Ways the UK can save money:

originally posted by: stumason

You do realise MP's don't set their own salaries, don't you Ewok? It's an independent panel of experts who set it in line with comparable vocations and, it has to be said, other Politicians around Europe and the world.

The British Parliament is the top legislative body in the UK am I correct?

They pass all laws and have the power to form and disband government agency's or withdraw the charter of any independent body that does work for the government?

If they wanted to they do have the power to over rule any panel.

originally posted by: stumason
I'm not sure you realise just how much work is involved in being an MP, you know. They don't just sit around for a couple of hours a week jeering at the other side of the house, then all go for whiskey and cigars....

My heart just bleeds for them...........

originally posted by: stumason
As for the whole "cutting for lower classes and not them", the "middle" and "upper" classes have already been through their round of benefits cuts (and actual cuts as in benefit removed, not just freezes) yet I don't remember you leaping to our defence then?

Being the middle as you call I have felt the squeeze. And if you notice I have been calling the labour/Torys and Lib dem scum every since I joined ATS.

Yeah I feel for our class. I hate the squeeze we have been put under.


But shrugging my shoulders and laughing as those poorer than me now get the cuts? NO!

I wont be divided. As a upper middle class person I dont view Westminster as my ally or friends! I stand with those bellow me united.

Unlike you instead of burning my head and hope our cuts to our class stop and the torys move on to the poor I want to see the elite take some of the slack!

originally posted by: stumason
As mentioned before, I've lost £1500 a year just through tax credits being taken alone, not to mention Child Benefit cuts now my partner is working (and not on a great deal).

And that is atrocious! Why should we take the burden for the scum at the tops mistakes? IE the Bankers who are in bed with our current goverment! The cuts should have started at the top! Not from the middle classes down!

originally posted by: stumason
It all seems a bit lop-sided, you indignation of the Budget proposals.

Look up my posting history again

I have never had any love for Labour or the conservatives,

a reply to: crazyewok

It may well be, but this particular body was brought in as a response to the 2009 expenses scandal - before that, the MP's set their own salary rises. What else would you prefer? I can see though that you have such a poisoned view of them, no amount of reasoned debate will change your mind, so we'll just leave that one there.

And whose "shrugging shoulders" or "laughing"? Not I... And I am certainly not burying my head in the sand, as you put it. I just see the fair application across the board of what we have had for years.

You bang on about "tax cuts for the rich" - which ones are these, because property taxes (such as stamp duty) alone for those on a fair whack have gone up quite a bit? What about the tax cuts the rest of us have had - the personal allowance has increased, year on year, cutting taxes for everyone and proportionally more for those at the "bottom" - they get to keep most, if not all, of their pay now whereas Labour, in their infinite wisdom, increased taxes for those at the bottom (by removing the 10% rate) and that was before the financial crisis really hit the fan!

Tax avoidance and tax evasion costs this country more than the total benefit bill, (excluding pensions).

Foreign Aid to country's with nuclear programmes.

Or we could just Kill The Poor.

a reply to: Freeborn

Indeed and measures are being introduced to deal with that - like I said, it takes time as often, it needs international agreement to make it effective. People expect instant results - I can understand that - but Democracies always move slowly...

Perhaps, if we made the country a Benevolent Dictatorship (with me at the helm, of course) things would move quicker?

I may be wrong, and it would just be a small drop in the bucket but I have read that if man on welfare has more than 1 wife, all the wives get homes on the taxpayers dime.

Is this true? If it is why?

I do agree with cutting aid to countries that have nukes, but maybe the aid we provide is what enabled them to launch a craft to Mars.

If you have problems with lobbyist also, I feel your pain.

I think here in the US and over there as well need more people like John Oliver, Bill Maher and Jon Stewart. that will expose the ridiculousness in our gov't.

It was on television earlier that this year we only had to borrow £ 95 billion and it will take decades to get it down and this is with all the cuts , now benefits will be paid onto a card that you cannot buy tobacco or spirits

a reply to: douglas5

And why should the state pay for booze and fags? If you're unemployed with no income, the State benefits are supposed to be a safety net to pay for food and the essentials, not so you can get pissed and smoke.

To those who say we cant just stop paying money to brussels.

Well why not? What are they going to do nuke us?

EU cant stop tradeing with us as they need us. Especialy with Russia giving the EU the middle finger,

All they can do is send some angry letters and expell our MEPs who basicaly do nothing anyway,


If anything france and a dozen other countrys do the same and the joke that is the EU parliment collaspes and we are just left with the EU trade alliance with the pointless political BS gone.

a reply to: crazyewok

Well, yes.... We could technically just announce our intention to quite the EU in the Council of Ministers and there is nothing they can do to stop us, but being the control freak types, Brussels would likely try to slap us with something and the very least, not make it easy for us to negotiate a free trade agreement which would hamper our economy.

It would be best to negotiate our exit. Simply pulling out, cold turkey, would have implications.

a reply to: stumason

Read above.

My prediction with the UK pulling out france and the other right swinging country would follow.
If that happens bye bye political union. We would end up with just the trade aspect.

EU cant afford any economic sanctions on the UK. That would be sucide for them more than us.

Its a case of economic MAD aside from attacking a EU country or human rights abuses I think economic sanctions would be off the table.

You would just have a few very pissed off but powerless belgiums and germans,

a reply to: crazyewok

Why do we let those twats away with running the country into the ground the debt has gone up by £ 100 billion per year with all the cuts and they have not even done 50 % of what they have planned .

Who runs a business like that if we were to try and run a company like that the inland revenue Will tell you to close they had to change the law years ago to stop somebody making the government bankrupt .

I would like to see where all the money is going as it sure is not on roads etc in my area

a reply to: crazyewok

If anything, it is the Germans who are turning against Europe with the French currently trying to push the Socialist "tax and spend" agenda...... Go and see how the German Federal elections recently went...

If the EU lost both the UK and Germany, it would be up a certain creek with the required equipment or risk assessments....

originally posted by: stumason
a reply to: crazyewok

If anything, it is the Germans who are turning against Europe with the French currently trying to push the Socialist "tax and spend" agenda...... Go and see how the German Federal elections recently went...

If the EU lost both the UK and Germany, it would be up a certain creek with the required equipment or risk assessments....

Personaly 2 years ago I thought UKIP go it alone from the EU was a pipe dream.

Now?

I think the EU needs us more than we need them and we wont ever be econmocialy cut off.

Fact is we dont need the EU parliment. It brings us ZERO benifits. Its only the trade we need, and our trade is to important for the EU to deal without.

My small buiness sell stuff over europe. I see no harm to my company, infact it would mean a few less regulations.

a reply to: douglas5

Again, these things take time - current projections have the debt peaking in the next year or so and then starting to fall again, along with projected budget surpluses if the current spend/tax regime is kept in place.

If you genuinely want to see what is being spent and where, it's all available to you, you only have to look.

And pot holes? Speak to your local council - sod all to do with the UK Government, the budget or any national debt.

a reply to: stumason

I am watching to the BBC news and they are saying decades before the debt comes down to a surplus , the pot holes should be fixed with road tax which the government collects and shares out or not as the case maybe

a reply to: douglas5

You seem to be confusing the National debt with the deficit....

We're predicted to be in a budget surplus by 2018 - which means reduced borrowing (the Government will always borrow, even in a surplus). The budget is basically money in/money out.

The debt itself is made up mainly by selling bonds (5 year, 10 year etc) and will take a while to pay down, but in relation to GDP it is actually, historically, quite low. Had the Government of the day during the "good times" made provisions for the future, these "bad times" wouldn't be so bad - such as not selling our Gold reserves at historically low prices, or spending like there is no tomorrow (Labour inherited a surplus in 1997 and within a few years, was running a huge deficit even in the "good times")

As for Road Tax - it hasn't been ring-fenced for decades. When it first came in, during the 20's or 30's I believe, it was, but not anymore. The local authorities do get given grants to go towards road upkeep but it has always been the responsibility of the Local Authority except for on major Highways.

a reply to: crazyewok

They can tax share trades and make 10s of billions of pounds in tax.

They can do it in the US as well and achieve the same spectacular results

Same story in Australia

a reply to: crazyewok

legalize the sale and manufacture of marijuana ,

the kickbacks for the NHS will be immense
the time and money saved on judical fees would be reduced
crime reduced
and also create a housing system where industrial hempcrete is
used as a primary building material with it being carbon neutral
and very low cost to manufacture , new government funded housing
schemes can be created for next to nothing and this would also boost
employment and tourism

look to the US and their war on drugs since certain states have relaxed laws
the US economy looks to make $8 billion a year by 2018 on the sale of marijuana alone

CASH CROP

a reply to: Quantum_Squirrel they tried that but it was the working scheme with poundland and it really was slave labour but if correctly implemented it could in theory work but hey ho they said that about communism

originally posted by: douglas5
It was on television earlier that this year we only had to borrow £ 95 billion and it will take decades to get it down and this is with all the cuts , now benefits will be paid onto a card that you cannot buy tobacco or spirits

I doubt we'll see that happening, you should or would likely still be able to withdraw money, or otherwise there are just other ways to obtain cash, plus other things that just makes its impractical.

Can't think of much that is not already mentioned.