A group of leftists and centre-leftists have come together in ecumenical communion to call for the establishment of a High Pay Commission. The 100 signatories to the request include Lib Dems, Labourites, Greens and lecturers in media studies, and their most famous champion (in these days when the General Secretary of the TUC is no longer a household name) is the Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor, Vincent Cable. The argument of the 100 signatories is that, just as in 1997 there was a case for the Low Pay Commission to tackle the problem of low pay, so today we need a commission to tackle the problem of high pay.

So .. there you have looters in Great Britain talking about putting the government in charge of deciding who can make what in the private marketplace. Does this sound a bit like any other country you know? I mean, other than China.

So you want to know the truth about Barack Obama's healthcare plan? How about 118 million people switching their healthcare from the private sector to the "free" government option? Does that sound like it is going to provide much in the way of competition? No. But that's what the politicians keep claiming. Look no further than Great Britain to see what will happen when the government gets involved in healthcare. This is from the Washington Examiner.

This is precisely what happened in Britain. The state provides most health care, via the National Health Service. Patients have almost no say over which physician, surgeon or hospital they can use, while professionals have to conform to government plans and targets.

After its birth in 1948, planners soon found that "free" health care multiplied demand. NHS founder Lord Beveridge predicted free health care would cut spending as health improved.

The opposite was true. Between 1949 and 1979, it tripled in real terms. The service now costs twice as much as it did 10 years ago, with productivity down 4.5 percent.

One way government tries to limit demand is to decree which new drugs can be prescribed. Many drugs, widely available in America and continental Europe, are denied to British patients.

State mismanagement has also created waiting lines for hospitals, on average causing 8.6 weeks of waiting. Once inside, budgetary cutbacks on cleaning and maintenance mean higher rates of an antibiotic-resistant variety of staph infection. This "superbug" has turned even routine surgery into a lottery of death.

Not enough for you? Continue reading. You can hear about the wonders of government regulation in France. The fact of the matter is that Barack Obama's healthcare reforms are just the beginning. Like France, it will be a slow decline into a system of government controls, regulation and bureaucracy. A system that is not about your healthcare but about power.

By the way ... if you want the government to take over responsibility for your health care you have no business waving little American flags this Saturday.

Just when Barack Obama and the Democrats are on the verge of erecting a government-run healthcare system in this country, other counties are reverting to private options. Take this latest news from Great Britain, which is being called a "radical shift in government policy." Cancer patients who are facing long waits in the National Health Service will be given cash to go seek private treatment.

I'm not kidding, folks. The government is going to pay people to opt out of its government-run system and seek treatment from private providers. Basically the legislation would ensure that cancer patients who cannot get an appointment with a specialist within two weeks after being referred from a GP would be provided funding for a private consultation.

Ironically enough, this plan is being included in Gordon Brown's "Building Britain's Future." Meanwhile, the United States is attempting to build the entirely opposite future - going in the opposite direction.

Here is the story of a single father in Great Britain that wants to take his kids to the pool. So what's the big deal with that statement? The big deal is the fact that I said "kids" and not "kid." Phillip Smith is the father of two boys, Jake (5) and Aiden (3). Phillip is a single dad. One day he decides that he wants to take his boys to the local community swimming pool. He packs up their swim trunks .. probably puts on those horrendous little arm floats .. and heads for the Hillsborough Leisure Center.

He gets to the door .. uh oh .. you and your boys can't come in here to swim. And why not? Because there is only one Phillip Smith and two little Smiths. Apparently the community pool has a rule that any child under the age of eight must be accompanied on a one-to-one basis by adults. So each child must have an adult supervisor at all times. If Smith wanted to come to a special session for single parents who have more than one child, he would have to come back at a different time when the pool would be able to provide him with extra supervision.

Ok now Mr. Smith doesn't get off scot-free here. You know that I am not a fan of people who plan the victim card. Mr. Smith had legitimate reason to believe the policy to be asinine. But then he has to go and throw in this little line about the leisure center "discriminating against single parents." Okay, now, the rule is not written that "single parents can't bring multiple children to the pool." If a nanny had brought them, if their uncle had brought them .. they would still be faced with the same limitations. So let's back off the victimhood thing.

Am I beating a dead donkey here? When it comes to universal healthcare, where better to look for a shining example than Great Britain. The National Health Service of Great Britain costs the taxpayers about $200 billion per year. And by the way, that is more than double what it cost ten years ago ... but that is beside the point. The NHS is getting to the point where it must choose between buying expensive drugs for terminally ill patients or providing more care to more people.

Is that really a choice that you want anyone to make about your healthcare? Even worse, why should the government be the one making that choice for you? Well I can answer that ... because you've virtually begged for it. Americans now think that their health care is someone else's responsibility: either their employer or the government. The very idea that we should be responsible for anything more than a Q-tip or a bottle of aspirin brings howls of outrage. We're asking for it ... begging for it ... and we're not going to be pleased with it at all. Politicians will live it though. Ohhhhh .... Just think of the power! How powerful you must feel when you tell an elderly American that they can't have a specific drug or medical procedure because someone younger needs it more.

In Great Britain, 800 out of every 3,000 cancer patients lose their chance at getting life-saving drugs because it would cost too much for the NHS budget. And that number is only going to get bigger and bigger. In fact, the UK is now considering making a permanent ruling that certain medications that are "too expensive" should be excluded from government-funded treatment. So even if there are better treatments out there, you can't have them because the government doesn't want to pay for it.

And you people in American actually want this. You have the ability to stop it, but you won't because you've been taught all your life that government is the answer. That government can go it better. That government is there to solve your problems. You are setting up your children for a rude awakening.

National Health Service officials in Great Britain are rolling out a new plan to pay blubberbutts to lose weight. Yep, the government healthcare system of Great Britain will spend about $9 million to reward widebodies for trying to lose weight. And that $9 million, folks, is just for one town - Manchester - which will act as a guinea pig for this scheme. No pun intended.

The Points4Life program will allow obese people to win points on their NHS loyalty card (a loyalty card?). They will earn points by showing up to health clubs or exercise classes ...even if they don't lose any weight! They can also gain points by running or walking in the local park where you can swipe your government issued card at a government-run exercise machine that will track your exercise. They can gain points by simply walking their children to school rather than driving them or taking public transportation to work. If they buy healthy food (according to the government's definition of healthy) they can also earn points.

In exchange for your healthy behavior you can use the points to buy health products and services or get discounts on healthy food.

Are you seeing where this is going, folks? Government healthcare cards that track your exercise. Government-sponsored exercise equipment in parks. And who tracks whether or not you walk your child to school in the morning? Oh and the government will also offer "a new award scheme" to encourage restaurants to stock more healthy food. People living in government housing will be encouraged to join a 'grow your own' fruit and vegetable scheme.

This is the government-run healthcare system of the United Kingdom. And you really want this to happen to our great nation?