AIBU to want spending cuts rather than more tax rises?

Relative poverty is a meaningless, made up, completely irrelevant measure.

Relative poverty is a meaningless, made up, completely irrelevant measure.

Complete cut to foreign aid.

25% cut to the civil service.

25% cut to all welfare.

Reinstate a child benefit cap (3 children).

Mandatory in person PiP review for all claimants.

Scrap triple lock, winter fuel allowance, free TV licence, free bus passes for the elderly.

Motability only for UK manufactured cars, basic models only.

Cut House of Lords down from 1000 to say 200.

why would I make that up?

You're telling us your sister in law is unwilling to pay enough for cleaning services to employ a cleaner who pays tax and works legitimately and then you're blaming the woman trying to survive while cleaning up after such an entitled person for the issue there?

You're telling us your sister in law is unwilling to pay enough for cleaning services to employ a cleaner who pays tax and works legitimately and then you're blaming the woman trying to survive while cleaning up after such an entitled person for the issue there?

From seeing actual poverty in Africa and
SE Asia.

A Maltese person doing cleaning jobs cash-in hand, living in social housing, with 3 children in state schools and getting child benefit, tax credits, etc.? Of course! Let them use the NHS for free as well, why not? We are so rich and have no national debt at all! I have just described my SIL's cleaning lady.

Well yes I’m sure there can be some affordability savings there too.

Paying for 5000 empty hotel rooms just in case they might be needed for migrants/asylum seekers was utterly wildly bonkers!

So an EU national resident and paying tax in the UK their entire adult life should not get treatment on the NHS? That doesn’t seem particularly fair when they’ve contributed here.

Do you understand there is a limit to what percentage of the population can work in professions? There will always be a need for 'unskilled labour' and until there's a living wage a lot of these people will need topped up by benefits

No one is treating it like a sacred cow. It’s not perfect, but what organisation is? Yet it’s always the NHS that gets bashed, despite delivering more care than ever.

It’s insulting to those who dedicate their careers to helping people. It’s fine to have negative feedback, that’s what Pals is for. It’s not ok to continually bash it anytime public spending is raised.

The whole world economy for developed western countries is fucked. Americas economy, European countries economies. They don’t have the NHS so who do they blame?

Our economy is shrinking, it’s not the fault of the NHS that it can no longer deliver what the public requires, demand is bigger than ever due to poor lifestyle choices and modern day living.

If you want to cut the NHS funding, then expect worse treatment. If you want to change the system (privatise) then good luck if you expect that to be any better. Especially those families struck with chronic disease.

What IS disrespectful is treating the NHS like a sacred cow that can't be criticised.

My DH has had cancer for 8 years. His "treatment" has been utterly woeful, with repeated foul ups, incompetency, etc. He's just had to spend 2 weeks in hospital after a major operation to pin his leg after some of his cancer "treatment" has wrecked his bones - he should have been on it for 2 years but was actually on it for 8 sodding years! His haematologist well and truly screwed up. We've since googled it and 2 years is the maximum. The orthopaedic surgeon couldn't believe he'd been on it 8 years and wasn't surprised his bones are screwed. He needs to go in again for another 2 weeks for another major operation on his other leg. That's a lot of wasted NHS resources for an entirely unnecessary cock up. In the months leading up to his operation, it was cock up after cock up re the admin and management of preparing for the surgery, - even in the same hospital, different depts won't talk to eachother meaning wasted appointments, duplicated tests etc. In the ward itself, it was a fiasco, the physios spent more time telling him how they had no time to show him exercises etc than it would have taken to just do it. When it came to discharge, another foul up. Doctor said 3/4 days time once he could get himself out of bed with a zimmer. Then, literally less than an hour later, the "discharge manager" came to tell him he was being discharged - nothing had been put in place, no drugs prescribed, not enough physio, no transport, etc - ended up 48 hours spent in a discharge lounge on a hard chair whilst we had to chase everyone up to get things in place. No I tell a lie, not 48 hours in the discharge lounge because it closed at 8pm so he was moved over to sit in A&E overnight as there was no one else for him (and others stuck in the discharge lounge) to wait. Then they wonder why A&E is always full - it's because it's dumped on by other depts of the NHS!

Do you think that is an appropriate question? Appalling.

All our bins are emptied by the borough council, no splitting of bins here.

When Portugal had its EU bailout, all public sector workers had their salaries reduced from 14 months a year (double pay in August for summer and December for Christmas was the norm) to 13, a reduction which filtered out to the private sector and still stands to this day.

Is this the sort of thing you're talking about? Salami-slicing public service budgets and asking public sector managers to find the savings hasn't worked for years. If, instead, every individual who received actual cash direct from the state - public sector workers, pensioners, benefits claimants (including landlords) - was simply told they're having a 5% haircut with no ifs or buts, that might work. And it would certainly do away with the attitude that pain should be borne by someone else.