A new lock down is being thought about. Apparently. And once again it is being touted on the basis of if we don’t, more people will die. And the rather banal, and questionable mantra, it will save the NHS.
The problem with that statement is that you could also argue that if we do go into lockdown more people will die. And the NHS will not survive.
There is one simple question to ask. If businesses cannot open, where will the money to fund the NHS come from?
Everyone knows that if you work in the public sector you never pay enough tax to fund even your own salary, never mind the infrastructure of the public sector. The hopsitals. The police station. The roads. The schools. The parks.
So, let's assume a nurse pays 30% of her salary in tax, she in effect is paying 30% of her own salary. And she doesn't contribute to paying other nurses salaries. Nor for the hospital where she works. Who pays for the other 70%? And the hospital? The private sector. And that is a good thing. But it must be remembered, that is how it works.
Funding the infrastructure of, for example, the NHS, comes in two ways. It is 100% funded by the taxes on the private sector and the people who work in the private sector and borrowings.
It is obvious if
businesses do not trade because they are in lock down, they do not pay taxes as
taxes are levied on the profits the business makes. So that is one area of funding lost. The other key area is the people who working
the private sector. They are taxed. So if they are not working there is no tax
coming in from them either. A double
whammy.
With a lot less tax coming in how can we continue to sustain the public sector? Two ways.
One is to borrow more. But your parents probably wisely told you not to borrow money to pay for the weekly
running costs, only for things like a house or a car. The infrastructure. So we should not be borrowing money to pay for salaries.
The second is to look at the public sector payroll and ask, what is essential? Nurses? Essential! They work their socks off. Teachers? They generally work their socks off.
But unless they provide a full education service just like nurses provide a full healthcare service, their salaries should be adjusted appropriately. After all, that is what is happening in the private sector, the sector that pays for a large percentage of every public sector salary.
Indeed, anyone in the public sector taxpayer funded payroll who cannot deliver their full service then salaries should be adjusted appropriately.
If someone is working from home and cannot provide a full service when they are working from home, then they should not be working from home. The very fact that someone is a public sector employee should mean they are essential. Essential work should be done.
If money is too tight to mention, everyone needs to take the same hit. Not just the private sector that pays for everything.
