How Many Brits Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?

Here's a minimalist addition to Bookworm's excellent piece today questioning Hill's push for socialized medicine ... oops, a national healthcare program.

This post isn't about medicine, socialized or otherwise, it's about changing lightbulbs in the Western European social democracy known as Britain, courtesy of Best of the Web:

London's Sunday Telegraph, meanwhile, reports that "BBC staff have been stopped from replacing lightbulbs because of concerns for their health and safety":

Instead, the corporation is paying up to £10 for each replacement bulb to be fitted.

The situation came to light when Louise Wordsworth, a learning project manager with the BBC, complained.

"I called up to ask for a new lightbulb for my desk lamp and was told that this would cost £10," she wrote in a letter to Ariel, the corporation's magazine.

"On telling them I'd buy and replace the bulb myself (bought for the bargain price of £1 for two bulbs) I was told that it was against health and safety regulations. So guess how many BBC colleagues it finally took to change a lightbulb (risking life and limb to do so)?"

We'll bite, how many?

The member of staff left in the dark would need to find a clerk to get a reference number so that the repair could be paid for, then report the fault to a helpline. An electrician would ask the store manager for the part and install the bulb, making a total of five people.

Five people to change a light bulb. More than three years to get surgery to put you out of intolerable pain. That's Socialism for you. Disrespectful of the individual in every way possible.