I have inherited some silver-plated cutlery that turned mottled and ugly. A bit of Brasso and some elbow grease and the knives, spoons and forks are now gleaming. My mother kept her silver cutlery for best, bringing them out for special occasions like Christmas or dinner parties. They now have sentimental value and conjure up happy memories. I doubt if they will see much practical use, we do not host many dinner parties.
Selling off the family silver is an expression that implies a careless disregard for inherited riches, particularly when applied to government economic policy.
Privatisation under Margaret Thatcher’s government took utility industries like gas, water and telecommunications and sold them off cheaply on the Stock Exchnage. Private investors sold them on to make a killing. In other words, the government undervalued the assets created over decades by successive governments who had invested public money in worthwhile enterprises.
That’s one way of balancing the books, but it’s a bit desperate. Public ownership is not always a bad thing. If the control and administration of public utilities are held to account, there is no reason why the public should not reap the benefits rather than private investors.
Profit is not the only game in town. Rights, interests and benefits have their roles to play in the world of commerce. Mixed economies, like the United Kingdom, have created one of the most popular endeavours that deliver huge benefits for our society. The National Health Service was conceived by a government determined to provide healthcare according to need not the ability to pay.
The NHS is under threat by governments that want to take the most profitable bits and privatise them. We already have a two-tier system that was achieved by doctors unwilling to relinquish their economic advantage.
Education of doctors and dentists in the UK is done at tax payers’ expense. If you are a UK citizen and gain your qualifications at a UK university, you might want to offer your services to the NHS for a while, but there is no contractual duty to do so. On the other hand, you might choose to gain professional experience with the NHS and then put that to use in the private sector, where you can charge high prices for your experrtise. The otrher option is to take your skills and turn your back on the NHS, working exclusively for private profit, not the public good.
Our NHS is too important to start dismantling it bit by bit and selling off the family silver.
odespinner 