Praise ConDems!

waqasahmed

I know Ill probably get some stick for this, but first of all, as a younger "voter"-not legally allowed to vote , my "vote" went to the Lib Dems during the general elections, and Ive not experienced what the Tory's may have done in the past

However, at least with the new coalition government, we are actually getting something done in order to reduce our deficit. Under the Brown rule, nothing much really happened. Im also happy that the Libs and the Con's are in power, as I loathed the idea of the Libs wanting proportional representation and I loved the idea of the cons reducing benefits if you were out of work for an amount of time

In the US, Obama was hailed as the person to bring us out of the recession, but quite frankly he hasnt done much in order to reduce their budget(and I dont know if this is true, but if it is, then its very ironic that his close advisers are wall street *ankers, which could explain the fact that he hasnt done much for the country)

In the UK, our previous government seemed to do very little in order to reduce the deficit, however the LibDems are definitely trying hard to reduce our deficit, unlike when Labour was in charge

They have policies which are radical to some, but at the same time they are fair. Everyone knows that we are in this together(except those *ankers)

I do hope that they can sort this mess out and quickly. The bank of England told the gov't(before the budget cuts), that if we dont do something, there could be another(unaffordable) crash within the next 10 years, and then we'd be in the s**t, with a 1930's style depression

EycplUK

You really are living in La La Land ! when the VAT rise kicks in everyone will suffer ( the rich not so much )
Just think an extra 2&1/2 % on everything !
And before people say not everything is VAT rated , the petrol/deisel that drives the wagons that deliver is !
and we all know the companies will pass the cost on to us ! and You !
More pain to come for you i`m afraid !

peter_the_piper

The situation would have been a lot worse when the labour party actually got around to doing something about the mess they left the government in. Vat rises would have happened whichever colour of party got in, had labour left it longer there may well have been a bigger increase.

sciencegeek

waqasahmed wrote: »

However, at least with the new coalition government, we are actually getting something done in order to reduce our deficit. Under the Brown rule, nothing much really happened. Im also happy that the Libs and the Con's are in power, as I loathed the idea of the Libs wanting proportional representation and I loved the idea of the cons reducing benefits if you were out of work for an amount of time

I agree, the fact of the matter is we are spending more than we are earning therefore we either need to spend less or earn more.

It seems fair to me that we spend a bit less (ie cuts) and earn a bit more (ie tax).

I think putting VAT up is great - most of the 'essentials' are VAT free or low VAT rate so hopefully those trying to get by on essentials (ie the poorest) will still be able to cope, particularly when the measures to increase tax breaks for the poorest are taken into account.

Who cares if a flatscreen telly or other similar luxuries will cost 2.5% more. If you can afford £500 you can afford £512.50.

Too many people seem to think that the economic mess will disappear if they close there eyes. It wont! We all need to face up to being a bit worse off for a few years in order to takle this mess.

After the budget speech I saw a piece where they calculated if residents of some town would be better or worse off. A lady was whinging about it being unfair that she would be £20 or £30 worse off a YEAR!! --- give me a break!!!

If the economy improves then VAT can be reduced a bit again or some more money can be spent but for now lets tighten our belts.

Rant over --- and relax

FATBALLZ

I agree, i think this government is the best outcome we could have hoped for.

jimbms

FATBALLZ wrote: »

I agree, i think this government is the best outcome we could have hoped for.

I have to agree there, the UK rise in VAT means we get an extra £25m from you cheers

nomoneytoday

It's a 2.13% rise in VAT, rather than 2.5%...

Mind you, the rate in Romania went from 19% to 24% :eek:

StudentMoneySaver

Cutting the deficit isn't a sure fire way of getting out of a recession, its just a smokescreen for the Government's ideological aversion to investment. The Government needs to facilitate growth somehow, usually this is down by good old fashioned Keynesian investment in the economy (as was the case during the 30s and after the Second World War). The way not to do it is by cutting jobs and investment and increasing the price of goods with a higher VAT.

A little statistic for you all. 1 in every £25 of income goes to VAT for the riches 10%, for the poorest 10% this is 1 in every £7. VAT is a regressive tax which effects the poorest disproportionately.

Prior to the election, the country left recession by carrying out the policies of the Labour Party and I believe (you don't have to) that a Labour Government would have been more sensible, and less aggressively ideological, in dealing with the deficit (a significant part of which would have been eliminated by economic growth).

Gerrard_8_lfc

The deficit will be less if the queen does not get her requested 6 million pound a year rise because they have not had a rise in years. Idiots. Did anyone hear any more on the queens pay rise of taxpayers money ?

Hopefully the Condems hit the scroungers and frauds hard. The amount of benefits that are wasted to people cheating the system is unreal and it is a sad day when your next door neighbour who has never worked a day in her life goes on holiday. I work as many hours as I can and I couldn't afford to go a holiday last year.

The actions so far seem to be fair and in the right direction however there is far more cuts and tax rises to come IMO.

jimbms

StudentMoneySaver wrote: »

Cutting the deficit isn't a sure fire way of getting out of a recession, its just a smokescreen for the Government's ideological aversion to investment. The Government needs to facilitate growth somehow, usually this is down by good old fashioned Keynesian investment in the economy (as was the case during the 30s and after the Second World War). The way not to do it is by cutting jobs and investment and increasing the price of goods with a higher VAT.

A little statistic for you all. 1 in every £25 of income goes to VAT for the riches 10%, for the poorest 10% this is 1 in every £7. VAT is a regressive tax which effects the poorest disproportionately.

Prior to the election, the country left recession by carrying out the policies of the Labour Party and I believe (you don't have to) that a Labour Government would have been more sensible, and less aggressively ideological, in dealing with the deficit (a significant part of which would have been eliminated by economic growth).

I take it this is a wind up, how can you invest when you are billions in debt, there is no money the country has been made bankrupt by Labours years of wastage and over spending, the wise and educated are leaving the country for more stable ones, industry in the UK is all but finished, it is now being seen as a source of cheap manufacturing labour by other countries. stop living in lala land, wake up and smell the coffee...if you can still afford a cup.

StudentMoneySaver

Stimulating growth, requires a stimulus, namely money. If that means the Government has to borrow in order to lend to key industries then so be it, the long term benefits outweigh the short term inconvenience. The country is still able to borrow and it is still meeting repayments. The UK isn't Greece, it is in a far better position but committing 'economic vandalism' (as David Miliband termed it on Twitter) will threaten the recovery.

The current Government has created the illusion that is has ceased to borrow, it hasn't. It is borrowing even more than last year. The world is fuelled by debt, if the UK wants to compete for inward investment, it needs to invest in order to attract it.

Given that the traditional industries are dying, don't you think it would be wise to invest elsewhere? For example, in IT and Science based industries and R&D related areas? There's no point in saying that the UK has no industry left and not suggesting alternatives.

You have contradicted yourself. Manufacturing is an industry, cheap or otherwise. Its only cheap because the employers choose not to pay a decent wage, allowing wages to be driven down.