1st class,Rights,Equalit y,& Discrimination?

It doesn’t exist, never has, never will .

If it is purely a question of paying the price, I can see nothing wrong with getting what you pay for.
If you choose to spend your own money on the things OP lists, that is your choice. I don’t see that as discrimination.
However, inequality lies in denying you a fair return for your labour, thereby ruling out huge swathes of society, it lies in discrimination which denies you access to even “joining the queue” let alone affording the price when you get to the head of it.
Communist countries in the past claimed to abolish privilege, to flatten out the inequalities of education, dress, housing, travel, title (everyone was “comrade”) medical care, employment - the lot of it.
Look at Russia and China today.
Equality?
To quote
“All are equal, but some are more equal than others”
Equality to me lies in establishing a level playing field where health, housing, education are accessible to all regardless of colour, creed , ethnic origin or finance.

Exactly so Maw.

If you choose to spend your money on the things OP lists isn’t that just it there are many who have no choices as they have no money to choose what to use it on so I agree there can never be true equality even in communist communities there are still those at the top who are not equal to others
But I totally agree with your last sentence Maw the main things that make life livable should definitely be equal and that’s the very best we can hope for

We should add disability to the list, sex - in fact the protected characteristics under the Equality Act. It’s linked up with basic human rights isn’t it?

I think there is a danger in confusing equality with 'one size fits all' thereby taking choice and preference out of the equation.

I whole heartedly believe in equality - equality of opportunity, equality of rights etc. What I don't believe in is squeezing individuality out of everyone so we live a grey , all fitting in the boxes existence.

Im probably not explaining this well ( I haven't finished my first coffee of the day) , maybe Ill venture back when my grey cells are functioning !

I think also that as individuals, groups, communities as well as the government we all have a responsibility to try to reduce inequality. EG In paying fair wages & ensuring good working conditions employers can do their bit.
All too often we inadvertently prop up inequality by looking for the cheapest option for ourselves, not wanting to pay more in taxes etc etc. I am not excluding myself..I think we are all part of the situation. If we are constantly seeing things from a perspective that is the 'best option for me' we are probably trampling on someone else's chance of a more equal life.

It would be accepted that if one person has a big luxurious house, wears Armani and eats three gourmet meals a day, while the other lives in a lean-to in a shanty town, wears ragged jeans and doesn't eat a lot, they are not equal.

But are they unequal if two people have equal amounts of money and one chooses to spend it on buying the big house and never leavbing it, and the other on tickets to travel the world with a backpack, sleeping in leanto's and eating sparingly of local food?

Surely all Having started out equal is the key Elegran then what an individual chooses to do after that is up to them .

Sadly we do not all start out equal though so it’s a bit like the dog going round the Monopoly board 100 times buying up all the hotels and properties before the poor wheelbarrow has even thrown its first dice.

I think I'm one of life's wheelbarrows.

Yes me too sadly MissA

Another wheelbarrow here.

Annie

Agree "gillybob" and sadly it is hard to break the inequality cycle unless we all actively choose to do so. Small things, like the Sure start scheme, to support families living in difficult circumstances were beginning to impact but have been closed as part of 'austerity' measures . As a nation we are not willing to elect any government that stands on a platform of increased taxation & as that is the main source if revenue to start the ball rolling to tackle basic inequalities it will not happen.

Agreed, Gillybob and PECS. The link between taxation and Government spending and their joint impact on attempts to level the playing field don't seem to register at election times or when financial legislation is being debated.

Not quite true that we won't support a government which proposes tax increases.
In Scotland the government has used its taxation powers to increase income tax for higher earners while dropping it for those earning less (all at the rate of 1p in the £).

My friend and I were born in the same village, our grandfathers came from North Wales to South Wales to work in the pits. Our fathers were coal miners in the same pit. We went to the same school, then onto grammar school.

I flopped my A’levels, she did brilliantly. She went into medicine I into secretarial work. We married the same year, she has been married 59 years, I was married 8 years.

She own a lovely house, I live in a one bedroomed council bungalow, she and her lovely husband have pensions, I have pension credit. She holidays abroad several times a year, she has a car I have a mobility scooter.

Good for her, I am happy for her. That’s life . If I whinged about how lucky she is it wouldn’t change things, so much envy now.

She has been married 50 years not 59 years ?

Even when people start out equal it is still up to the individual to make the most of themselves. My DH worked hard all his life often working a day job and then going out in the evening to work again, was never out of work and as a result by the time we reached 50 we were what people would consider "comfortable". His brother who had exactly the same opportunities did as little as possible, drank to excess and now complains about the poor quality of his life.

Is there a reason why he drank to excess?
Its been cited many a time in discussions here that alcoholism is an illness.
Self medication to manage dark feelings?

There was no reason for him to drink to excess. His wife took on all the responsibilities of running the house, she was the one who worried about paying the bills - he would just shrug his shoulders and laugh.

Doesn't it all boil down to having options? To choose where we live, how we travel, whether we buy (arguably the best) healthcare? What gives anyone those options is surely money. No money means no options, no choice.

Some will make unwise choices in life or just unlucky choices. Some have situations thrust upon them through no fault of their own.

What does seem unequal is how most children born into the poorest families are going to find life a struggle.
Whilst children born to wealthy parents at least can choose which road they go down.

Good post Maw. People can spend their money how they wish, if it's private health care, a large house or alcohol and riotous living it's their choice, we do seem to condemn people for having a good life style when in fact they have worked and saved for these things.
That's not to say opportunities should not be available to all.

And the answer Blinko?