Just giving?
Who does the Welsh Labour party want us to focus on in the run-up to these local elections?
Who was their local election party political broadcast all about?
Who, this morning, made the kind of speech that is very hard to ignore?
That'll be Rhodri Morgan, who "weak-minded members of the commentariat" - more about them in a moment - have dubbed the freebie First Minister.
From free prescriptions to free school breakfasts to free car parking in Welsh hospitals, the so-called 'giveaway policies' may have been popular with most but some are sensing an obsession, a free-something-or-other on special offer every time you pull up at the Assembly Government forecourt.
Today came the rebuttal.
This is how the argument goes: that the so-called giveaway policies are a distinctive Welsh approach that other governments - in Scotland and Northern Ireland - are now aping. The freebies are one of many deliberate, calculated measures designed to persuade those surviving on benefits that they won't lose out by going back to work. Giving away is just one of the "many clubs in the bag" this government is using to try and galvanise the labour market and drag the Welsh figures for economic activity upwards, so that they do more than touch the hem of the Scottish statistics.
Now that still doesn't sound to me like a defence of giving free prescriptions to everyone, yes, including those millionaires we trot out at times like this to drive home the point. and it was no surprise either that it seemed to go down well enough at the Welfare to Work conference (with its logo of a pared down red and green rainbow by the way).
So what about these "weak-minded members of the commentariat" who slam the freebies - the curious words that leapt off the page of the pre-released speech and the press release? Commentariat? Who is he talking about?
Well Rhodri Morgan never did utter those words, nor anything like them. He always did tend to wander off script ("looking into people's eyes is far more important") but the sentiment , he insisted afterwards to confused reporters, "was there" even if he didn't stick to the script.
So I'll ask again: who are they? Who has recently criticised the Welsh Assembly Government for concentrating too much on free stuff?
There's the Conservative, Alun Cairns, on free school breakfasts: "It's time to put this expensive, ill-thought-out gimmick to bed".
And there's Liberal Democrat, Jenny Randerson on "free prescriptions for millionaires and parking in hospitals for commuters ... putting headline grabbing gimmicks ahead of patient care".
But hang on, who was it who said more than once that it made no sense to spend NHS money on "subsidising anyone who wants to park in a hospital car park for free"?
And who said that the Welsh Assembly Government should prioritise "sharp" rather than "soft" services, skill and business support rather than free schemes?
It was Ben Bradshaw, the Labour Minister in charge of health in England and the former Labour Secretary of State, Peter Hain who spelled out his thoughts very clearly here.
The First Minister couldn't possibly having been thinking of them - now could he?
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
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What's 'free' about it? It isn't like these freebies rain from the skies - they come from public money. Public meaning us. If you pay tax, you pay for the cost of these freebies.
So, when the doctor writes you a prescription for paracetamol because its now 'free', your taxes are paying for the drug and the adminstration costs of the prescription (££££s each), for an item you could have bought in the supermarket for 24p.
Now the Assembly can't simply raise our taxes to pay for these freebies, so what is the effect? We can't get the operations or specialist appointments that we need when we're really ill, but we can get some free paracetamol while we wait.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
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These freebies are a great idea! The socialist ideal is that the poor should be given as much help as possible. It is crazy that you have to pay for medication, then pay to go to the hospital.
The next obvious steps are these: first encourage welsh farmers to produce more of our foods (more jobs, better for the environment obviously), then give away good foods based on the size of your family (think Tesco's every little helps)..but now it is the state. In this way, give less disposable income for the poor to waste on rubbish, thus children of the poor have great, cheap nutrition. (unless you believe that their parents will 'sell' their food on some type of 'black market- that is hard to believe. Then what is left for this vision? Two things..we need to implement a real comprehensive school system that is truly equal and not dependant upon where you live. (Read radical politics). Lastly, then invest in social housing. I would imagine that the land will belong to the state, but that the occupier could buy just the bricks and mortar. Thus, incentive to look after your home as you could sell it on. (Read real cheap housing that will not look like a bomb site in a decade). I think that will do for now...
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As for doctors issuing a prescription for asprin or paracetamol that is a behaviour issue for the Doctor, as drugs come out of his practice budget then it should impact on him. Secondly doctors don't have to issue prescriptions just because a patient asks for them. Thirdly the previous system had so many exemptions that there wasn't too much difference to the issuing of drugs now and then. Finally the cost of administering the system of prescription charges almost outweighed the funds coming in!
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Rhodri Morgan lives in the past we have left Jim Callaghan and Michael Foot in the past and we never want to see those days back again. We want to do away with this dependancy society that we now have in Wales with the coalition determined to give away as much of our hard earned cash as they can with silly 'gimmicks' like free prescriptions and laptops for every child. Why not do something beneficial like give housing associations more money to build affordable homes so poor people are not reliant on private landlords who charge rents far in excess of the fair rents set by Welsh local authorities.
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Isn't that exactly one of the things the coalition is doing - extending the money given to housing associations? The free car parking and free prescriptions are part of the health service free at the point of delivery, a key founding feature of the NHS. Free car parking contributed a negligible amount to the budgets of hospitals and charging for prescriptions was almost as expensive as free prescriptions (admin fees etc). As for the lap top per child I would suggest people look at what is happening in many third world countries with the one laptop per child policy - using great low cost robust machines running the best open source software, these countries have decided that its an important investment in the future of a child and ultimately their nation. As yet the laptops are just a planned pilot scheme but I hope it rolls out to all children - and after a few years people will wonder how we ever did without them....
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Why do you never write any pieces analysing Plaid Cymru's policies - or the Conservatives or Lib Dems? In fact, more analysis all round would be appreciated.
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Well if Betsan is to be believed then Plaid isn't causing the rift between Labour's Cardiff administration and Westminster - it's Rhodri Morgan.
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I'm sure that the assembly would make more radical and significant changes if it were given the power to.
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Never mind free laptops - just give children qualified teachers, and take supply teachers back under the auspices of LEA's in order that they can be properly paid for the work that they do, instead of half their salary going to exploitative agencies. We are not a third world country!
The introduction of free hospital car parking and the withdrawal of certain vending machines without re-imbursement to Trusts has been financially damaging and adversely affected patient care provision; and Health Board re-organisation policies have been bungled.
Once the WAG has proved it can handle the powers it already has, then, and only then, will it have earned the right to seek more law-making powers.
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Lyn Thomas says the Government is giving money to the Housing Associations in Wales...yes a piddly amount compared to what the Social Housing Grant was in 1992, it has reduced by two thirds. In 1992 the grant built nearly 5300 houses. In 2004 the grant built 1,100 houses...the grant hasn't kept up with building inflation. At the moment Housin Associations are building only half of what is being sold under the right to buy scheme. As for Health Services, free parking and free prescriptions is only tinkering with systems, what is needed is a radical overhaul with the priority being reducing waiting lists. The Labour led WAG doesn't seem able to prioritise.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Negrin why would you want to reduce waiting lists? Is 'time waiting' the most important health indicator you can imagine? I would rather have a longer waiting time, and reduce health inequalities; reduce hospital infections and associated unnecessary deaths, and so forth.
Lastly, free car parking and prescriptions maybe marginal interventions, however, they resonate with voters. Why should you pay for medication? Why should you pay to park your car to then stay in hospital? The NHS is based on the principle of being free at the point of care. You seem to have missed the point. Unless, you are advocating we start to charge people for their care? That would be radical, but in my view it would be unethical. Plus, from those systems that do that through insurance generally, on the whole transaction costs do go up, but the levels/outcomes of care do not seem to be that much better.
Hope this helps?
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Why would you want to reduce waiting lists? Er, because the public seem to think it's pretty important! When MORI did some research into the drivers of customer satisfaction with public services, timeliness was the second most critical factor. Having to wait a disproportionate length of time for treatment not only affects your quality of life, it can be a potential health risk factor in its own right.
Do 'free' parking resonate and prescriptions with voters? Source please... they don't resonate with this particular voter, because I recognise that they incur an opportunity cost. Think about all the possible alternative policies or programmes that DIDN'T get the funding.
Most progressives support care free at the point of use, but that doesn't imply you have to drive to the point of use. The most disadvantaged couldn't afford a car in the first place. Brainwave time, perhaps everyone should get a taxpayer-subsidised car? It would certainly strike another blow for equity.
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