The Comprehensive Spending Review Thread

Wow!

If only life (and economics) were that simple....

You do realise that the biggest shareholders in a lot of companies are pension funds, don't you? (which use the dividends to pay pensions).

Re computers/robots taking away jobs - are you really proposing we go back to rooms full of comptometer operators and typists, and building everything by hand (with the impact on quality that this brings)?

Originally Posted by mertle

<snippage>

Mmmm .... socialist fridge magnet poetry. You should patent that.

btw, can I point out (as others have) something the last Labour Chancellor said in March this year

"[I]f we subtract spending on welfare and debt interest then we estimate that the rest of public spending would be cut in real terms by an average of 1.4% a year compared to an average increase of 0.7% in the Thatcher era. We have not seen five years with an average annual real cut as big as this since the mid-1970s."

In the mid-1970s - that would have been under the Wilson/Callaghan Government, then?

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Mick

Give it time ...
Miliband is so out of his depth, cannot see him lasting long at all as Labour Leader.

He's only a caretaker PM until it's time for another General Election, then the old guard will vote in someone they want as leader.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Taf

He's only a caretaker PM until it's time for another General Election, then the old guard will vote in someone they want as leader.

Should that not have been "The Unions"

[Pog66]

.....or David (M) will seize his moment and pounce

Originally Posted by Pog66

.....or David (M) will seize his moment and pounce

Unlikely. Had he any talent in the seizing and pouncing department, he'd have been throwing Gordon the Moron out of No.10 in 2008.

[mertle]

Hugh not totally proposing going all that way but we have to stop this profiteering, the greed mentality. We have to find also a way to encourage manufacturing growth too. Its a balance the scales are uneven we need to balance between where we cant avoid mechism progress to where we dont lose that much if its done by employer. Just an example a company had 2,000 employees today would have less than 200.

I saying that many businesses have scrapped jobs needlessly some went because of inovision but some went due to simply profiteering reasons. The balance between bosses wages to the ordinary worker exscalated out of control GREED far far too much. Have the these tax havens swanning it up. I want businesses to use profits expand not use it to pay dividends. Companies have lost sight what is important a strong workforce.

Either way we either goto do something to create jobs or we simply accept there will forever be massive unemployment. Which until ALL see the issue will get far far worse.

On pensions Yes I have problems using the city as gambling tool for pension schemes thats why we in mess mucking around like that in the city stock market. The bloody evil thing it is because there prats who gamble other peoples money. Its folly to try push it to go too far. Just about every pension failing because this senseless practice. Even safe shares are gambles as been proven with this recession and the banks are just as stupid. See above businesses hound them for expansions because all there profits go to investors instead going to expansion needing less capital from banks to expand.

It should be state protected in state bank earning interest funds not gambled by teenage idiots in the stocks.

Chris lets carry on with this head in the sand see where this country ends if it dont start forcing/encouraging companies to help job create.

You may think its socialist but mark my words the TORIES will destroy this country with there protection of the rich milking us to death. I can only see more downward spiral of panick when the see they got more burden to fork for. Private sector will be hit when people start stop spending because the torries has hammered the working class. Double pain coming thats for sure both sectors will be hurt by there actions.

Nice to see class warfare alive and kicking ("protection of the rich" and "hammered the working class").

Happy to have a rational discussion, but that takes two.

I am pretty happy with the 2bn extra for Social care actually. I was certain that as it's not public facing it would be drastically cut but credit to them for that! Actually protecting a lot of our most vulnerable people there!

Perhaps they're not such nasty hammer the working-class barstewards after all....

Interesting radio interview today with Tony Blair's Chief of Staff

[chris9991]

What's going to happen to people after twelve months on the Employment and Support Allowance?

Will they have their benefit cut?

[colin25]

On BBc website,,reaction

A pub regular called Amanda said: "Don't cut the benefits for the people who are really, really struggling. I don't think it's fair - we are struggling enough as it is.

"I live on £174 a fortnight and it's not fair.

Sorry, but can't be that hard if pub regular...unless she gets the guys to buy all the drinks...

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by chris9991

What's going to happen to people after twelve months on the Employment and Support Allowance?

Will they have their benefit cut?

For the ones in the 'Work Related Activity Group', it will be reduced to the JSA level. It's just the extra they lose, not the basic benefits.

[Woolly One]

"The devil is in the detail". Despite the promised comprehensive speech which detailed 'almost' everything people and businesses can expect to lose/gain. There are still several reports/reviews that remain outstanding.

I can see there will be a lot of column inches printed, blogs, extended news progs and speculation. Happening for the next day or so. But this will die down. The outstanding reports/reviews will be published, hidden underneath a royal engagement or somthing. At the end of it, this time next year, we'll be paying more, getting less the same as it always has been.