An outburst.

[happychocolate]

Imagine you become very ill when you are 18, go into hospital and have a few operations and some treatment which costs the NHS approximately £27,000. Operations can cost several thousand, so this is quite possible. Obviously you, as the patient, pay nothing.

Comments

[happychocolate]

Yeah, i'm commenting on my own entry, i'm trying to start a debate with myself ;)

Just thinking the NHS thing can be argued both ways. Either you don't pay it off and someone else on a low wage does, which is unfair, or you pay way more than the operation cost even if you are also on a low wage - i used 30 years cos that's how long graduates will pay for, but for someone who is 18 now and will retire at 68, even assuming they never earn more than £15,000, they will pay like £39,000 in NI in those 47 years after graduating.

Either way, a degree sounds much better value for money than an operation to me ;)

[softfruit]

The flaw in the comparison is that we don't - even in the most arch Tory plan for what should happen to the poor - have a plan for 50% of eighteen year olds to require major surgery though. At least I think it is but I'm having a sleepless night and may be a little fuzzy.

[happychocolate]

Hehe i know there are some flaws, it's a work in progress ;) i also experienced this outburst during the small hours...

How about uni is a choice and surgery isn't? And i'm more concerned with the effect on the individual than the effect on the state, cos that's what everyone is whining about!

[softfruit]

"But uni is a choice" is an important factor, definitely. And you can choose to put off uni for three years in a way that some major surgery thing most people would really rather get out of the way asap.