I had a letter published in the FT last February pointing out something similar: one-third of adults do not pay any income tax and half receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes ('It looks as though turkeys are voting for Christmas' 13/02/26; a tag line induced by a reported increase in those voting for less taxes). The proportion not paying any direct tax on income is crucial here because of peoples perceptions of getting a free ride. More than 50% and the country would be in free fall.
Your methodology is a form of double counting. If the state did not take or print the money it is likely many (but not all) jobs, like doctors, would still exist, providing value, economic activity and tax.
So a doctor can be a net economic contributor, regardless of funding source. This is good and a natural argument against the ‘but if NHS disappeared there would be no healthcare’ argument.
Creditors will force a reckoning, even sooner than many expect. There is talk in the current administration of improving growth and productivity, and this really needs to happen very soon to improve the net contributor position as the writer frames it
I had a letter published in the FT last February pointing out something similar: one-third of adults do not pay any income tax and half receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes ('It looks as though turkeys are voting for Christmas' 13/02/26; a tag line induced by a reported increase in those voting for less taxes). The proportion not paying any direct tax on income is crucial here because of peoples perceptions of getting a free ride. More than 50% and the country would be in free fall.
Your methodology is a form of double counting. If the state did not take or print the money it is likely many (but not all) jobs, like doctors, would still exist, providing value, economic activity and tax.
So a doctor can be a net economic contributor, regardless of funding source. This is good and a natural argument against the ‘but if NHS disappeared there would be no healthcare’ argument.
This is a sign that the nation is overpopulated.
Creditors will force a reckoning, even sooner than many expect. There is talk in the current administration of improving growth and productivity, and this really needs to happen very soon to improve the net contributor position as the writer frames it