I believe that figure does take into account the cost of benefits.Onelife wrote: 04 May 2020, 21:32There is a much bigger picture than whether or not immigration is a net contributor to the UK, however, for clarity the figures do point to Ken being right about this although one would presume the figures are based on those who are contributing and doesn’t take into account the thousands who contribute nothing.
A very good point - and taking it in isolation .... Back in the old P&O board days, I made a post saying that the government needs to do something because the current DB pension schemes, particularly those of the public sector were not sustainable. That was not news, it has been well known for over 25 years. Since then very little has been done apart from equalising pension ages and adding a couple of years on to the retirement age (which is nothing more than papering over the cracks). At the time the articles I had been reading where saying that the next generation would very soon have to make a decision ... they could either afford their own houses, their own pensions, their own holidays, their own cars OR they would have to pay the debt left by their parents including their pensions. This could lead to rebellion from the next generation refusing to pay taxes as they struggled to meet the demands from their parents.With regard to pressure on the services I would just say this…the more you have to service the more pressure you put on the services.
This will become more evident as the years roll by, most Immigrants looking to make a new life in our country are young and relatively healthy…. but as the saying goes… “age waits for no one” sooner or later the young will get old, along with all the age related medical and social issues that go with it = more servicing.
That reality still holds true, probably even moreso today because no government has had the guts to address this properly (i.e. stop all DB pensions schemes and move to DC .... immediately).
The public sector pension scheme is the biggest ponzi scheme in this country. For example, for every nurse that retires they need the taxation from over 2 others to pay the pension. And like any ponzi scheme this is getting worse because only a minority of the public sector pensions are actually funded with the majority coming from general taxation.
We have an ageing population that will require more access to the health service (plus the benefit seekers) so the NHS has to grow to accommodate them. In the noughties this was recognised as a major issue that was leading to shortages of nurses, doctors and growing waiting lists. Our own universities and schools were not churning out enough nurses and doctors so the government had to go elsewhere and incentivised many to come to this country. Many of them have now retired - I assume these would be some of the people you are concerned about needing 'servicing' by the NHS.
As I said at the beginning, the above is taken in isolation, but a similar pattern can be seen in other industrial sectors.
My mate used to say very similar things and I will give you the same answer as I gave him.Now for the bigger picture as seen through my eyes…as we become more multicultural diverse the more culturally segmented, we have become. I see no social interaction between ethnic groups although there is tolerance to some degree. I see no attempt from certain Ethnic groups to integrate into UK laws and it values and I see no point in continuing this rant because nothing will change until we have a Government that recognises where all this is going to end up
Who have you reached out to today, or what have you done today to assist in better integration?
Less patience than you might think.
I was young enough to miss national service and was mightily relieved. Didn't fancy it at all. 
