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How Britain’s decrepit public services would cope with tax cuts (Telegraph)


pellinore

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Inequality between rich and poor in the UK is the highest in Europe. We are the only country in Europe in which average life expectancy is decreasing.  Food banks are still increasing in number (Rees Mogg finds this "uplifting"), but with less public support as people have less money. For the first time ever, farmers are publicly protesting (they have just realised that an inevitable and desirable consequence of Brexit is the end of British agriculture (the economist Patrick Minford said it was "necessary", as we would be able to buy cheaper food from around the world after we left the protectionist EU). But still our govt is trying to bribe voters with a miserly tax cut (personal allowances are frozen which means all workers are several thousand pounds worse off each year than they were a few years ago) which will reward the wealthiest at the expense of the poorest.

Even the Telegraph views the future with alarm.

One money-saving measure said to be on the table is reducing the rate at which public sector spending rises each year from 0.9pc to 0.75pc. This would save the Treasury £6bn – equivalent to a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax.

However, economists warn this would cripple a public sector that is already on its knees and risks a political own goal. Many believe there is no more fat left to trim and further cuts risk enraging voters as the fabric of the state unravels further.

Public services are already a mess. An estimated 7.6 million people were waiting for elective treatments on the NHS in November, down only slightly from an all-time record high of 7.8 million recorded in August.

Four in 10 councils in England are at risk of going bust over the next five years, according to Grant Thornton. More than a hundred schools had to close buildings last autumn because faulty materials meant they were at risk of literally falling apart.

“Most public services are performing worse than they were on the eve of the pandemic and substantially worse than they were in 2010,” says Nick Davies, programme director at the Institute for Government.

How Britain’s decrepit public services would cope with tax cuts (msn.com)

Edited by pellinore
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4 hours ago, pellinore said:

Inequality between rich and poor in the UK is the highest in Europe. We are the only country in Europe in which average life expectancy is decreasing.  Food banks are still increasing in number (Rees Mogg finds this "uplifting"), but with less public support as people have less money. For the first time ever, farmers are publicly protesting (they have just realised that an inevitable and desirable consequence of Brexit is the end of British agriculture (the economist Patrick Minford said it was "necessary", as we would be able to buy cheaper food from around the world after we left the protectionist EU). But still our govt is trying to bribe voters with a miserly tax cut (personal allowances are frozen which means all workers are several thousand pounds worse off each year than they were a few years ago) which will reward the wealthiest at the expense of the poorest.

Even the Telegraph views the future with alarm.

One money-saving measure said to be on the table is reducing the rate at which public sector spending rises each year from 0.9pc to 0.75pc. This would save the Treasury £6bn – equivalent to a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax.

However, economists warn this would cripple a public sector that is already on its knees and risks a political own goal. Many believe there is no more fat left to trim and further cuts risk enraging voters as the fabric of the state unravels further.

Public services are already a mess. An estimated 7.6 million people were waiting for elective treatments on the NHS in November, down only slightly from an all-time record high of 7.8 million recorded in August.

Four in 10 councils in England are at risk of going bust over the next five years, according to Grant Thornton. More than a hundred schools had to close buildings last autumn because faulty materials meant they were at risk of literally falling apart.

“Most public services are performing worse than they were on the eve of the pandemic and substantially worse than they were in 2010,” says Nick Davies, programme director at the Institute for Government.

How Britain’s decrepit public services would cope with tax cuts (msn.com)

I quite agree that the public service is run very poorly. Wish they'd sort themselves out once and for all and stop wasting tax.

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It is amazing how the prospect of a tax cut can be turned by the usual media suspects into a negative, it would be pro growth, increasing tax revenue as the economy expands. 

If this was a Starmer idea would there be a desire to talk up the negatives, I doubt it.

NI is a tax on jobs and acts as a brake on job creation. 

Stamer has surprisingly given his thoughts on NI contributions and they do not support high levels of tax.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told the Prime Minister his party will oppose plans to increase national insurance to fund social care.

"He said that a national insurance rise would “hit working people hard, including low earners and young people” and disproportionately impact businesses that had been damaged by the pandemic."

Although this appraisal of policy was a while back and he has likely changed his mind several times since.

https://careappointments.com/care-news/england/164049/starmer-tells-pm-labour-will-not-support-rise-in-national-insurance-to-pay-for-social-care/

 

 

Edited by L.A.T.1961
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A valid criticism of Tory economic policy (coming from a Tory) and which is different to whatever the OP is going on about is that:

We cut state spending reducing demand, we then cut taxes to increase it, but overall we are not creating enough higher demand to grow the economy. I propose we increase demand dramatically by investing in a larger military and oil rigging the North Sea up. On top of that we need a higher birth rate to create automatic year on year growth. Rather than grabbing several hundred more thousand immigrants year after year.

The HS2 should be scrapped except for whatever is completed, and the saved money shouldn`t be diverted into transport. We need to be using it to raise our demand levels permanently. I propose we go Dutch and increase our farmland by reclaiming it from the sea.

A further interesting idea would be to change the way criminal offenders are dealt with across the planet. Britain has lots of islands scattered around the world, lets setup some penal colonies, and for a yearly fee store everyone elses crims. 

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I tend to agree as well, the public sector needs a radical overhaul, a good example being the NHS, apparently they are strapped for cash and on strike for more money every week & yet are still advertising for dozens of 'equity & diversity' managers on eye watering pay. About time the public sector got their priorities right.

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5 hours ago, itsnotoutthere said:

I tend to agree as well, the public sector needs a radical overhaul, a good example being the NHS, apparently they are strapped for cash and on strike for more money every week & yet are still advertising for dozens of 'equity & diversity' managers on eye watering pay. About time the public sector got their priorities right.

I agree there is some terrible waste. But the NHS is a good thing to have- it is very good value for money for the average taxpayer. It has the best medical expertise- private hospitals transfer patients to the NHS id things get difficult. It needs to concentrate on medical, surgical and mental healthcare and just do the minimum diversity training etc to comply with the law.

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9 hours ago, OpenMindedSceptic said:

I quite agree that the public service is run very poorly. Wish they'd sort themselves out once and for all and stop wasting tax.

Every attempt to "improve" the NHS so far has resulted in a new layer of management. Let's hope Starmer sorts it out next year.

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9 hours ago, pellinore said:

Every attempt to "improve" the NHS so far has resulted in a new layer of management. Let's hope Starmer sorts it out next year.

Starmer? The guy in the pocket of the unions and the backbone of a rag doll? The guy with a political compass stuck at the EU? He is useless, and will be with the NHS, prepare to be taxed to oblivion. 

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15 hours ago, pellinore said:

Every attempt to "improve" the NHS so far has resulted in a new layer of management. Let's hope Starmer sorts it out next year.

You do know the socialists like high state spending?

Of particular concern should they win is going to be inflation due to higher state spending when there is insufficient supply of food and oil to meet demand. The options are low growth and moderate inflation, or moderate growth and high inflation, or high growth and astronomical inflation.

Furthermore the socialists most definitely will not cut NHS management and immigration. If you are a civil servant I recommend voting for them out of self interest, if you are in a professionally paid position or a business owner or an investor I recommend voting Conservative.

Our economy is currently being supressed by about 20% of GDP. It was supposed to be lifted in the late 2010s but coronavirus hit, and still cannot be lifted due to Russia related inflation. Lifting it before those sanctions have ended is going to cause crazy inflation. The alternatives are wait and left it all in one go (which will cause inflation) or gradually lift it over the remainder of the 2020s whenever inflation dips below 2%. If someone jumps in and lifts it all right now inflation will rocket to around 25%. 

Right now if its the socialists who win there will be growth but there will be damage. I recommend voting the Conservatives, they are fiscally more responsible even if people don`t get that.

Edited by Duke Wellington
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8 hours ago, Duke Wellington said:

I recommend voting the Conservatives, they are fiscally more responsible even if people don`t get that.

No, not many people "got" Liz Truss virtually destroying the UK's economy within weeks of gaining power and then blaming it on the "lefty" international financiers. Most people just think she is mad.

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On 3/6/2024 at 10:46 PM, pellinore said:

No, not many people "got" Liz Truss virtually destroying the UK's economy within weeks of gaining power and then blaming it on the "lefty" international financiers. Most people just think she is mad.

Did she? I think it was one of the best economic moves in my lifetime in the UK. People just didn't want to rip the plaster off. If they had, we'd be extremely strong as country by now but too many vested interests in public offices, lobbying groups and the house of Lords. 

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2 hours ago, OpenMindedSceptic said:

Did she? I think it was one of the best economic moves in my lifetime in the UK.

Wow! It cost £30 billion in the first 24 hours, did uncosted billions of damages to the economy as a whole, nearly sank our pension funds and added hundreds to monthly mortgage payments for everyone. If it was just one of the best, I suppose Brexit was the very best? That really holed the UK's economy. It was good, if you are aiming to destroy the economy. But why would anyone want to?

Revealed: the £30bn cost of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget | Liz Truss | The Guardian

Edited by pellinore
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8 hours ago, pellinore said:

Wow! It cost £30 billion in the first 24 hours, did uncosted billions of damages to the economy as a whole, nearly sank our pension funds and added hundreds to monthly mortgage payments for everyone. If it was just one of the best, I suppose Brexit was the very best? That really holed the UK's economy. It was good, if you are aiming to destroy the economy. But why would anyone want to?

Revealed: the £30bn cost of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget | Liz Truss | The Guardian

And longer term... ??

It wouldn't have destroyed the economy (apart from the media saying it was while it was happening and the sheeple not understanding anything beyond the headlines), it would've made us - it's why it couldn't be allowed by the pension seeking MP's who want a cushy EU number later in life.

Now, we have only moderate growth. Much better than the EU of course, but we could've had it all but for a plaster rip from the wound of Goedon Brown selling all our gold at rock bottom price.

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