National Insurance Against Sickness and Unemployment : Full explanation of Mr Lloyd George's great scheme
1911 1911 1910s 4 pages 3 by the insured person to the Post Office, and another card taken in its place. The exact arrangements for stamping are still subject to consideration, but this, broadly, is the principle. The employer will purchase all the stamps, both for himself and for the worker. He w...
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| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| Language: | English English |
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London : The Daily News
[1911?]
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/200DE548-3105-4174-8B08-1301EFDAA179 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/E0D439CD-CB43-4CFF-82C3-0E31553F9A52 |
| Summary: | 1911
1911
1910s
4 pages
3 by the insured person to the Post Office, and another card taken in its place. The exact arrangements for stamping are still subject to consideration, but this, broadly, is the principle. The employer will purchase all the stamps, both for himself and for the worker. He will deduct from the wages the price of the worker's share. Economists will of course argue at great length whether the cost of the scheme will ultimately devolve upon capital or upon labour. I must here be content with stating what are the definite arrangements under the scheme. There will be an allowance of three weeks' grace in each year — that is, twelve weeks in four years — for inability to pay through unemployment. Also, it is hoped to establish a distress fund whereby during a long trade depression members may be able to keep up their payments. So much for paying in. WHAT IS THE COST? When the scheme is fairly started it is expected that there will be received: From employers £9,000,000 per an. From wage-earners 11,000,000 „ Total £20,000,000 „ The charge on the State will be : This Year Nil 1912-13 £1,742,000 1913-14 £3,359,000 1915-16 £4,563,000 For six months no sick allowance will be paid, and for two years no disablement pension, so that at first there ought to be a certain accumulation of money. But taking a somewhat longer period, there will at first be a heavy loss, owing to the number of persons who will join the scheme for the first time at an advanced age. It is arranged that this loss should be spread over 15 1/2 years, at the end of which period 5 1/2 millions of money a year will be liberated for increased benefits. To this sum the State will add its share, amounting to millions, to make 7 millions in all. These 7 millions, available by the year 1927, might be distributed either by advancing the pensionable age from 70 to 65, or by increasing the amount of compensation from 5s. a week to a higher sum, or in any other way that might be desired. Any young persons now joining the fund will thus enjoy the fruit of their thrift when they reach a time of life when benefits would naturally come to them — that is, 40 years of age and onwards. How, then, are the benefits to be distributed? Insured persons who want to wake the best of the fund will, unless they are already members, ask to be admitted into one or other of the great "approved" friendly societies. A friendly society, in order to be approved by the Treasury, must have more than 10,000 members. The condition of its finances must be satisfactory, it must be a non-dividing society — that is, no society which shares out its funds from time to time will be eligible — and, last, but not least, the society must be entirely controlled by its contributing members, and must have local committees and local agencies, as well as a central committee. Let us look at this a little more closely. There were many conceivable ways of managing this insurance fund. It might have been put into the hands of the County Councils and corporations. The Boards of Guardians might have got hold of the money. It might have been entirely managed through the Post Office. Mr. Lloyd George decided that this was a case where the workers were far the best people to manage their own affairs. They are not properly represented on the County Councils and corporations, and they detest the Boards of Guardians. That is why the friendly societies, with their great traditions, have been called in. ENTER THE FRIENDLY SOCIETIES Let us them suppose that the insured person, having obtained a card, joins a friendly society. That society, with its doctor and visitors, will decide when benefits become due, and will pay the benefits on behalf of the State. Now, the friendly society will retain the right of refusing unsuitable members, and I shall be asked, What is to happen if an insured person, having taken out his card, cannot get any friendly society to admit him? He will then become what is called a post office depositor. He will not enjoy the usual scale of benefits, but an arrangement is to be made whereby if he falls ill he will receive from the post office an equivalent to all that he has paid in, with the State subvention added. This is a way of sifting out men and women who are so unsatisfactory in health or character as to be refused by all friendly societies which inquire into their circumstances. Such persons will receive strict justice at the hands of the State, but they will not be allowed to become a general charge upon their fellows. Next, I may be told that one friendly society may get an unfair advantage over another by selecting only persons who are still young and healthy. But Mr. Lloyd George has a way of balancing this unfairness. The payments made to friendly societies by the State will be arranged on a scale which will vary according to the average age at which the Society admits members. The higher the average age of admission, the higher will be the payments from the State. A friendly society will thus be rewarded for unselfishness. THE TREASURY CALCULATION. We have next to consider how much money ought to be paid by the Treasury to the friendly societies year by year. Mr. Lloyd George has calculated the risks which these societies will have to meet, and he has added a surplus of £1,750,000 to the money which he reckons they will need. Every friendly society which administers wisely will thus have an opportunity of making a profit. This profit must not be distributed among its members in cash, but the societies may, in association with the Treasury, agree to increase the benefits beyond the minimum scale offered by the State. Thus it will be to the interest of every friendly society to administer economically, so as to be able to offer to the workers the most tempting choice of benefits. Here is another difficult question. What about those members who are already paying into friendly societies? Will they be compelled to add their State payments to what they are already contributing? That will depend on themselves. The friendly societies are self-governed, and the members can either decide to distribute extra benefits as a result of the extra payment, or to distribute the same benefits, but on reduced payments. There is liberty in this matter. "Yes," says some objector, "but the State is now accepting responsibility for a large part of the risk against which the funds of the friendly societies were built up. Will these societies be now free to distribute the funds thus liberated in cash amongst their existing members?" The answer is in the negative. The funds of friendly societies, in so far as they are set free, must be devoted definitely to what is called "benefit,'' according to schemes approved by the Government. THE HEALTH COMMITTEES. Under the scheme there will be appointed a complete set of county and county borough health committees. These committees will represent the friendly society members of the district, the Treasury, and the County Councils. The committees will manage— (1) The post office depositors. (2) Health lectures on diet, light, fresh air, the evil effects of alcohol and narcotics, hygiene, and all similar subjects. (3) The sanatoria for tubercular patients. It will be the aim of these committees to make the nation as healthy as possible, in order that the amount of liability for sickness may be reduced. The lower the liability the higher will be the benefits when sickness or disablement does occur. In passing, it will be noticed how valuable to the scheme is every year of peace. War invariably creates disease and distress, and every penny spent on armaments is inflicting direct injury on the happiness of the common people in all nations. At all costs the Government of this and other lands must be rescued from the military and naval caste — that is, from the social aristocracy. The prosperity of the scheme thus depends upon the people steadily refusing to be coerced in matters naval and military. Again, the full benefits of the scheme will be best secured in so far as our population is thoroughly temperate, and
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