More austerity and no money tree here

Mudball

Mudball

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Sad to hear that Councils like Northamptonshire council backs 'radical' cuts to services (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-45124215 ) this hits some of the most vulnerable. Surrey, Sussex (potentially Kent) going to the cliff edge.. so front line services are being impacted. Education was ringfenced but schools running dry. NHS not fairing any better.

All this while white elephants like HS2 sucks the economy of billions of ££. With her job at stake, T-May found a magic money tree for Northern Ireland. Billions will be spent on post-Brexit setup

Are we really a first world country when child poverty is at record levels, access to health and education is under threat. Or we just delusional about our standing in the world?
 
Yep, we are peeing money up the wall left, right, and centre, but it is way more important to berate a floppy haired idiot for making a poor joke than it is to raise issues that are costing billions in unneeded expense.

HS2 is a waste of about 100bn, but that is not news.

Who won love island?
 
Mudball said:
Sad to hear that Councils like Northamptonshire council backs 'radical' cuts to services (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-45124215 ) this hits some of the most vulnerable. Surrey, Sussex (potentially Kent) going to the cliff edge.. so front line services are being impacted. Education was ringfenced but schools running dry. NHS not fairing any better.

All this while white elephants like HS2 sucks the economy of billions of ££. With her job at stake, T-May found a magic money tree for Northern Ireland. Billions will be spent on post-Brexit setup

Are we really a first world country when child poverty is at record levels, access to health and education is under threat. Or we just delusional about our standing in the world?
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You should be lobbying to pay more council tax/Income tax/National Insurance then. Most of these services are from the local authority and should be financed by them. You are probably aware that the country has a National Debt of almost two Trillion Pounds now and this is due to us taking out more in services than we pay in. How long would your household survive if you extended an overdraft each month to cover expenditure beyond your income, you would need to earn more money or cut expenditure, or both to get by. Lets be clear about this 'Austerity' is just a symptom of cause and effect, overspending creates misery.
 
Average council tax rises in the last 10 years = 1.7%

Inflation in the last 10 years = 2.4%

People haven't been paying enough to maintain services.
 
Always look on both sides of the balance sheet for answers to questions like this.... as the answer is on both sides

Having spent time with Public Sector clients, I am amazed how frugal and how utterly daft they can be too... that’s all I’m allowed to say
 
Hobbit said:
Average council tax rises in the last 10 years = 1.7%

Inflation in the last 10 years = 2.4%

People haven't been paying enough to maintain services.
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And yet the moment anyone suggests that tax might have to go up, there is nothing but moaning. Seems to be the default mentality of the UK.

BTW my tax went up last year, couldn't give a toss, if it means that schools, hospitals etc get more funding. Of course it won't as the money will disappear into central taxation and probably be spent on whatever vanity white horse project the Scottish government is choosing to fund at the moment. I suppose the upside is that it won't be pissed away on something really pointless like the DUP bribe.
 
IanM said:
Always look on both sides of the balance sheet for answers to questions like this.... as the answer is on both sides

Having spent time with Public Sector clients, I am amazed how frugal and how utterly daft they can be too... that’s all I’m allowed to say
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Mmm, Approved Suppliers List used to drive me nuts. Paying over £500 for cardboard boxes, that took 6 weeks to arrive, when I could get them locally for £80 on a next day delivery. AAARRRGGGHHH!
 
SocketRocket said:
You should be lobbying to pay more council tax/Income tax/National Insurance then. Most of these services are from the local authority and should be financed by them. You are probably aware that the country has a National Debt of almost two Trillion Pounds now and this is due to us taking out more in services than we pay in. How long would your household survive if you extended an overdraft each month to cover expenditure beyond your income, you would need to earn more money or cut expenditure, or both to get by. Lets be clear about this 'Austerity' is just a symptom of cause and effect, overspending creates misery.
Click to expand...

Hobbit said:
Average council tax rises in the last 10 years = 1.7%

Inflation in the last 10 years = 2.4%

People haven't been paying enough to maintain services.
Click to expand...


Both of these quotes are on the right path, but the key point missed is wage inflation.

It's all well and good talking about tax rises, but ultimately, it's the same as borrowing, if you keep raising NI\Income tax, it is just a different version of delaying the inevitable, where do you go after you have raised income tax to 100% - although in reality the critical threshold would be before this point.

Overspending by the government is not the same as household overspending - unless you have a printing press in your house, so that you can print money to pay your debts and devalue everyone elses money in the process. Overspending is also ok if it leads to future growth - the household example is it would be worth borrowing £10k to repair your house before selling if it increased it's sale value by £50k.

However inflation, without wage inflation is just a stealth tax, you have the same amount of money, but it buys less, and is a smaller percentage of the overall money supply than it used to be. If wages inflated at the same rate as costs for service, the same proportion of your wages would provide the same level of service, however as this hasn't happened, a greater proportion of wage is needed for the same service, this is not sustainable in the long run.
 
Hobbit said:
Average council tax rises in the last 10 years = 1.7%

Inflation in the last 10 years = 2.4%

People haven't been paying enough to maintain services.
Click to expand...

But there in lies the problem

in the 80s/90s inflation was around half of the council tax increases. I remember one year when my pay was increase was 3 percent and the council tax increase was 12%. The Parish Precept alone where I live has gone up 4 fold in the past ten years and 10 fold since I moved in to the house. If only my income had gone up by the same amount in that time.

The current Council Tax on my house represents nearly 25% of my income.
 
Dibby said:
Both of these quotes are on the right path, but the key point missed is wage inflation.

It's all well and good talking about tax rises, but ultimately, it's the same as borrowing, if you keep raising NI\Income tax, it is just a different version of delaying the inevitable, where do you go after you have raised income tax to 100% - although in reality the critical threshold would be before this point.

Overspending by the government is not the same as household overspending - unless you have a printing press in your house, so that you can print money to pay your debts and devalue everyone elses money in the process. Overspending is also ok if it leads to future growth - the household example is it would be worth borrowing £10k to repair your house before selling if it increased it's sale value by £50k.

However inflation, without wage inflation is just a stealth tax, you have the same amount of money, but it buys less, and is a smaller percentage of the overall money supply than it used to be. If wages inflated at the same rate as costs for service, the same proportion of your wages would provide the same level of service, however as this hasn't happened, a greater proportion of wage is needed for the same service, this is not sustainable in the long run.
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jim8flog said:
But there in lies the problem

in the 80s/90s inflation was around half of the council tax increases. I remember one year when my pay was increase was 3 percent and the council tax increase was 12%. The Parish Precept alone where I live has gone up 4 fold in the past ten years and 10 fold since I moved in to the house. If only my income had gone up by the same amount in that time.

The current Council Tax on my house represents nearly 25% of my income.
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Lets not forget that the drop in interest rates has meant that the majority with a mortgage have been better off + the drop in prices of some household products has also helped.

It is more complex than just saying council tax has gone up by xx%, or that the Tories have reduced income tax. The reality, especially with the NHS and social care, is that the demand has gone up exponentially but the commitment by pretty much everyone hasn't.
 
Hobbit said:
Lets not forget that the drop in interest rates has meant that the majority with a mortgage have been better off + the drop in prices of some household products has also helped.

.
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And those that depend upon interest for their income have seen it slashed to virtually zero in the same period.
 
murphthemog said:
Yep, we are peeing money up the wall left, right, and centre, but it is way more important to berate a floppy haired idiot for making a poor joke than it is to raise issues that are costing billions in unneeded expense.

HS2 is a waste of about 100bn, but that is not news.

Who won love island?
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Jack and Dani - lovely couple :) (are they still together?)
 
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