End this state robbery

Jul 5 2009 by Ken Oxley, Sunday Sun

NONE of us needs reminding that times are tough. Those out of work are facing ever diminishing prospects.

Meanwhile, those in employment are clinging on for dear life, with little hope of a meaningful pay hike. Unless, of course, you’re a bank executive, in which case the rules don’t apply.

We all know, too, that there’s more pain to come.

Shortly after the election, whatever meagre pay rise your employer has given you will almost certainly be wiped out by the inevitable tax increases needed to plug the black hole in the public finances.

So there you have it . . . doom and gloom all they way for the next couple of years at least.

The worst possible time, you might think, for our National Insurance contributions to be increased.

But yesterday it was reported Labour plans to do just that . . . and it’s about time too!

For me - and many others with elderly relatives in care - the idea’s a vote winner.

That’s because the proposed NI increase will be used to fund a guaranteed minimum level of care for the elderly, something that’s long overdue.

The plans, revealed in a national newspaper yesterday, will end the need for people to sell their property to fund expensive care home fees.

It’s a subject close to my heart. My mother has been in care suffering from Alzheimer’s for more than two years.

She had no alternative but to sell her home to pay the £25,000 a year it costs to look after her.

Her predicament is far from unusual. Every year tens of thousands of elderly people are forced to sell their homes to fund their own care.

And with an ageing population, the situation will only get worse unless drastic measures are taken.