I live in the UK; I understand the phrase, but it's one of those which makes little actual sense. Like I said before, almost everything is "free at the point of use". It doesn't mean someone hasn't paid money for it at some point. Some examples:
I walk into a shop, and buy a chocolate bar. I then proceed to eat the chocolate bar. The act of eating the chocolate bar is free, so the chocolate bar is "free at the point of use".
I fill up my car with petrol, then pay for it at the till. I then proceed to drive 100 miles in the car. The act of driving the car is free, so petrol is "free at the point of use".
Get my drift? People start labeling things as "free" when they clearly aren't. The NHS isn't "free" in any sense, unless you are not paying taxes. Same applies for all public and private services. The phrase "free at the point of use" is just a bullshit slogan used by politicians who know that most people will simply hear the word "free" and won't care about who has to pay for it.
A similar thing happened at the student protests earlier this year. Lots of students were campaigning for "free education" and wondering why the rest of the country was holding such an idea as absurd. Well, it's because the rest of the country (i.e. all the working people) would have had to pay for their "free" education through taxes.
I walk into a shop, and buy a chocolate bar. I then proceed to eat the chocolate bar. The act of eating the chocolate bar is free, so the chocolate bar is "free at the point of use".
I fill up my car with petrol, then pay for it at the till. I then proceed to drive 100 miles in the car. The act of driving the car is free, so petrol is "free at the point of use".
Get my drift? People start labeling things as "free" when they clearly aren't. The NHS isn't "free" in any sense, unless you are not paying taxes. Same applies for all public and private services. The phrase "free at the point of use" is just a bullshit slogan used by politicians who know that most people will simply hear the word "free" and won't care about who has to pay for it.
A similar thing happened at the student protests earlier this year. Lots of students were campaigning for "free education" and wondering why the rest of the country was holding such an idea as absurd. Well, it's because the rest of the country (i.e. all the working people) would have had to pay for their "free" education through taxes.
