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Originally Posted by Damien
The simple fact is the budget is in deficit even with these cuts. You can't run anythere where your losing money every year, it's not sustainable. It's depressing enough that we won't even begin to reduce the deficit until 2014...
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Yep, per my previous comments this is a 1% per year cut in real terms.
In cash terms spending will continue to go up.
Public spending will be at the same levels as 2007/2008. In other words this is a winding back of the growth of public sector since the banking crisis started to take hold.
Although if you believe the unions these are savage, vicious cuts that will turn Britain into a desolate war zone where feral tribes roam filthy, littered streets full of burned out cars.
The one really big thing to note about these cuts, the biggest thing about them, is the rhetoric.
That and how much those who can't vote, kids, are getting shafted to keep pensioners and baby boomers, who can and do tend to vote in larger proportions than any other group, on side.
---------- Post added at 12:33 ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 ----------
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269. At 02:21am on 27th Mar 2011, Justin150 wrote:
250,000 marchers is an impressive number...
Until you remember that the Countryside Alliance managed 400,000 for a march about fox hunting
So lets put into context, more people support the tradition of dressing up in funny clothes to chase a bushy tailed animal with good PR, than support our public sector.
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---------- Post added at 12:35 ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 ----------
As far as the occupation of Fortnum and Mason goes, transparent class warfare.
http://www.nickpickles.co.uk/?p=729
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Fortnum is owned by Wittington Investments Limited, which in turn is is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, and 20.8% owned by members of the Weston family.
And what of the Garfield Weston Foundation? Well, it’s actually one of the UK’s largest grant-making trusts.
From it’s 2009 annual report:
“This year, the Trustees have supported 1518 appeals out of a total of 3513 applications, which is a slight increase over last year. While the annual income has remained at a similar level to last year (around £38.5 million) the total cash donations of £37.6 million are lower than last year £41.1 million. This, however, is a reflection of the need for the Trustees’ to be prudent in order to bring their reserves up to a more conservative level following the substantial commitment to Oxford University of £25 million last year towards the development of the Bodleian Library. The figure of £37.6 million includes the second tranche of
£10 million of this grant and the Trustees are committed to pay the final £5 million next year. The Trustees have also been mindful of the possibility of requests for urgent funding being made by charities which have had their funding from other sources cut due to the difficult economic conditions and wished to maintain some temporary reserves to cover such eventuality.”
Additionally, F&M’s managing director, Beverly Aspinall, joined from that other great corporate evil, (sarcasm, by the way) the John Lewis Partnership, where she’d been for 24 years.
So, the demonstrators chose to attack a company with a female MD that has just funded one of Britain’s top libraries, that donated £37.6m to good causes in 2009 alone, and is building up reserves to help charities hit by the spending cuts.
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F&M is owned by Whittington Investments. Whittington also owns a 54% share of Associated British Foods. They allege ABF have dodged over £40 million in tax.
So - hang on - Fortnum and Mason hasn’t actually done anything wrong? Nor has its parent company. ABF has. And the only link is that the two companies have mutual shareholders. But they’re occupying F&M. Indeed, the headline reads “UK Uncut occupy tax dodgers Fortnum and Mason.” - then goes on to describe how they are not.
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The UK Uncut press release reeks of it.
http://www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/press...tnum-and-mason