[Osem]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Well let's hope that both bedmates can see eye to eye for the next 4-5 years then..

Well who wants more of this... Having said that, the Tories are in a far healthier position financially to mount another campaign so it wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world for them.

---------- Post added at 18:41 ---------- Previous post was at 18:39 ----------

Originally Posted by Sirius

How can the tories have done this or passed this if there not in power, Labour lies again.
BTW keep taking the medicine for your over worked imagination

But you're forgetting what Thatcher did FGS!!! Let's face it these job cuts are all her fault and nothing whatsoever to do with the profiligacy and ineptitude of the government we've been so fortunate to have for the last 13 years.. :rollyeyes:

---------- Post added at 18:49 ---------- Previous post was at 18:41 ----------

Originally Posted by Ignitionnet

At least some have to. Contrary to the pre-election rhetoric whichever party was in some had to go, just the timing and to a more limited extent the scale which would have been different. It very simply isn't an option to hike up the tax burden sufficiently to cover the total expense, it'd cripple the economy.

I'm sorry to say you can thank Labour for that - they shouldn't have hired them to the public sector in the first place and a perfect demonstration that they went too far with the public sector expansion. Even wiping out the exceptional items from the deficit there's still a structural one of nearly 100bn.

For all the wittering on about how much the public sector are better off thanks to Labour the very simple fact is the public sector don't pay the bills, the private sector do. Taxation is harmful to the private sector so a balance has to be struck and adding an extra 8% or more to our tax burden would be too much.

The thing that is noteworthy about posts talking about how much better off the public sector is and jobs coming and going ignores that the private sector is the section of the economy that pays the bills. The private sector has taken the brunt of the recession, jobs lost and pay frozen, why should the public sector be immune to this and have the private sector pay for them to be immune?

That said I am unfortunately speaking logically, which won't really wash when it hits the ideology that's blinding you to it.

In one paragraph, 2 sentences: The public sector is too large for the private sector to support it. The cost of the public sector must be reduced as it's not possible to raise taxation enough to support it, which will necessarily involve public sector job losses.

Correct but of course some people live in that alternative universe known as Myopius Deludus where state spending is virtually uncontrolled, money can be printed, revenue doesn't have to be earned and debts don't have to be repaid. They're natural bedfellows of New Labour here in the real world...