The Budget?

[observer]

How much pain are you expecting for yourself?

[Sue Durnim]

The last government has caused me so much financial pain already, I have become anesthetized to what is to come, because of the farcical goings on by the Labour government and the bankers on how they have squandered all that resource they call money and now it is the hardworking person, public sector, vulnerable and business people who will be hit the hardest.

 

I expect the present coalition government will have to put right what has been done wrong, it?s not going to be nice, what ever they do, but it has to be done, Labour government, HANG YOUR HEADS IN SHAME!

[Gary]

20 per cent VAT could be painful!

[Eagle]

It has got to be painful or we will just be in direr straits.

[safeway56]

*We have no plans to increase the rate of VAT*

 

Ooooooops VAT increased to 20%.

 

Politician telling lies...whodathunkit ?

[Dizzy]

Like SD has already said... I too am sort of 'numb' to it all too now.

 

Not too impressed with the rise to 20% on vat though That can't be good for small businesses either.

 

But saying that when it dropped from 17.5% to 15% I didn't notice any real savings nor did I rush out to buy more... so therefore when it rises to 20% maybe I won't notice or spend less either Womans logic

 

Thought corporation tax was supposed to be being lowered but thats gone up too

 

Anyway glad to see they have 'said' there will be no increase on fuel, cigs or alcohol.... people will fall for that one as many wont think about the vat increase putting the prices UP anyway

 

Agree that people earning over ?40k don't need child tax credits. (We've never claimed them by the way even though we earn much less than that..... before anyone has a go at me )

 

Not bothered looking how todays changes will really affect me or my family as a whole as there's not much we can do about it.

Hopefully it will start to sort out the mess the country is in and my share prices will finally go up

[Peter T]

*We have no plans to increase the rate of VAT*

 

Ooooooops VAT increased to 20%.

 

Politician telling lies...whodathunkit ?

 

But that was before they had seen the books.

[wolfie]

Having not seen the books why make such a rash statement?

[Dizzy]

Surely you are not trying to suggest that only the rulling party know the 'real figures' that 'are on the books' Peter

[observer]

ALL the main Parties knew before the Election that the situation was dire - boy George started off being honest and warned of a period of austerity but, suddenly the Tory poll ratings started to drop - SO, they ALL fought an Election without any honest conversation with Joe Public about the real situation - cos the sad fact is, Joe Public prefers the easiest option rather than real solutions. The kids like their sweets and just you dare trying to take them away! So we'll go through this period of austerity; no doubt the Unions will kick off with futile marches and strikes (as in Greece); Local Gov will sell more assets, outsource even more and make folk redundant as services reduce, so they can then start being tax consumers (dole) rather than tax payers; the media will fish out the occasional story of some poor persons plight etc. Meanwhile, the Banks are breathing a sigh of relief at only paying a ?2billion levy; the bankers will still be salting away their bonuses and the rich will be stashing their doe in their off-shore accounts; MPs will probably continue with their gold plated pensions etc. Boy George will cut the deficit to around ?35 billion in 5 years, saving a ?10 billion bribe in time for the next election! And as the pain begins to bite, folk will be looking around and the blame game will start, no doubt led by the very Party that got us into this position in the first place! A week being a long time in politics, the Plebs will probably forget who caused the problem and take it out on those who are applying the medicine - funny old world!

[Eagle]

I didn't read any further than " Boy George", it set the tone of your post and therefore there was no need to read on.

[Sue Durnim]

One thing I do agree with is the scrapping of the RDA?s, they are a waste of money, they only serve to be a middle man handing out other organisations revenue which should go direct from government to source.

 

Cutting out the choice/discretion of the head of the RGA?s and ignoring procedure to line there mates pockets or sponsoring their hobby or favorite sporting team to the detriment of others.

[observer]

Just the first of the host of Quangos that can be dispensed with; maybe the Wolves will get a full time Chairman?!

[Peter T]

Surely you are not trying to suggest that only the rulling party know the 'real figures' that 'are on the books' Peter

 

Are you suggesting that Labour showed the rest the true figures????

IF so, why wasn't there rioting on the streets?????

[observer]

Cos the great British public didn't want to hear the truth and the politicians knew it, hence they didn't tell it - had any of them done so - they'd have been slaughtered at the election - such is the nature of democracy!

[Bazj]

The benefits reductions are a good thing though.

 

If there really are people in London getting over ?100,000 in housing benefit in a year; then there really has to be a stop to it.

 

I could never understand the Labour idea of taxing people and then giving them most of the tax back as benefits! The additional tax take being spent on the people handing back the tax as benefits......

[observer]

There's no doubt savings could be made in the benefits system Baz BUT: there are questions that need to be answered when one starts to cut: where are all these jobs coming from, to be filled by the doleites, at a time when unemployment is set to increase through public sector cuts? If folk can't afford to reent a house, they will probably have to downsize to a caravan - so more Pikeys! According to the "experts" the current austerity prog will hit the richest 10% hardest (they think!); but the next hardest hit, will be the bottom 10% - so presumably, we can expect a crime wave as desperation takes over? But they estimate a 25% cut in Police budgets, so less coppers to catch them, plus less courts to try them etc. There are savings that they havn'y even attempted: EG: Overseas Aid is to remain untouched, when it could be scrapped altogether (charity starts at home etc); the NHS is still wasting money on IVF and non essential cosmetic surgery: child allowace is still being paid to single feckless mothers; bank bonuses remain untouched; MPs still have their gold plated pension scheme; we're still subsidising the EU; we're stuck in a futile and unecesary war in Afghanistan etc etc.

[Bazj]

Obs..... to be perfectly honest, I don't give a flying pig where "all these jobs are coming from"..... my taxes SHOULD NOT be going towards someone geting tens of thousands of pounds in housing benefits which then of course leads on to free eyecare, free dental, no poll tax, etc etc.

 

If there are people getting a hundred thousand pounds a year in housing benefit, it should be stopped and they can have a ?25.00 tent from Millets.

 

Where is the incentive to even look for a job if they get that sort of money? as some of these benefits recipients are getting more than someone employing 20 people; which is ironic because the tax take from such a company would be just enough to pay the benefits!

 

I do agree with your final points........ trouble is, we have had no justice and punishment in this country for a long long time and as for overseas aid.....

[observer]

I agree that a disincentive to work has grown into the system, because if one works, one loses all the additional benefits, thus making one worse off. What they need to do imo, is make such benefits conditional on actively seeking work (as no work may exist); on some form of volunteer work, if only to keep folk (especially youngsters) in a routine of getting up in the morning. The only reservation is, if folk get absolutely nothing for doing nothing, child poverty increases in the case of families and crime becomes the option of last resort - so a bit of a catch 22. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, we've got an Italian football Manager on ?6million a year, trying to form a winning team of of a group of over-paid prima donnas; and folk paying ?millions for a Picasso painting - and the man said "we're ALL in it together"!

[Legion]

VOTE FOR LEGION

 

As a contractor I spend a lot of time working in the public sector for private companies.

 

CUTS... I tell you what put me in charge and I would make more sweeping cuts than this half effort. I see so much wastage.

 

first thing to go would be annual budgets to individual council departments. they find themselves in march approaching the end of the financial year with millions left over in their budget...so do they think that they have done a great job in saving all this taxpayers money..no they rush orders in to spend it all before this year runs out, knowing they would loose it...(LIKE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO HELLO !!)

 

tax credits as mentioned before, labours flag ship tax credits is just jobs for the boys, if they didnt tax us so high in the first place then they wouldnt have to give it us back, meanwhile employing yet more civil servants as middlemen skimming away my hard earned to manage it.

 

child benefit.. scrapped ! I have 3 kids, so would be affected..it costs the country billions every year, yet makes little diffrence in inviduals lives.

 

single parent benefit...scrapped.. can't afford to live alone...take in a lodger!.

 

department of department of department.. look one council fits all, we dont need seperate management over everything most management startaegies can be combined, the only people who need to know the diffrence is those doing the work...who deserve pay rises.

 

child care credits...scrapped one single strategy can save this planet and get people back to work, 90% of people who work that I know need a phone and a pc...both of which they have at work and at home, they consume fuel, emit carbon, use precious declining fuel stocks to get to a place with the same facilities as they have at home. encourage companies to employ home workers and fast secure internet.single parents can work, planet is saved.

 

Immigration.. you come here to work from the eu..your good and welcome , break the law, loose your job for more than 6 weeks...home you go. your welcome to our NHS while you have a NI card which you get for legitimate working. no other benefits are available .

 

unemployed.. 6 weeks then you do council work to earn an increased job seekers allowance, once a week you attend a job search day. until you get your own job. this vast stock of low paid employees reduces the need for most other departments.

 

Disability benefit. only to those who have no use of at least one limb whatsoever. no free parking spaces (I don't see why being disabled means you get to park for free, surely working people have more need of free parking).

 

NHS. More nurses more beds less managers (apparently there are 2 administrate staff for every doctor and nurse)

 

Crime. quadruple jail terms for all crime and bring back death penalty . its not about costs..cost would be reduced by the number of people too frightened to commit crime instead of seeing it as a inconvenience to get caught.

 

pointless art projects by talentless media and arts graduates.. basically if you cant make something that people look at and go OMG how talented are you..then your not an artist, no skittles, arrows or penis shaped fountains designed in 10 minutes on a CAD computer.

 

MP expenses...same as everyone else in the private sector, no house, no bills, no moat...just petrol at 25p a mile and paperclips if required.

[wolfie]

Iain Duncan Smith seems to think that we are now living on average 30 years in retirement.

 

That would make the AVERAGE lifespan 95 years for men.

 

Wherehas the official average lifespan for a British man is 77.

 

In France it's 82 with a retirement age of 60.

[Eagle]

Plenty of people retire well before 65 so IDS is probably nearer the mark than you think.

 

In fact a large number of benefit jockeys retired as soon as they left school, are they in his calulations?

[Dizzy]

I VOTE FOR LEGION Nice one and makes complete sense

[Bazj]

I would imagine that most coppers claim pensions for longer than they worked as a copper these days..... especially as some can retire at 48 on a full whack pension pot

 

Legion,

 

I agree with your sentiments, but you need to think a bit tougher... some of your ideas are like something out of Kijes scrapbook!! (where is he these days anyway.......?)

[wolfie]

I would imagine that most coppers claim pensions for longer than they worked as a copper these days..... especially as some can retire at 48 on a full whack pension pot

 

 

Police Officers can only retire from the age of 55.

 

The statement by IDS was a comparison between the average lifespan when the retirement age was set at 65 and that of present day.