Cutting public sector will be self defeating as the benefits bill rises and the tax take falls – thus the deficit will not be reduced.

Lets take that to its logical conclusion. We should employ everybody who is currently on the dole in the public sector. It doesn't really matter if they do a useful job or not, the money they get paid gets spent in the shops, resulting in it all coming back as taxes, so it doesn't really cost anything at all. Genius. I can't believe nobody has thought of this before.

TandemJeremy – Member
the other point tony is that these are no t hard times and we can easily afford it.

Can we? How? By borrowing more money? We have a massive and growing deficit and an even larger debt, particularly once you take into account things like PFI and pensions liabilities. The interest payments alone on the debt are horrendous, I can't remember the numbers now but something like more than the education budget?

grum – Member
I'm not sure that your chosen political party agrees with you there.

Maybe not, but as I already stated I don't agree with all of their policies.

grum – Member
I just have absolutely zero confidence that Cameron etc actually give even the slightest shit about it, let alone are capable of sorting it out.

Do you think Labour were/are any different? A lot of the inefficiencies are there thanks to the growth of the last decade.

This is all typical of boom time attitudes when there's lots of money to play with and the sun is shining, in both public and private sectors. I work for an IT company, during the pre y2k boom we threw money at everything because it was the easiest way to solve a problem.

Database/application running slowly? No problem, here's half a million dollars – buy some newer, faster hardware as it's easier than tuning your app/DB to work more efficiently.

Can't manage the workload? No problem, employ another 20 people and make the guy who's just finished University their manager – it's faster than training people up properly and finding an experienced manager. Even better, bring in a load of contractors and pay them ludicrous amounts of money.

We've spent the last 9 years trying to undo a lot of that, shedding about 40% of the workforce along the way with no or below inflation pay rises for those left. You can't undo that kind of exuberance overnight in a private sector company, let alone the public sector when you have to manage all the political fallout that comes with it.

I've just spent the day coaching a bunch of "delinquent" kids thorugh a charitable trust to whom they have been refered. Ages 8 – 13.

An observation:-

Most of them are screwed up due to their home lives. Many of the issues their relate to parents who were screwed up, no doubt by their screwed up parents too. These kids will most likely be the druggies/chavs/petty criminals of our future. There was not one of them that was not redeemamble or who was an inherantly evil indidivdual, quite the reverse. Guess what? Yep thats right fundings been cut not just for this lot, but also for the local sustrans organiser who organsied today for them. Result? Pretty much guarantee that these kids have just had their life chances severely cut too. Will it save money either in the long or short term? doubt it, but it will defiantely fast track them down a road of pretty much no hope.

There are plenty of far more fruitful places to look for cuts, Trident, The Royal Family, Westminster, to name a few. So why pick on these people? Is it becuase they are never likely to vote, let alone vote TOry.

In answer to the OP's original statement. Yep mans a twunt, and we are screwed already. I didn't actually believe it was possible to **** things up this quick, but you've got to give it to em. It has to be some sort of record.