British Passport

The other day, was having a conversation with my associate, which gave me abit of a shock:

A: Why not stay longer and get a PR or British passport?
H: Nah, I'll be going home in the end. Sg passport is not bad (Previously, we had another conversation with our mgr who had a passport from Country Z.. and he has to obtain a visa in order to do most of his travelling. Very ma fan to hold the passport from Country Z)

A: Yeah, dont mean that Sg passport is bad. Just that having a British passport can guarantee that the Government will take care of you when you are old and sick. You basically dont have to worry about anything when you are old. The govt will give u a house, a car, and engage pple to take care of you when you are sick and immovable etc.

A: You don't actually have to work and pay the taxes here. You can live anywhere else. But when you fall sick, you just need to fly back here to seek free treatment.

OMG! Is that really the case? This is a young man of 25 yrs of age talking. and he is already thinking of asking the govt to take care of him when he is old and sickly? We went on for a good 10 min debating about this topic. Like, where does the money come from? Won't the Govt collapse one day? etc etc...

I realise we have really been brought up in different cultures. (As I'm typing this, FM100.3 is playing "We are One United People" by Sun Yan Zi) We have never been taught to rely on the government to take care of us. We have been taught to work hard so that you can buy a house, buy a car, and provide for your old age in the ever-increasing medical costs society. Like what my dad says, we cannnot afford to fall sick..

Is it really such a good idea that the Government will care for you when you are old? Hmm.. sounds attractive right? No need to worry that you will die from falling sick and being pennyless. But is it really such a good idea? I doubt it. There must be the cons... There is no free lunch in this world. so should I still try for a British passport? nah.. I'm still happy with my red one now! :)) haha..