Guest 693- Registered: 12 Nov 2009
- Posts: 1,266
In what I think is a rather astute move, David Cameron's asking the public where they think the Government can save money. That way, when the axe falls, he can honestly say 'Well, you told us to do it'. So, where do forum members think the axe should fall? Bearing in mind the huge deficit we're facing, cutbacks will almost certainly be across the board, but in some areas more than others, obviously...
Me, I think that overseas aid should be stopped immediately - we simply can't afford it. I'd like to see street lighting switched off at 10.30pm, overtime stopped for all public sector employees except the Police, a recruitment ban so that the Civil Service is reduced through natural wastage, a withdrawal from Afghanistan, a moratorium on the road building programme with no further projects committed to and a central purchasing authority appointed (with the personnel and location of one of the soon-to-be-extinct quangos so that no expense is made on setting it up) for all Government purchasing with every penny under the scrutiny of a board of quasi-trustees.
I'd like to see Immigration Officers appointed (NOT sacked) with a brief to tighten up immigration so that our benefits system is not subject to abuse from immigrants, the welfare system reviewed so that the undeserving are not paid allowances that make a return to work a drop in income, and the UK contribution to the EU either halved or stopped altogether. (I accept that the latter won't happen.)
I'd like to see all but the most important overseas travel at public expense stopped - we live in age where technology should render most travel requirements as obsolete, all Government advertising budgets to be stopped, and a policy of moving non-essential personnel away from London to less expensive locations around the country. (It's estimated that it costs HMG an extra £30m per annum to employ people in London than it would if the same people were employed outside the capital.)
All in all, I'd be looking for the application of common sense in all aspects of Government spending. Frankly, recent history has shown a remarkable lack of that - we need a return to frugality; there's nothing wrong in being frugal.
True friends stab you in the front.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Make dossing around and getting free money more difficult and get people to work for their communities
Been nice knowing you :)
Alec Sheldon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 18 Aug 2008
- Posts: 1,036
Andy, agree with everything you say.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Andy,
. For now I will say an immediate withdrawl of our soldiers from Afghanistan! Good to know that you also think that way!
Will be back soon!
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
next, a total stop to any e.u. pinching of our money. In other words, not a penny to the e.u. Please remember, dear Forumites, that each and every eastern European e.u. country is most fertile and they should look after themselves. Can't compare their fertility to that of Niger!
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
So, again, yes, let's say that if unemployed British people should have their benefits questioned on the grounds that they should actually work (I certainly would never deny a person the right to receive a minumum sum to live with under any circumstances, in Britain or anywhere in the world no matter what ethnic background lazy or not lazy), then it is about time that a Forumite wrote and spelt out that the eastern Europeans should consider themselves old and mature enough to live off their own steam and stop ravaging other economies (in the West).
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Then I would suggest an end to the law that envisages that any foreigner who has worked in Britain for one year has the right to jobseekers and housing benefits happy ever after on becoming unemployed! Let's say, ten years minimum work for such peopole to have these claims! Obvious exception is for a foreign person married to a British citizen, as marriage of one person to a citizen of another country has always been accepted as implying that both man and wife enjoy the same citizens' rights!
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
And I would suggest axing the money spent on nuclear missiles and nuclear submarines, as I do not believe in pointing nuclear missiles at other peoples' countries. Also, a reduction in spending on new war-planes and the like, and a return to traditional Army techniques: many Shire Regiments armed with rifle and bayonet protecting Britannia's Shores.
Whoever invades us will get a thrashing, prisoners will be respected and returned at signing of an end to ther war! No areal bombings of other peoples' towns, cities and villages! (Even though I think any Country would be willing to be on our side and no Country would dream of invading us!)
Furthermore, a return to Britannia's Sailing Ships, those with the Trident on the Sail!
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
No building of new houses at council or state expense as long as we have settlers claiming these accomodations and the British People have no natural birth-increase!
For today, that's about it!
Ok, I pretty much agree with you Andy but I'd go further:
1. Remove unnecessary beurocracy and beurocrats from all state institutions.
2. Stop the building of all non-nuclear powerstations and/or convert newbuilds to nuclear. This will provide clean, constantly renewable enery for generations to come, stop the importation of outdated fuels such as coke and coal. Build wind farm off the coasts of Scotland and NI, where it is mainly windy.
3. Reduce Business Rates to begin a stimulation of local economies.
4. Reduce the sheer volume of politicians at EVERY level of Government, remove their staff too.
5. Stop every major IT project pending a review of requirements.
6. Going along with Alexander to a point, stop benefit payments to those who are clearly ablebodied enough to do some form of social work in the community as a way of "earning" their benefits. This also to include registered disabled who are mobile enough to contribute. Everyone, except exceptional cases, on benefits to be included. This will help improve morale and dignity in the individuals and the appearance and state of the country.
7. Modernise the armed forces so we need less of them.
8. Decommit from being a lead nation whenever there is a problem somewhere.
9. Cut the high levels of taxation in order to encourage wealth back into the ocuntry and to stop it leaving in the first place.
10. Cut Student fees in England and Wales.
11. Cut the Assembly subsidies to Wales, NI ansd Scotland.
12. Remove all ex-MPs from the House of Lords.
13. Turn off 75% of street lighting after 1am (city centres need lighting to help combat crime).
14. Remove all Quango's and Special Committees
15. Cut the subsidy the LibDems get for being in opposition, they aren't anymore and therefore shouldn't get it.
Right, now the fun stuff:
16. Stop all imports from countries where there is a trade imbalance until we have a trade balance.
17. Windfall tax the banks until they have paid back what they were given by HMG (us) to survive.
18. Windfall tax the banks until the Labour raid on pension funds is repaid (penalty for their greed in earlier years).
19. Immediately deport any uninvited immigrants, regardless of which state they are going back to.
20. Again, going along to a point with Alexander, no benefits for unemployed immigrant workers. If they cannot afford to stay here, they get sent home.
21. Immediately release from prison all "non-violent" prisoners. They should do social work in the community to begin with as part of their "release deal". All violent and sex crime prisoners to lose right of parole and therefore serve exact sentence handed down by the courts. This will reduce the prison population sufficiently enough to stop the building of any new prisons.
22. Stop all outsourcing of government works as those contracts expire. Outsourcing to save money is a fallacy but remains trendy among businesses that can't be arsed to understand the areas being outsourced. I've worked in the outsourcing game and believe me, it's rarely cost and service level effective.
23. Remove all public funding for political parties
And now taxation:
24. Increase VAT to 20%
25. Impose "visitor to the UK" tax of, say, £10 per adult, and £5 per child. All proceeds to pay for infrastructure investment in those places with a point of entry, pro rata based on passenger numbers.
Well, just a few thoughts there. Need a big mug of hot tea before taking this subject more seriously!
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Lots of suggestions there. many I like, some not - some great in theory but not workable sadly....
Here are some of my ideas....
1/ Public sector pay freeze except the lower paid but for more than just one year - for the full parliament but structured in such a way not to hit the less well off as badly as the better paid as follows:
Year 1 except for everyone on under £18k -
Year 2 except for everyone on £21,000 or less
Year 3 except for everyone on £25,000 or less
Year 4 except for everyone on £30,000 or less
Year 5 except for everyone on £45,000 or less
Do note - this is public sector only, the Government has no role in limiting the pay in the private sector. it is not the private sector where we have a deficit problem.
2/ Public sector recruitment freeze - except for doctors, nurses, teachers and the military. For the whole parliament. This would be difficult and a lot of re-training will be needed. It would reduce redundancies though not totally. The public sector is so bloated and inefficient the discipline of this will reap massive rewards by way of additional savings.
3/ A 'zero based' budgetting exercise throughout the whole public sector. This means examining all aspects of public spending to do the following:
a) To see whether each penny really has value to the public
b) To see if it can be spent more efficiently or effectively
c) To see if the service delivery can be done more cheaply
d) Is it necessary at all.....
4/ I would review exactly what we expect of Government and reduce those expectations. Withdrawing the State from many aspects of our lives all together. This would mean a bonfire of quangoes and useless laws and regulations all of which add to costs in both the public and private sector.
5/ I would ring fence only one department, Defence. The reasons being that this department has not beneffited from the spendthrift policies of the last 13 years and we are at war. I would like to increase it but that is not possible so within the department, economies will need to be made to spend more effectively.
6/ I would conduct a wide ranging review of taxes and tax laws. The objective being simplification. This will reduce the cost of collection and make it easier for all of us to work out what tax we have to pay. Flatter, simpler, lower taxes should be the objective. It should also reduce the potential for avoidance and evasion.
7/ There is a lot of 'excess' government that can be scapped for which there are many plans now (sadly the EU cannot practically feature in this now!!!) A lot of projects that can be done away with and dozens of so called 'initiatives'....
8/ I did not mention benefits. They are too high and we should get back to the concept of them being available only as a basic temporary safety net. Those on incapacity should be tested to see that they really are unable to work and if they can work give them 6 months to get back into work then withdraw all benefits.
9/ Tax Credits - scrap them. Phase them out over a 4 year period completely.
10/ Child Benefit restricted to 3 children and for those families with less than £30,000 per annum net income.
I dont know what that lot would ad up to but its a start.....
Guest 693- Registered: 12 Nov 2009
- Posts: 1,266
"4/ I would review exactly what we expect of Government and reduce those expectations. Withdrawing the State from many aspects of our lives all together. This would mean a bonfire of quangoes and useless laws and regulations all of which add to costs in both the public and private sector."
Treat us like adults, you mean? Love it, Barry!
True friends stab you in the front.
How about stopping providing any public information in other than English or Welsh.
Presumably one can get a Somali/English dictionary for example? (Which would have proved bloody useful for my daughter last year when she had her appendix out in St George's Tooting!)
Tooting? THat well known suburb of Mogadishu eh Bob?
Guest 693- Registered: 12 Nov 2009
- Posts: 1,266
Some years ago a friend rang Madame Tussaud's for entry information & times. The recorded message was in six different languages - German, French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. No English.
True friends stab you in the front.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
you have started something here andy, 15 replies already, most quite lengthy.
i think we all suspect that the final cuts have been decided, just a public relations exercise in reality.
Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
We would not need anycuts at all if we came out of the EU.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
put every one on a minimum wage,7 squid an hour would do nicely evan mps and civil servants.
vic,that wouldnt help a lot.
Stop all IVF treatment on the NHS. Seriously.
Plus cut back on post natal care for premature babies. There are far too many preterm babies surviving leading to medical and social disabilities including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, disorders of psychological development, behaviour, and emotion, disabilities of vision and hearing, and epilepsy for starters.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
bob
sorry mate, but that post turned my stomach over.
every new born deserves a life, most parents would accept the problems and still love him or her.
ivf is another issue altogether, too much of an emotional subject to draw serious debate.