I have stated on this blog many times before a samurai sword needs to be wielded to the client state. We simply spend too much money on public services. There is too much waste. There are too many of our citizens in non-jobs. There are too many of our citizens claiming state benefits.
One would have thought this was obvious to anyone, even those of a socialist persuasion. Gordon Brown knows this, and he is steadily cutting back on public spending, hoping no-one will realise and calling David Cameron Mr '10%' in the process. There are rumours those nasty Tories will be cutting the NHS budget, freezing the pay of doctors and nurses in the process. Well, I hope this is not a rumour. I hope this is true. We spend far too much on health in this country. The NHS is cumbersome in the extreme. Too many managers and support staff. The NHS doesn't get a good deal on its drugs budget. Pharmaceutical companies know they can more or less charge what they want and the good old taxpayer will pick up the bill. For those who have lost their jobs, or like me, wonder if they will still have one in a few months time, the idea of a pay freeze for a couple of years sounds like a good deal.
Now more than ever is the time for honesty in politics. There will have to be cuts in public services. If the cuts are thought through, the public will not see a significant reduction in services. Now is the time to cut out waste. If you have any doubts we can do it, read the Taxpayers' Alliance's book, 'The Bumper Book of Government Waste.' It can and must be done.
4 comments:
There are too many of our citizens claiming state benefits.
To get them off though, the solution is not to make swathing cuts but to return to offering incentives to small and medium businesses to start up again.
Then, in the climate of increased demand for labour, those who refuse can be weeded off benefits.
The two go hand in hand, James. Weeding people off state benefits is the right phrase to use. Twelve years of Labour has given us many more benefit addicts.
Andrew,
The reasons to cut spending go beyond the question of state entitlements.
The UK has an unsustainable deficit which has begun to destabilise future expectations. It is the cause of our current recession. Firms and banks are anticipating huge tax increases that will reduce profitability. As such, they are cutting back on investment and lending.
Households are also responding to the deficit. Savings are going up as people anticipate lower post tax incomes once the fiscal crunch arrives.
Alice
Every day I become more convinced that the necessary approach is not to look for particular single areas in which government spends too much but to look at what government does.
Why does it tell us what to eat and drink? Find me a single person who thinks they need to be told anything on these subjects. This whole area of government involvement in our lives should be ditched.
Why does it seek to run the NHS from Whitehall? It collects money from us (essentially by way of insurance premiums) to pay for medical treatments but it makes no more sense for it to operate the whole system than for a motor insurer to run a nationwide fleet of pick-up trucks and body shops.
Why does it seek to run schools from Whitehall? The same point arises as with the NHS. Give local authorities a certain amount each year for capital works on schools and give the individual school budgets directly to the schools to be administered at school level.
Why does it pay a single penny to charities (whether fake or genuine)? If we want to give to particular charities we will. Those that can't persuade the little people of their benefit will close. The collective judgment of millions is always wiser than the inexpert judgment of a few with a book of blank cheques.
Why does it subsidise the arts and sports?
Why does it set-up bodies (quangos) to advise it?
Why does it by-pass the civil service and pay external consultants for advice that should be available in-house? If it isn't available, get rid of the senior civil servants who lack expertise, there will be plenty with expertise glad to replace them.
The list goes on and on. It is all about what government does. Government must do less, only in that way can anything like the necessary magnitude of spending cuts be achieved.
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