Have Public Sector cuts now gone to far?

Faust

Public spending should be slashed by at least a third.

One of the best ways to save money is to stop doing things altogether.

Also there should be hardly any welfare at all.

We ought to have a good health care system and old age care. Things should function properly e.g. clean maintained lit streets, the garbage taken care of, well functioning justice system, churn out usefully educated labour, etc etc.  But really limit down the dead weight spending.

Uneconomic units would quickly clear, through the natural mechanism of starvation.

Greg Hook

I don't believe I actually read that - am I dreaming?

If you mean people starving to death then there is something seriously wrong with you.

EarthRod

Sounds to me like Scrooge's script writer lives on in the form of Cloth-Ears i.e. when there was mention of the workhouse.
“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

What a shameful thing to write Cloth-Ears.  Remember the old saying - 'there but for the grace of god go I'.

Faust

For those who work or have close family in the public sector, you couldn't make up the shocking things that go on, stuff that would never happen in the private sector.

For example people who should be sacked because they are completely useless, but can't be for some ridiculous reason, then once they are close to being sacked take a sickie which then runs for years. The wasted money is out of this world.

IronGiant

Perhaps the answer for public sector workers is zero hours contracts and to legislate an exemption from labour protections.

This would not only trim the numbers employed in the public sector, but also improve the productivity of those remaining, by at least 400%, because before they did next to nothing at all, due to laziness, political ideology and the protections of unions, which should not exist.

Those sacked could then eek out a living as best they can , like that bar cleaner in Deadwood ( a shining example to all ). Or go without.

Disposal would be easy, if Mr Wu's pigs were used, like in Deadwood.

We should raise military spending by 50%, then invade an oil producing country, then seize the oil as ours and use the money to pay off our debts and build new infrastructure. If the namby pamby UN objects then we can always threaten the ringleader countries with our Trident missiles - and do it too, to set an example.

Greg Hook

Waste of money?

For example: just as well those in the public sector cannot afford £1 million luxury super yachts.

Faust

Another person that has no inkling of current employment practices in the public sector.  If you are on sick then you will receive a home visit after 3 weeks by HR in the guise they are supporting you.   If you are not back at work within the next 3 weeks after that you are referred for a medical examination (a number of agencies used to use Atos).

Following the referral you would be called in for 'a meeting' and advised you can bring along a union rep.  This could either end up as a written warning with improvement required within 6 months or something even more draconian.  The PS has in the last few years got rid of a lot of staff via this route.

Now I have explained all this to you in some detail, perhaps you will share the source of 'your story' with everyone?

EarthRod

As you're retired then I'd think that the contact feeding you this current information could get in serious trouble for leaking this information to be published on a public forum, I'm assuming it's the same "brother-in-law/person who would be compromised if found out" that you have referred to before?  This is a dangerous thing to do so I hope you have his permission.

Enki

Like you, I can't share sources.

EarthRod

We already know who your sources are, Bill down the pub, the Sun and the Daily Mail.