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It’s Time for a Dedicated NHS Tax
As we begin to deal with the middle stage of the COVID-19 crisis, it’s time to relook how the UK funds its excellent National Health Service.
On that note, you may recall that I’ve said many times on this website that things ‘evolve’ but they don’t always ‘evolve’ to the best result. While each individual decision over the decades on behalf of the NHS was well-meant and likely the only logical choice at the time, were we to now create the NHS ‘from scratch’ in 2020, it would look much different than the National Health Service we see today.
For example, we might see more, but smaller Hospitals — instead of the fewer, but larger Hospitals built in the 19th and 20th-centuries. Also, NHS Hospitals might be located closer to areas where the highest annual concentrations of injuries occur, complete with NHS-only access to on-ramps and off-ramps to get Ambulances on and off the motorways more quickly. Also, helicopters sitting and ready to fly from the roof of each Hospital, every minute of the year. And more.
Obviously, there are plenty of ideas that should receive fair consideration because continuing to do things the way we’ve always done them isn’t good enough when it comes to the health of every UK citizen, resident and tourist.
To wit; Early on in the Coronavirus timeline it became known that enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for NHS workers hadn’t been stockpiled and lives were thereby endangered. Who knows how many were endangered, but enough that the government must ensure it never happens again.
In Germany, the same thing occurred (not enough PPE’s on hand to deal with their COVID-19 crisis) until someone remembered that many years earlier a brilliant person in the German military had decided to stockpile millions of PPE’s — consequently, the German healthcare system had surplus PPE’s, even delivering some to the UK’s NHS. Impressive. Los Deutschland!
Thinking ahead like Germany did costs money. (But it costs more if you don’t think ahead) It also takes political will and perseverance. It speaks to the quality of government delivered or not delivered to the people by the politicians in each decade, and that’s the whole point, isn’t it? Either the politicians are up to the task, or they’re not. If they’re not, let’s hope they become unemployed at the next election.
Now, let’s not lay all that on Boris and his team, after all, he’s only been Prime Minister for 9-months and he’s had some rather large items to deal with… Brexit, a future trading relationship with the EU, his own serous bout with COVID-19, and more recently, a newborn son with his partner Carrie Symonds. Congratulations to Boris and Carrie!
So let’s cut Boris some slack, shall we?
Still, we should add momentum to the idea that we need to fund the NHS properly instead of expecting them to provide the best healthcare in the world without the funding to accomplish the task.
One Tax to Fund Them
It’s time for the UK to add 1% to the existing VAT — and every pound sterling of that 1% should go directly to the NHS without being touched by any level of government. In fact, new legislation should be created to make it illegal for anyone in government (even the Prime Minister or the country’s Head of State) to delay or divert any of that 1% VAT NHS funding with mandatory prison sentences for any person involved in interfering with the 1% VAT NHS revenue stream.
Without healthy citizens and a well-funded NHS the United Kingdom is a much-diminished country, therefore, NHS needs to be well-funded and that funding must remain untouchable by any UK politician.
In practical terms, it means each of the devolved territories and England need to enact their own 1% VAT and direct all the revenue collected within their own jurisdiction to their own NHS organization to form the baseline of their respective NHS funding. (Let’s call the proposed 1% VAT “primary funding” for their respective NHS organization)
“Secondary funding” would be allocated via the respective Northern Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Wales, and England annual budgets and “tertiary funding” can be allocated by the UK government.
Why would the UK government want to provide tertiary NHS funding to each of the five jurisdictions?
In order for the central UK government to have any say in Scotland’s NHS (for example) the UK government would need to provide some funding towards Scotland’s NHS.
To illustrate this further; In Canada, healthcare is the exclusive domain of each province which raise their own revenues from a combination of provincial income tax and provincial sales tax. Consequently, nowhere in Canada must people pay healthcare premiums. Therefore, almost the entire cost of each provincial healthcare system is raised via provincial revenue. But the federal government of Canada also kicks-in additional healthcare funding for the provinces each year (representing about 6.5% of each provincial healthcare budget) to, (a) ensure uniformly high healthcare standards across the country, (b) to ensure that citizens and residents of all provinces are treated without delay if injured while visiting another province, (c) and to maintain an universal healthcare database so that out of province visitors can be treated without delay if they suddenly become ill or sustain injury.
Why would the five jurisdictions want to accept tertiary NHS funding from the UK government?
Remember, primary healthcare funding would come from each territory’s 1% NHS VAT (including England) but it might not be enough to cover the full cost of providing all the healthcare necessary for their own residents. Therefore, secondary funding for each territory’s NHS service would come from a combination of (‘provincial’) income and sales tax, while tertiary funding would be provided to each NHS unit (annually) by the UK central government in a sort of ‘top-up’ modality to meet 100% of the annual costs of each of the five NHS units.
In this way, no monthly or annual healthcare premiums would be paid by individuals or companies and each NHS unit would receive funding from their devolved government with supplementary funding courtesy of the UK government.
Three funding streams, and one stream arrives completely free of government interference. If you’re a healthcare professional or healthcare administrator you’ve got to like that!
Let’s Recap
- No healthcare premiums for individuals or companies — ever!
- PRIMARY NHS FUNDING: All the 1% VAT revenue collected in each territory would go directly to their own NHS unit (only) bypassing government control or restrictions, thereby raising significant revenue to fund their own NHS unit.
- SECONDARY NHS FUNDING: Each territory (Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, England) would levy its own (‘provincial level’) income and sales taxes on their respective residents and use some of that revenue to help fund their own NHS unit.
- TERTIARY NHS FUNDING: By definition, the UK government collects (‘federal level’) taxes and some of this revenue can be used to ‘top-up’ the budget of each NHS unit. This top-up should never exceed 10% of the funding of any NHS unit and the exact percentage would be negotiated annually between the (‘provincial level’) territories bloc and the UK government.
Finally, a shout-out to today’s NHS heroes, who risk their lives every day to protect us from a killer virus. Thank You! for your professionalism, sacrifice and courage.
A MUST-READ for anyone wanting to understand why the UK should adopt Canada’s excellent healthcare funding model
- Canada’s Health Care System (Government of Canada website) click here.
Resetting the UK Economy After Coronavirus
Things will never return to what has been thought of as ‘normal’ business in the United Kingdom following the biggest threat to Britons since WWII, yet there’s two paths forward where the country can either ‘survive’ or ‘thrive’ after Coronavirus. And that’s the focus of this blog post.
Here’s a short list of things that could be done in order to a) Prepare the UK for the next pandemic, b) Protect Britons from retransmission of a future SARS or MERS virus or other contagious pathogen, c) Build Resiliency into UK infrastructure, and d) Stimulate the UK economy to allow the country and its people to thrive, going forward.
Prepare, Protect, Build Resiliency, Stimulate
For me, ‘surviving’ isn’t enough. What the UK needs to do after any kind of negative event is to ‘thrive’.
When you’re 68-million people on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean that’s recently cut the cord with the EU, and still hasn’t reintegrated with the global economy, nor even the (eternally patient) Commonwealth of Nations, you’ve got to come out of a healthcare + economic crisis with a solid plan and impressive momentum behind that plan.
Let’s talk about what can and should be done as the UK comes out of the Coronavirus emergency.
Four Ways to Repair the UK Economy & Inoculate it from the Next Pandemic, While Supercharging the Economy Now
- Coat all publicly handled surfaces with copper. As you may know, copper kills germs, viruses, and bacteria upon contact in only a few seconds, therefore, such commonly handled surfaces like turnstiles, handrails, push-to-open door plates, door handles and door knobs, and the taps in public washrooms, and the buttons on the ATM or any vending machine should be coated with copper. Copper acts so powerfully against germs that even 25% copper content is enough to do the job. Plenty of coins in the world have a high copper content, yet their appearance is like that of pewter or brass, so if you don’t like the colour of copper, turnstiles and more, can appear to look like pewter, aluminium, or brass. Killing germs on frequently handled surfaces is a great way to stop retransmission of a pathogen to everyone who passes through that turnstile. How to get it done? The UK government should guarantee zero-interest loans to rail companies, airlines, ATM and vending machine operators, and to cities and towns to incentivize them to coat (electroplate, anodize, or otherwise layer) such surfaces with copper or copper amalgams with a copper content of 25% or more.
- Designate who works in ‘Essential Services’ and allow them to continue their duties unaffected by future ‘stay at home orders’. We can’t live without Doctors and Nurses, nor can we live without food and drink, nor without heat and light. And, it’s always nice to have police, fire and ambulance services available on speed dial. Similar is true of the military. Where would we be without them? So, thanks again to those people every day — all the way back to the Great Fire of London in 1666. How to get it done? The UK government should require each department to create a list of jobs in their department deemed ‘essential services’. Also, the UK government should consult with UK industry for a list of job titles considered ‘essential services’ and determine the total number of people required to staff those essential service positions — for the purpose of creating a massive database of people deemed ‘essential’ during any crisis. Maybe those people should be issued a passcard and a matching sticker for their car windscreen allowing them to automatically pass through any police checkstop, park their car for free (Doctors and Nurses shouldn’t be getting their car impounded when they’re busy saving lives, for example) and essential workers should be paid (by the government) an extra £500 per each full or partial month of any crisis (even if it’s a local ‘State of Emergency’ situation where local officials have duly informed the UK government about the emergency) to cover exceptional costs such as the worker having to stay in a hotel after working a 16-hour emergency shift rather than them driving home overtired, and then doing it all over again the next day.
- Consolidate all UK Department of Work and Pensions unemployment insurance, welfare/Universal Credit, and government pensions systems into one payments system operated by HM Revenue and Customs. At present in the UK (and most Western countries) there are many government departments offering similar or the same services, which represents a HUGE overhead cost and leads to massive inefficiency in government. All payments should be paid via the ‘reverse income tax’ method to vastly improve and streamline UK services to persons. How to get it done? HM Revenue and Customs should ‘top-up’ the income of every adult Briton who is living under the national poverty line to £1200 per month. Which is cheaper than continuing to operate a multiplicity of government departments dedicated to solving the financial, housing, and legal ills of everyone in the country — especially when you factor-in poverty-based crime and related policing, court, and incarceration costs. It would result in a lowering of taxes by tapering the astonishingly high overhead costs for several government departments — and a tax increase WOULD NOT be required. For example: If a person earns more that £1200 per month, they get nothing from this HM Revenue and Customs programme. If they earn an average of £1000 per month (as reported on their previous year income tax form) they would automatically have £200 added to their bank account via direct deposit each month. Millions of entry level workers, senior citizens, some unemployed persons, and others who earn less than £1200 per month would be automatically topped-up to that amount, but only if they’ve filed their income tax return for the previous year, and only if they’re over the age of majority. It can’t be emphasized enough: The overhead savings alone for the government would more than pay for this improvement and small businesses would benefit from reduced property crime + high insurance rates, and the threat of personal theft (getting ‘mugged’) would practically disappear. Remember, homeless people are only homeless because they don’t have funds to pay rent, therefore, they turn to crime, drugs and other unpleasant means to stay alive. And the gross total cost to the UK annually is in the billions. Take away the reason for the problem and suddenly, there’s no problem. So easy. And prevention is always cheaper than solving a deeply-entrenched problem!
- A number of major national infrastructure programmes should be made ‘shovel ready’ as soon as this crisis ends, as nothing says ‘Crisis Over!’ like plenty of jobs ready for people at the end of any emergency. It’s the news that people need to hear during a crisis as it will keep hope alive and keep them working towards a solution instead of them sinking into the abyss of worry, doubt, and substance abuse, or even worse. ‘Here’s a shovel. Now go plant a billion trees!’ is one way to help the bottom-two economic quintiles get back to a normal life. Anyone, even workers who live (whether above or below) the national poverty line might want to spend a few hours doing that at the weekends to make-up the income they’ve lost during the COVID-19 crisis. ‘Let’s reclaim a hundred square miles from the sea and build luxurious golf resorts there!’ might be another way to create millions of badly needed jobs at the end of any emergency including the present coronavirus crisis. Adding fill to the shallower areas of the UK coastline can build sea level rise resiliency and help to prevent the normal process of erosion of land by the sea while creating spectacular tourism areas (jobs, jobs, jobs!) for those who love ocean views. Seen The Palm Dubai, anyone? Dubai was a sleepy fishing village not so long ago. ‘Here’s a hammer. Now go install 10-solar panels on every roof in the UK’ and the UK government should provide zero-interest loan guarantees for any home or business owner willing to have such an array installed on their roof that contributes surplus energy to the national grid. ‘Here’s a tractor. Now go make the UK 100% self-sufficient in food within 10-years!’ and again, the UK government shouldn’t grant such money, it should provide zero-interest loan guarantees to those able to move the UK closer to that goal. Obviously, farmers in the UK won’t be growing coconuts or bananas, but any non-tropical fruit and veg should be doable in southern England. If UK policy is right and the financing is kept at zero-interest, UK farmers and ranchers should be able to accomplish the task with ease and have enough capacity to export significant quantities of UK produce. And the last suggestion is to ‘Get Britain Working Again!’ (but From Home) after the COVID-19 crisis ends by increasing internet and telephone bandwidth and by improving PC programmes that help people to work from home as efficiently as they do at their regular office, thereby allowing fully half of all Britons to work from their brand new home office. Which, of course, (you knew I was going to say it, didn’t you?) should be financed via zero-interest loan guarantees courtesy of the UK government.
You’ll Notice my Suggestions Don’t Cost Anything (net) and They’ll Save the UK Billions while Supercharging the UK Economy and Solving Many Social Ills
You’ve got to like that, whether you voted Conservative or Labour!
The End of Bricks and Mortar Stores is Nigh as Online Shopping Enters a New Era in The Coronavirus Economy
Those who fail to change with the times become obsolete. Just ask the dinosaurs.
Some dinosaur groups morphed into new species that allowed them to continue to live and procreate in a changed environment and we see examples of them today in our world; Today’s birds are descended from Pterodactyls, today’s crocodiles from Stegosaurus, and today’s kimono lizards are descended from Squamata (Megachirella wachtleri) which is the father of all lizards and snakes on the planet today.
The species that didn’t adapt quickly to the then-changing conditions on the Earth, died. And the ones that did change, changed slowly, consequently they exist on the Earth in smallish populations unlike their ancestors which had until then, enjoyed total dominance on this world.
If science isn’t your thing, you might look to anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures and their development) for some examples of this rule and you’ll see those that couldn’t adapt got left behind.
One example of this is the Indus Valley civilization which flourished from 7000 to 1900 BC. Although we see traces of their existence in archaeological sites, they are no more. Another example would be the Mongol civilization (1206 to 1294 AD) Seen any lately? More recently, we witnessed the end of the German Nazi Party circa 1945.
Prediction: Businesses that Don’t Learn to Sell Online (Successfully) Will Fail within 24-Months – Everywhere on Earth
Any retail store — including grocery stores — that don’t evolve quickly enough to meet the demands of the new ‘Coronavirus economy’ are sure to fail. And I have no sympathy for them. None whatsoever. ‘Change with the times or die’ is the nature of all commerce.
There’s no excuse good enough to not have a robust internet e-commerce site and multiple redundant delivery systems for your business, as every business owner knows about the internet, everyone knows how e-commerce websites work, and they’re not that expensive to create.
Indeed, you may have purchased something online, whether it was a hat, golf balls, or enough furnishings to equip your new office tower. (The link points to STAPLES.UK which has a sophisticated website that makes it easy to order any business related product or service quickly and efficiently. With STAPLES.UK shipping is free on orders over £36 and in most cases you receive your order within a couple of days of ordering) That’s the kind of commitment required to meet customer expectations in the new Coronavirus economy thereby allowing those businesses to thrive and prosper well into the 21st-century.
It isn’t difficult to create and maintain an online e-commerce presence. Yes, it takes a little work, but nothing too onerous. And yes, it does cost a little money to set up and operate, but again, those costs should be considered as part of the normal cost of doing business in the 21st-century.
It’s nothing but utter laziness if your company isn’t selling at least fifty per cent of its goods or services online in the 21st-century. It’s so easy to do. But it needs true leadership — which isn’t about nice-sounding speeches in shareholder meetings or at the company Christmas Party — it’s about the kind of leadership that gets it done by the end of the year, not by the end of the company, if you take my meaning.
If you think things haven’t changed profoundly, you’re not looking hard enough.
Many businesses want to get you into their store so you’ll be tempted to purchase so-called ‘impulse buy’ items — things you wouldn’t normally buy, but because you walked past an appealing display you were tempted to purchase. If your business model depends on that you’re already halfway to insolvency, because whether you like it or not, the old ways of doing business are already gone. Not next month, not next year, but now.
The old days of people milling around at the weekend and walking into your store by chance and buying things are over. The Coronavirus economy is here, and it isn’t going away. Ever.
Many people will catch the Coronavirus bug over the coming months and the ones that don’t die of it will become immune to that strain of the virus. We’re presently at COVID-19 (SARS Coronavirus 2019 variant) and there will no doubt be a COVID-20 (Coronavirus 2020 variant) and a COVID-21, and a COVID-22, etc., until the end of time.
“There are three to five emerging diseases every year, and only by luck and the grace of God that they don’t turn into pandemics each time.” — William Karesh, Executive Vice President for Health and Policy at EcoHealth Alliance
At the moment, COVID-19 is killing one to two per cent of those who contract the virus. But that’s a temporary situation until the virus mutates (and all viruses mutate) whereupon it will become more deadly — and those who’ve contracted COVID-19 may, I repeat may, have some immunity to a newer version of the virus. Fifty per cent immunity is typical among SARS virus survivors when a new version comes along, but you still get ill, and you still ‘go down’ for a few days, and you can still pass the new variant to others who breathe the same air as you. And the same holds true among MERS survivors.
In fact, I suggest that perhaps later this year, there will be people who haven’t yet caught the COVID-19 variant (and therefore have no immunity to subsequent COVID versions) and may contract a (likely more serious) COVID-20 version (which has yet to appear) and die within days or hours of contracting that new and more robust virus.
There will be people who contract both COVID versions at the same time, sorry to say.
There will be people who haven’t caught either variant and they will be ‘sitting ducks’ by simply walking into a store or subway landing with hundreds of other people, and thereby catch one or both viruses in the same week. And there will be people who catch the normal flu and while their immune system is barely coping with that, they’ll catch one or more SARS or MERS respiratory illnesses. They won’t last long and they’ll know it from Day One.
And that’s why most people will choose to dramatically and permanently alter their shopping habits, gravitating towards online shopping — instead of them playing Russian Roulette with their life every time they walk into a store or onto a train platform. Once people comprehend the enormity of the Coronavirus economy and the implications thereof, the ‘bricks & mortar store’ model will be dead.
Now, if you’re a serious fly fisherman or fly fisherwoman (for example) you’ll need to visit a bricks & mortar store at some point to do a few casts with a selection of rods and reels before you decide which one to purchase. Other situations may apply, as not everything can be easily purchased online.
In the near-future, well-managed stores will sell MORE goods and services online than they do now from all sources combined — and their staff will deal elusively with the Fed Ex driver and perhaps one in-store customer per day who needs to try out that rod and reel combination, or who needs to try-on that dress before purchasing.
Some stores will prosper as never before — and the ones that don’t accept a new business model will fail. Just as it should be.
Lead, Follow, Or Get Out of the Way!
If you’re a business owner presently without a robust online e-commerce site, it’s time to pick up that phone today and get a new e-commerce website built. Otherwise, you’re gone by the end of the year, IMHO.
The retail world is about to change more profoundly than at any time since the first electrical grids appeared, when grid-powered heat and light in stores suddenly allowed workers the opportunity to shop at the end of their workday.
Some of you already and clearly see this new paradigm, some will realize it in the coming weeks, and some will cling to their horse and buggy thinking until the day they reach the Pearly Gates.
Regardless of when you see it, or whether you like it or not, change is coming to the retail world. Better get ready, as it’s going to get rough for businesses that don’t evolve to meet the demands of the new Coronavirus economy.
Letter to Britain 