What Goverment spending would you cut? poll discussion

charliewiggs

why should a working man only be payed the same as person on benefits he should be payed more or more to the point benefits should be less

axxerz

CIS wrote: »

Its based on 2 sharing but council tax is 50% property and 50% for the occupiers - a single occ gets a discount of 1/2 of 50% or 25%.

And is it really fair that 11 people sharing one house pay the same council tax as 2 poeple sharing a house?? - council tax is supposed to pay for council services, this should be based on the number of people in the property (like Maggie Thatchers 'poll' tax, although she implemented it wrong and ended up charge everyone more money that the original tax)

mindilove

I voted to cut benifits. I am certainly not against supporting those who are genuinely in need but I think that there is a lot of money unnecessarily given to people who are steeped in a culture of state assistance. I work in A&E in a high deprevation catergory area and daily interact with both the genuine and the work dodgers. Are people in the wider community aware that people who do not work and are alcoholics get extra money in their benifits for nutrition, how much of that money do you think is spent on groceries? If you are in receipt of certain benifits you can claim more money if you have a dog! There are huge savings to be made in the benifits system by reducing, or cutting all together, benifits that are currently being paid for unnecessary reasons and to people that can work but choose not to.

I think that there is a huge cultural problem in Britain in growing sectors of the population where benifits are no longer seen as a safety net, for use only as a last resort, but as an entitlement for those who make the lifestyle choice not to work.

wurley

PasturesNew wrote: »

It's not that easy. I'd vote for a cut across ALL budgets for "non jobs" where they exist.

ME TOO!

I voted Education - If you took all the interfering the government has done you'd save millions!! Red tape and hoops as well as the OTT amount of social engineering taking place costs heaps.

This would work for all areas - Government should trust the professionals to do thier job .... inspections - yes - micro management - no.

NestorMakhno

If we clamped down on tax havens and tax avoidance we could easily raise a couple of hundred billion and wouldn't need to cut anything. Chances of tories doing that?

chriswh_2

We should start by shutting down tax havens. Getting back some of the 18.5 billion a year that is lost through tax evasion. But no doubt this government like the last one will protect the super rich and big business, while savage cuts mean the average person will bear the brunt as usual. MP's should be forced to stop having outside interests immediately.
The banks also should be made to suffer after all they caused it all whilst being propped up with tax payers money. Yet big bonuses continue to be paid. We want a return on this investment asap. Convenient for the new government to simply blame the last government and overlook the role of the banks at present, whilst we are all told how bad things will have to get. This generally accepted mentality that we all must suffer due to the need for cuts is questionable to say the least.

charliewiggs

SoNoble wrote: »

We should be offered the choice of cutting expenditure on EU Membership. I'm not surprised that we are not offered this - Cameron & Clegg are not going to consider this so why should MSE?

Why EU Membership? It makes the molehill of Westminster corruption pale by comparison. The EU still don't allow their books to be properly audited - dissenters are dismissed as small Englanders - some maybe but many understand the bigger issues of an unfettered, centralised power block with a developing domination agenda.

Again, nobody under 53 has ever been allowed a say on a single EU question and several older people now think that they were hoodwinked when they did get a say and would like a chance to give a verdict after 35 years.

as a 59yr old person who voted for the eu I was hoodwinked and would dearly like OUT

rowanblossom

every single budget should be looked at..its that simple...

I have to point out with regard to the NHS, as related to someone who works in it, the only thing that gets cut when it comes to the NHS are the jobs which relate to the nurses, doctors, physios, porters, auxillaries (I can't remember their new title...but
lets face it, it probably meant a quango charged a lot of money to come up with it) and pharmacists. It is not the management that get cut. Ever......Its that simple, doesn't matter how top heavy the Trusts are. I know of several wards where nurses are not replaced so the wards are short staffed, they are not allowed to get bank staff in (not without going through a whole adminstration process first and having to have somone give them authority which it generally isn't). They have to deal with more and more aggressive, drunk, drugged out "patients" than ever before and they get NO backing from the authorities whatsoever. The nurses are now expected to do more, including jobs which were once the doctor's role for not a lot of money (do not believe any paper that says nurses earn £45,000. there are about 3 of those in the country that do and they are all in London). They get no overtime, many work over their hours so the wards are left at dangerous levels, they don't get breaks as there arn't enough staff to cover the wards. The sickness levels are high because they are totally drained, but this doesn't stop management asking them to be "more flexible" and expecting them to come in even if they are on booked holidays.

All of the trusts have people in management who have never worked on a ward, never had to deal with patients, yet believe they know what is best. The governments (previous, but hopefully not present) increase the red tape daily, raise the targets every day. Ward sisters spend more time on paperwork and red tape than nursing.

One trust gave a contract out to a cleaning company tying themselves in for 30 years.....yes that is right a 30 year contract. And you can guarantee that particular numpty earns a darn sight more than a nurse.

Recently it was reported that we have more foreigners getting treatment on the NHS than ever before. Simple resolution, if they don't or won't pay, invoice the country they come from. Get the money back.

Its the same with criminals, I don't care about them bleating on about human rights. By their own actions they have violated someone else's human rights. Other than the basics of safe environment, heating, food, clothing and education, why oh why should they have better treatment and more "rights" than the victims or the public who don't break the rules/laws. They should have to work for their keep as well, like prisoners do in other countries. If a criminal happens to be a foreigner or illegal immigrant, bill the country they come from for the upkeep. If they are illegals then deport them at the end of their sentence and charge the country for the costs of returning them.

As for benefits, I live on an estate that has second generation claimers, who are now producing children who will be brought up in the same mind set. Stop it now.

Get us out of the EU, it is by all accounts going to crash and burn, so lets get out before it takes us down too.

Tax those companies higher if they have call centres based out of the country, its one way of encouraging them to bring the jobs back to this country.

Stop the MPs from freeloading, I have friends who work away, they don't get any help with extra living expenses, travel, second homes so why should the MPs.

We can all make our choices in this poll and and so many other things as well of what we would like to see sorted out, but at this point everything needs to be looked at and streamlined.

Lets hope that this government has the metal to do what is needed. We need to get Britian back on track. And we all need to just get on with it.

lizzyshep

amy21_84 wrote: »

Benefits, without a doubt.

I agree with benefits to some extent, most of us experience times in our life when we need help, but i am fed up with paying for people to sit on their backside all day complaining they can't get a job (when in fact they just cannot be bothered).

The only people who should be entitled to benefits are severely disabled/ ill people and their carers, OAPs and people who have been made redundant (for max a year, but there should be higher payments for people with mortgages). If these were the only people the government could then give back the savings to people who work by taxing us slightly less, then everyone would have more money to spend on what they need. Everyone else who claim they just can’t get a job should have to do community work in order to get there benefits, otherwise they don’t get them.

Single parents who are looking after young children and don’t wish to work should have someone paying their share of that child anyway (like the absent mother/ father), which should be far stricter (DNA testing should be mandatory for people who claim it isn’t there’s – but if it comes back as wrong ei, mother doesn’t know who the father is and just accuses a list of potential men, then that person should pay a fine to the person they accuse!). If they need their benefits topping up to feed their child then they should only get vouchers, and nothing else.

I live in a flat which I brought 2 years ago, and the flat above me is council. I have had 3 couples living up there since I moved in the first was a mother and child, she openly told me she was claiming benefits for being a single parent when dad came and stayed round practically every night (also claiming benefits and had a council flat!). When she couldn’t get the council to give her a house (she claimed the 1 bed flat was too small for her and her 2 year old – obviously couldn’t just be honest and say it was too small for her, her partner and child as they would loose vital benefits) she then became pregnant again (yes with the same bloke) and then she got moved to a house. Second couple actually worked, but only stayed there for 5 months. Third couple (there now), both don’t work, he has two kids already by another women and now his current g/f he lives with is pregnant, so yet another mouth to feed on benefits! Both couples which were on benefits always had the latest technology, mobiles, TV’s, IPods, play stations – more than I have!!!! To top it all off, they ring up kingfisher (the leaseholder) every 5 mins with a problem and guess who has to pay half the bill if its communal….me!!!!!! Last year I had to pay £650, this year it was £450, I have not once rang them with a problem. The only bills I should have to pay is ground rent, lighting and building insurance, which on their own would only cost me a combined £80. It a bloody joke!!

Ok, rant over, but you get my point. We live in a society where you work hard and do everything yourself you get nothing (oh no sorry, I am entitled to 25% off council tax as I live on my own, even though it’s based on 2 adults sharing so shouldn’t that mean I should get 50% discount!!??) but if you do nothing, don’t work, s**t on society you get everything for free. Think I made the wrong choice somewhere!!!!

Hear hear :T

When I was a teenager, I had a boyfriend who never worked, neither did his friends. The idea of having a job was inconceivable to them. They used to just claim benefits, and sit round drinking, smoking and taking drugs. Half the time my boyfriend couldn't even be bothered to get out of bed and sign on! Thankfully I wasn't too influenced by him, and I went on to university and then onto a good job. But in some areas/families, there is still a real culture of 'why should I have to work?' and it winds me up that I have to pay for it.

It goes without saying that people in real need should always be helped. As for teenage mothers, I think there are sometimes complex issues there that we need to look at first, rather than just saying they shouldn't get money, or that they should have to live with their parents, when the parents' home might not be a suitable place to raise their child.

dazza.mk

NestorMakhno wrote: »

If we clamped down on tax havens and tax avoidance we could easily raise a couple of hundred billion and wouldn't need to cut anything. Chances of tories doing that?

Good plan! Switzerland would definitely vote for your idea!

http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2263173/swiss-tax-officials-entice-uk