS anyway? Why not fund more services in the public sector? I would gladly pay higher tax if it meantthat I would be provided with a reliable, efficient public transport system that would get me to where I wanted to go, with a minimum of fuss and cost. It would be kinder to the environment, as everyone would use the buses/trams/trains to get around, meaning less cars on the road. And THAT is why it will never happen. The current public transport system is absolutely laughable. Granted, if you life in London or Manchester, the underground train service is second to none. It's far more efficient to buy a day pass and use the tube or the metro to get around than to try in a taxi or bus, because the traffic is simply too damned packed in. But what about other cities, or the suburbs? It's quite a different story. I live on the outskirts of an industrial town - There's a cement works, automotive factory, various architectural and computing consultancies, and lots of shops. A lot of people go to and from the town each day, but they all go in their cars. It's not that they specifically WANT to use their cars to get around, it's just the busses are a waste of time. There's a half-hour wait between services, and the price of transport is as high, if not higher than petrol costs for the journey. If the government spent more money on the public transport sector, the service would be improved tenfold, but they don't want to, because then they'd have no excuse to use the ultimate status symbols in their lives - their cars. John Prescott, MP is a man I detest. I'm sure all the people in the UK reading this know who he is, and what he's done. For the rest of you, let me tell you. Prescott is the minister in charge of HYPOCRISY. He claims to have socialist views until he gets into power, and then the true man is revealed. Claiming that public transport is superior, Mr. Prescott used not one, but two seperate limousines to travel from the hotel he was staying at to the hall he was due to speak in. A whole distance of about ten yards down the road (and that's not an exxaggeration, by the way). When quizzed on this, his excuse was "The wind was blowing, and my wife didn't want to mess up her hair." Indeed. This man also owns two Jaguar cars. Supposedly a 'working class hero', why the hell does he need two expensive cars? Because it makes him feel BETTER. It makes up for all the other INADEQUACIES in his life. You can also be happy in the knowledge that when you see someone driving one of these gas-guzzling loser-mobiles, they usually bought it to make up for something that was missing in their life. Smile and know you're better. Arrogance CAN be great, if you know how to use it properly. You see, most of the time, it doesn't matter who it is, people claim to have ideas, morals, a code of honour. Yet when it comes down to it, they are driven by the same things as everyone else. Greed, laziness, and a lust for power. I have no doubts that every single party that ever gets elected in this country will never change a damned thing. All the major political parties are the same, they all lie through their teeth and just want as much money for themselves as possible. The parties that actually WOULD make a change will simply never get elected. Am I bitter and twisted? Maybe, but can you blame me? My future's in the hands of fools.