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[S16]Safety On The Net

by Michael Russell, Mic

Obesity has only become widespread in the years following the industrial revolution. It was the changes in life style made possible by the high factory wages, job security and a more sedentary working environment along an assembly line, which made this trend possible. Before the middle class was born and bred with the benefits that the new machine manufacturing based economy provided, obesity was rare.

For the most part, before the industrialized middle class was brought about, only rich people had the money, leisure time and excess amount of food required to become obese. There may have been a few cases where a person's metabolism and heredity helped them to become plump, but they still needed enough food or calories to become obese.

My mother's family had a history of obesity. My grandmother was not obese, but some of her siblings were. My grandfather on my mother's side had a large frame, as did my mother, so I assume that I may have the predisposition toward obesity.

On reaching middle age, the body's metabolism slows down some. That is one reason why I make a daily effort to get some exercise. I don't do strenuous levels of exercise but every day I walk the dog during daylight hours for 45 minutes to an hour. Then later in the evening, I repeat this routine. Both the dog and I enjoy this outing twice a day. She has come to expect her daily outings. Doing this raises my metabolism, which should burn some calories and possibly slow the onset of obesity. With regular exercise, I don't worry too much about what I eat.

Going back to the first point made about widespread obesity, being a fairly recent trend. What if this is not really a trend in history. Perhaps it could be an anomaly in history. There is a chance with the move away from the industrial society in North America, that the force which created the middle class affluent generation will disappear, and along with it its wealth. More companies are outsourcing their labour and some are just plain relocating to third world countries, where the labour is dramatically cheaper. In a real way, the good industrial jobs are disappearing in North America. What if the trend is more toward low paid service jobs? Would an economy mainly based on such low paid jobs be self sustainable enough to maintain a large number of middle class people, the way the industrial based one of the recent past has? Perhaps the next trend will be a return to the economic levels, of the pre industrial revolution time when obesity was uncommon. Perhaps a few extra pounds are ok, even desirable. It is nature's way of protecting us against hard times that allows fat to build up in our bodies. Perhaps nature knows best. If there was a sudden food production or distribution disaster, it would be the obese people who would have the advantage. In a world where food was in short supply, having a few extra pounds on your body could better your chance of survival.

Private insurance is seen as a safety net if problems arise due to the risk of unemployment, debts, repossession and the possibility of illness. If someone has a 100,000 pound mortgage, an increase of ten to twelve pounds a month would provide cover for the insured for the interest per month paid on the mortgage, should they run into problems.

With personal debt now totaling over a trillion pounds, the Government is pushing these new initiatives on private insurance. Bankruptcy is increasing and home owners are coming under pressure if they miss repayments on their mortgages. The possibility of repossession is worrying and frightening.

It's ironic when you realize that the taxpayer has coughed up some 8 billion pounds in benefits over the last 10 years in mortgage interest payments to support the unemployed. The treasury is now trying to off-load this onto to the responsibility of public and mortgage lenders.

Insisting that compulsory Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) should be enforced would not be a popular move as it increases costs when buying a house, and some experts are of the opinion that the Government should impose that expense onto the lenders, to come from their profits. It is no secret that building societies and banks make massive profits on selling MPPI and premiums are currently around 800 million to 1 billion yearly despite only just under a quarter of buyers having made the purchase. With the profit on this being 250 to 500 million pounds, you can follow the Governments way of thinking.

What the Government realizes is that 75 per cent of homeowners are left without protection if they fall on hard times. It's true that the benefits system is in place and gives support via Income Support for Mortgage Interest, but there are limitations on claimants.

The advice from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the voice for banks and building societies, is for first-time buyers to take out insurance to protect their homes. However, they are strongly against making MPPI a compulsory product, especially if it increases the buyer's outgoings.

The CML believe that if the industry has to absorb this cost then the outcome will be that mortgages will go up as this money will have to come from somewhere. Even if it is not seen as a separate premium, it will be built in and will increase the overall cost. In their opinion margins have been squeezed for some time now and it is making it impossible for firms to absorb this extra too.

The CML think that people should be free to make their own choices and arrangements with regard to this insurance, which may not be appropriate for everyone. It could be that people may have sufficient protection from other insurance, or through their employers or possibly substantial savings. In this case it would be unreasonable to enforce someone over insure.

Iain MacQueen-Sims, credit and debt expert of Omnichek, does not agree with the CML His opinion is that by making MPPI compulsory it would create a safety net and that it shouldn't add to homeowners costs. The lenders can easily fund it without any price increases and they should show some loyalty to a market where they do very well out of their customers.

A draft of the European Directive on the mortgage market is in favour of compulsory MPPI in all member states as a standard procedure. A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions has stated that “anyone taking out a mortgage should think hard about protecting their income.”

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Both Michael Russell & Sheila Challiner are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Michael Russell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Celebrities, Dieting and Diabetes Treatment. Michael RussellYour Independent guide to . Michael Russell's top article generates over 2240000 views. to your Favourites.

Sheila Challiner has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Travel Insurance and Finances. Interested in getting a quote on ? Please Visit Understand-Mortgages for more information and other resources. Our sister site Brokers Online. Sheila Challiner's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.