We all know that publicly funded services in the UK such as health care and education are overstretched. A growing population, and growing expectations of such services, help to explain the crisis some of them are facing. At the present time, we all have the legal right to choose to use a publicly funded service or to pay, for example, for a place for a child in a private school or for private health care. Whatever rights the law gives us, those who can afford to pay for such services should do so. With less demand on them, essential services could continue to be provided for those who cannot afford to pay, and those who can afford to pay can choose the best they can afford.