Reply #31: According to the figures I have on hand [View All]

[Prophet 451]

I'm pulling much of this from the Guardian but according to the figures I have, the NHS has an annual budget of around £62 billion. Since our population is around 60 million, that works out at around £1000 per person, per year. Assuming an average wage of slightly over £20K and using my schoolboy maths, that works out at around 5% of the average family income.

Of course, our NHS has been under-funded and mis-managed for years. The French (generally accepted as having the best system of national healthcare) pay an average of 7.5% of their annual income with employers contributing another hefty chunk of change.

Contrast that with the current American system. According to the best figures I could find, the average US family of four pays around $90K a year (£45, 791 by today's exchange rate) and that's if they can get insurance in the first place.

Incidently, I had a conversation with a couple of well-read, left-leaning Americans the other day who both agreed that even 5% of their income was (direct quote) "outrageously high". Is it just me or are Americans insanely taxophobic?