Has Ed Miliband shot himself in the foot?

[dune]

But that gives us a range of 1 pence to £62,999,999,999....so, no, we don't "know" anything about what they are asking for....

 

Maybe the better question to ask the protesters would be: "How much of the £120m DAILY interest payment on the debt are you happy for this country to keep paying and for how long?".

 

Once we have the answer to that one I can then work backwards from those figures to arrive at the amount of cuts they would need to endorse to achieve their desired reduction in the debt interest payments.

 

This pretty picture may help focus the mind:

 

 

I wonder how many public sector non jobs could be saved without Labours debt mountain....

[Saintandy666]

One option to help slow down/reduce the cuts would be to keep the 50% tax band as permanent and even lower it to £100,000. Income tax receipts were up 17.8% in January year on year, partly due to the 50% tax band.

 

Another alternative to more cuts would be to factor in the selling of the bank shares which is what mainly caused our massive debt in the first place. When they are sold, the money from this can be used to pay off some debt reducing the burden.

 

An abstract part(AND ONLY PART) alternative could be to legalise cannabis. Cannabis sales each year in the UK alone are £5bn. Imagine if 50% of that was taxed... and money would be made because less cash would have to be put into policing the drug. But anyways, that's a bit off topic.

 

Personally, I think a huge part of the solution needs to be total economic overhaul. At the moment the UK economy is too heavily dictated by financial services. We need to try and create a new green economy which would generate lots of cash and lots of money as we would be at the forefront of that industry. Not only could it help us out of this trouble, but it could set us up right for the future.

 

Now I know this is all VERY rambly, but my point is there are PLENTY of ways in which the amount of cuts needed to be done can be reduced. However, the tories are ideologically positioned to want more cuts and a smaller state rather than what I propose.

 

Each cut is a persons job and livelihood. Remember, the private sector relies on the public sectors cash to survive. How can there possibly be a private sector led recovery if the public sector is decimated?

[Saintandy666]

I wonder how many public sector non jobs could be saved without Labours debt mountain....

 

Debt mountain caused by the ideological decision to invest at a time of recession and also save the banks. This was caused by a WORLD recession. Our debt is still lower than many developed countries.

[badgerx16]

Debt mountain caused by the ideological decision to invest at a time of recession and also save the banks. This was caused by a WORLD recession. Our debt is still lower than many developed countries.

Just take a peek at Japan.

[Saintandy666]

Just take a peek at Japan.

 

Now Japan's is just scary! And with the tsunami and such, you wonder whether they will ever pay it back?

[bridge too far]

Now Japan's is just scary! And with the tsunami and such, you wonder whether they will ever pay it back?

 

Although there are some economists who reckon that the Japanese rebuild and recovery programme will actually drive them out of recession - not that they have any choice in the matter.

[badgerx16]

Now Japan's is just scary!

But do they have the same level of hysteria over the debt level that we are experiencing ?

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

Just take a peek at Japan.

 

As far as I am aware the government is in lots of debt but as a nation they save a lot.

[bridge too far]

As far as I am aware the government is in lots of debt but as a nation they save a lot.

 

Not any more they don't - and haven't for some time

 

http://www.wisebread.com/comparing-savings-rates-us-vs-japan

[View From The Top]

As far as I am aware the government is in lots of debt but as a nation they save a lot.

 

A clever economics type explained to me that their debt is "owned", in the main, within Japan.

[trousers]

One option to help slow down/reduce the cuts would be to keep the 50% tax band as permanent and even lower it to £100,000. Income tax receipts were up 17.8% in January year on year, partly due to the 50% tax band.

 

Another alternative to more cuts would be to factor in the selling of the bank shares which is what mainly caused our massive debt in the first place. When they are sold, the money from this can be used to pay off some debt reducing the burden.

 

An abstract part(AND ONLY PART) alternative could be to legalise cannabis. Cannabis sales each year in the UK alone are £5bn. Imagine if 50% of that was taxed... and money would be made because less cash would have to be put into policing the drug. But anyways, that's a bit off topic.

 

Personally, I think a huge part of the solution needs to be total economic overhaul. At the moment the UK economy is too heavily dictated by financial services. We need to try and create a new green economy which would generate lots of cash and lots of money as we would be at the forefront of that industry. Not only could it help us out of this trouble, but it could set us up right for the future.

 

Now I know this is all VERY rambly, but my point is there are PLENTY of ways in which the amount of cuts needed to be done can be reduced. However, the tories are ideologically positioned to want more cuts and a smaller state rather than what I propose.

 

Each cut is a persons job and livelihood. Remember, the private sector relies on the public sectors cash to survive. How can there possibly be a private sector led recovery if the public sector is decimated?

 

Taking the public sector back to 2008/09 levels is hardly "decimation". It's a rebalancing exercise, one that Labour subscribed to (albeit £6bn less than the nasty wasty Tories, which is a drop in the ocean difference in the general scheme of things.)

 

Btw, has Balls decided whether he is for or against retaining the 50% tax rate yet or is he still flip-flopping?

 

;-)

[Saintandy666]

Taking the public sector back to 2008/09 levels is hardly "decimation". It's a rebalancing exercise, one that Labour subscribed to (albeit £6bn less than the nasty wasty Tories, which is a drop in the ocean difference in the general scheme of things.)

 

Btw, has Balls decided whether he is for or against retaining the 50% tax rate yet or is he still flip-flopping?

 

;-)

 

Well that's not true. Labours cuts in many areas are vastly different. For example 12% instead of 20% on police as debated today in parliament. There is also a larger difference over the whole of the parliament. Anyways, I'm not a Labour supporter, but I am more sympathetic to them than the Tories.

 

What I really want to see is more imaginative ways of reducing the deficit than just cutting. Think tax avoidance tightening, think green economy and other measures I mentioned in my prior longer post.

 

In all honesty, Labour are barely fit for office at present. Give them a year or so to find their feet and then I will judge them.

[Jonnyboy]

It's your Commie Union Public Sector Wallors that have a chip on their shoulder. Expect them to take a pay freeze/cut like the private sector have and they expect to be treated differently which really does take this ****** given that it's their bloody Labour lot that left the country up to its eyeballs in debt. F/ck em is what I say, let the layabouts march and waste their money doing so and then just carry on with the cuts.

 

ja mein fuhrer