For a long time now, the inactive dithering position of successive governments on care for the elderly has been nothing short of a national disgrace. As life expectancy has increased, so has the manifestation of greater numbers of elderly people requiring residential nursing care as their bodies become frailer. Since the second World War, particularly in the last thirty years, the number of private care homes in the U.K. has exploded from almost a peripheral side-line catering for the mainly well to do, into a lucrative burgeoning industry.
As the care industry has blossomed, so has the ducking and weaving by governments on how, and who pays for care of the elderly. In the political vacuum of home care costs, increasing numbers of elderly care home residents have been forced to sell their own homes to pay for their care, albeit there being supposed laws preventing this from happening which are conveniently never enforced. It is claimed that in the last year alone, people have been forced to sell a staggering 24,500 homes to pay for elderly care costs.
The present weak coalition government has now issued a White Paper, (a discussion document), outlining their thoughts on home care cost. Although the government are suggestion that a financial cap be placed on the amount anyone individual will be expected to pay, because coalition governments always lead to weak consensus policies, they have so far refused to say what the individual financial level should be set at. It appears the Government is attempting to procrastinate by leaving that decision to whoever wins the next election. It is only my opinion but it does seem that a government that is unable to make decisions is not a government at all. Does not the word “govern” imply just what it says, an administration bold enough to make decisions instead of group of politicians acting like naughty school boys creating mischief and running away from hard decisions.
The main issue being overlooked by proponents of policies that financially squeeze every last drop of monetary blood from the elderly is that they have already paid for their care during their working life. The vast majority of elderly people that own their own homes are far from wealthy, hence the saying property rich but penny poor. Most have never received benefits but have spent a lifetime of paying for those who do. Even in retirement they still pay taxes for those claiming benefits while often being denied any form of entitlement themselves.
Something that cuts many elderly people to the quick, most who have scrimped and saved to own their own property, is to see the money they are paying out in taxes being shovelled into the pockets of “Benefit Tourists” who come to this country in the full knowledge and expectation they will receive financial benefits often denied to them in their own countries.
Something often conveniently forgotten by politicians is they do not create wealth, governments spending policies only exist by taxing the wealth others have created.
Another thing often overlooked by politicians until election time comes knocking on their door is the all important X that each elector will wield like the sword of Damocles hanging over the ballot paper. As life expectancy has increased, so has the number of elderly people who can and will use their vote. As a movement, the “silver voter” has now become the most powerful of all electoral blocs in the U.K. It is a bloc that will not hesitate to show no mercy to politicians of any party that believe the elderly can be treated as a convenient cash cow any longer. Governments should also not forget, that however they twist words to justify any form of financial charge on the elderly to pay for care, whether it is capped or not, it will still be viewed as as Death Tax whether the politicians like it or not.
Filed under: The Charge of the White (Haired) Brigade, The Political Page | Tagged: benefit tourists, care home residents, coalition government, coalition governments, consensus policies, Death Tax, elderly care home, financial cap, government, home care costs, life expectancy, lucrative burgeoning industry, monetary blood, national disgrace, nursing care, political vacuum, politics, procrastination, residential nursing care, silver voter, Sword of Damocles, weak coalition government, white paper | Leave a comment »
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