Pondering, and while slightly more optimistic than we once were, still really quite unhappy Lefty thread

[Hassled]

Where had we got to? We'd agreed that we all love Cameron, right?

Thanks lefties.

Evening all.

Hungry and Beachcomber
Sorry to hear about your uncles.

Any news yet? DH is watching F1 at the moment (and doing the ironing so I shall not complain)

Bucharest
Seems to be fine with the friend, DD's headteacher apparently had a word with the girls on Friday.

As to the NHS, I have more experience with the German system than the Swiss tbh.

In Germany every employee pays around 15% of his/her wages to a government led insurance company. Added to this is another 15% that the employer pays. We can chose which company we wish to be insured by, but they are much of a sameness tbh. Some pay more alternative treatments than others. The insurance companies should make a profit but often don't and have to be propped up by the German government, ie from taxpayers.

A lot of people moan about the cost, but I have to say the service is fantastic. If I want to go to a specialist, then I make an appointment and go. Most people have their own gynae, paediatrician, allergy specialist etc. and you do not have to be referred by your GP (although you save 10eu if you do go to see your GP first)

When the Brits rave about the European health care, they often do not realise the cost of the fab service. The 15% is just for health care, on top of that we pay income tax, unemployment insurance, pension insurance, which brings us up to over 40% of our wages.

@ tyv house of cards

Just spoke to (German) DH. He said that he did not think that the NHS was so much better than the German service, as a basic service. One could bridge the gap with a private insurance that would still be cheaper than the German insurance payments.

The Swiss insurance is MEGA expensive. If we had to insure ourselves here, we would be looking at a bill of around 1000CHF (£600) a month. Plus CHF 300 a year for both my DH and I as a basic payment, and 10% of each bill.

Yes, that is for all employees. There is a provision for those earning under a certain rate, part-time workers. I think it is about eu600 at the moment.

State pension payments are 19%, Unemployment insurance 2.8% and I forgot the Pflegeversicherung - a care insurance that pays for care for the elderly, that is another 1.9% (2.2% for those without DC - which I find unfair)

Lenin
If I have understood the website correctly, the average is about eu 2500 a month(before tax). But it is dependent on how much you pay in, my FIL gets more than that, my MIL much less.

And that is what the current pensioners are getting. By the time we retire, we will be lucky to get half of that. They have the same problem as we do, elderly population, not enough young people paying into the system.

Thanks for that Mme - do you pay income tax as well as all that? And what happens with people with chronic or terminal illnesses - do they still have to pay a surcharge for each episode of care (or whatever the terminology is) or are there different arrangements?

DS2 (5) appears to have just come out with chicken pox, though I will take him to GP tomorrow to confirm. He has decided that this will probably mean at least three weeks off school How long until they scab over, as a rule? DS1 only ever had it very mildly.

About a week til scab time PW, we've just done it all here.

That's chicken pox scabs BTW, I'm not veering off into a discussion about teh miners strike

So breaking news from BBC...Nick n Dave have had another date. 45 mins face 2 face cheek to cheek jowl by ovum

do you think Dave got to first base?

I'd say a bit of tongue maybe (is that first base?)

taffeta, now there is an image to bring up one's dinner

policywonk - with both of mine it was about 8 days from first sign of spot to all scabbing over.

Hope ds doesn't have it too bad.

somebody witty and clever please make a tongue/ham joke

It's all about the emerging economic chaos on BBC rolling news now rather than slashy innuendo pah this is why they lose share to sky

Thanks ISNT and Norkily

I've missed you all so much. It's difficult to keep up when you've only got a phone (even if it's a lovely, new, shiny iPhone) and you're having to be polite and talk to your inlaws.

(I realise this makes me sound very sad, but I did, really, truly, miss you all ...)

I've missed you all too, been out of loop for a while....so somebody please tell me WTF IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING? It's surely still looking like LibCon coalition, but I am kind of hoping they can't find enough common ground to form one thus causing both parties to lose credibility utterly and leave Labour to come back and do sensible things again...

have had a largely politics-free day

it's been quite relaxing

and I have no idea what's happening, needless to say

Hi all

Hungy/monkeysavingexpert sorry about DH's uncle: if you need me to have the kids etc, drive places, let me know...

Beachcomber: sorry for your DH too...

Brilliant analysis today on this thread: am a bit in awe.

Went to parents for the roasted lamb: no Tory victory so the penitential lentils were put back in the cupboard . Anyhow return home to find fuck all has happening. Which is interesting, don't you think?

After all, if anyone, Cameron and Clegg most in thrall to The Big Bad Markets. Therefore to NOT have resolved things by Monday morning very telling, I think...

Sorry, beachcomber and hungy, for your bereavements recently

ISNT - well done, do it, join the Green Party! We would love to have you. I would love to be more involved, but until DD is older there is no chance.