Helping the government save money

[Samdelila]

I think free prescriptions for people with certain conditions should be means tested. What else could the government cut to save money?

DSA for students to get a free laptop monitor headphones etc. plus hours and hours of training on various software packages and study skills. If they passed their A Levels then broadly they’ve got the skills to cope. The packages cost tens of thousands and are very very easy to access. If we could afford it then fine but we can’t.

Turn off every other street light in built up areas. There would still be enough light.

Prevent councils spending their money on art and statues etc. again- it’s a nice to have which we can’t afford.

Taxis for sen students. This needs far more regulation and whilst it might be necessary in some cases this should be a small contributory allowance rather than using the contracts with firms which rip off the councils.

reduce the contribution rate and the payment levels on public sector pensions. The pension levels are ridiculously high and much much higher than private sector pensions for equivalent roles.

But what is the "correct" amount of tax for someone who lives in a different country, or maybe moves around a lot so isn't resident for tax in any country? How do you work it out, how do you enforce it? THe UK has no jurisdiction as to how other countries tax THEIR residents. Billionaires can easily "move" to tax havens. Even millionaires do that! Not just rich business owners, but successful pop stars, sports personalities, actors, etc often become "non resident" to avoid taxes and "live" in a tax haven. Rumours are Tyson Fury is relocating to Isle of Man, which is where others have moved to in the past such as Nigel Mansell, and Lewis Hamilton bought a private jet through the Isle of Man to avoid paying VAT on it. Just like most other private jets, private helicopters and private yachts are bought via tax havens to avoid taxes like VAT worldwide. There will never be a Worldwide tax regime and short of doing a Trump and invading places like Panama, Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Gibralter, Channel Islands, Dubia, such tax havens will never give up their "tax haven" status as it's deliberate to suck in the millionaires and billionaires.

or we could look at it as an investment in her health ensuring she continues to work and pay her (massive) tax bill

Still surprises me that asthma prescriptions are not free.

Why is someone with type 2 diabetes more important than someone with asthma. Is is because of increased hospital costs if diabetes not treated?

Maybe I will write to the health secretary too if thats the correct contact.

And I didn't realise all of their prescriptions then become free!

We also need a public enquiry into the fiasco of HS2. Now almost a decade behind schedule, costs trebled, length more than halved, and still barely any of the bridges/tunnels have been completed. It's either gross inefficiency, incompetence or corruption, or a mixture of all three. It's the most expensive railway line in the World per km by a long way. Back in the 1800s, longer railways were built quicker with fewer workers, yet today we have all the machinery that they didn't have back then. Someone (or lots of people) are lining their pockets at the taxpayer's expense (again!). When there was so much fuss about the Covid waste and fraud, it's very strange that everyone is quiet about HS2!

This. It totally takes away incentives to work. Why spend 40 hours cleaning/serving clients when you can get the same pay and spending your time on hobbies instead. Obviously this is only for the minimum wage earners- work does pay for those with careers.

I agree. No one on benefits should have more disposal income than anyone working full time (wages and benefits). It should be a non negotiable red line.

I am sorry you didn't get it but you actually can if you are (or say you are) incapable of living your life as normal. You might not get it at first but if you take it further you will likely get it.

You would be surprised. I know people with much higher disposable income than me thanks to benefits and I am quite a high earner.

I also know several people whose parents own rental properties and rent them to them and benefits pay for the rent and then their parents give them lots of spending money on top of their benefits- and then they are normally getting a hefty chunk from the father of their children too.

Frankly until they cut things like the Government Wine Cellar and subsidised MP lunches, purely on principle, them I'm not really inclined to go further to "do my bit".

It's about demonstrating leadership and role modelling ethical spending.

Not worth doing. Cost for means testing vs saving a tenner a month for pre payment certificate

But the prescription charge is a drop in the ocean compared to actual drug costs.

Turn off every other street light in built up areas. There would still be enough light.

But even that relatively small thing is a 'mindset snapshot' that would, like many other things, invariably not stop there. Once it's established that only every other light becomes the norm, it will before long become every other of the remaining lights and so on, until the very idea of street lights becomes an absurdly ostentatious luxury and they all disappear completely.

Then we start to see the same with countless other public costs. Public toilets have been closing up and down the country over the years. Rubbish collections have also been hugely reduced. When I was growing up, your weekly bin collection was just a normal part of life; now it seems absurd to contemplate. Yes, there's the environmental aspect of reducing landfill waste, but the convenient fact that it also saves the authorities a lot of money is mysteriously never mentioned.

Look what happened with student fees: first we had grants; then they were removed and replaced with loans; then tuition fees started, but at a not-too-enormous price; then they rose; then they rose again; now a lot of people will angrily ask why on earth they should have to pay for your university studies that may (or may not) lead to increasing your earning power, and why you shouldn't have a massive debt hanging over you (couched as a considerable 'graduate tax', as if that makes it somehow better) for life?

The state pension will be next: where you'll be considered a disgraceful freeloader for expecting the taxpayer to make provision for your retirement. You'll still have to pay the same amount of tax that ostensibly went towards state pensions during your whole working life, mind.

I don't think everybody with T2D automatically qualify for free prescriptions, do they, if they don't use insulin? I stand to be corrected.

I completely agree with you regarding asthma. You have a lifelong condition that actually affects your regular ability to breathe and thus to stay alive; but that's somehow not all that serious?!

The bigger issue is that we can't afford to give freebies to people who refuse to get jobs or use birth control. It sounds as though your friend is likely paying for your entire family's prescriptions so maybe curb your jealousy?

Instead of means testing, I am starting to think the gov should abolish NI and then make a corresponding increase to all forms of income tax, including pension and investment income. At the same time, they should use the extra tax income to significantly cut the interest rate on student loans, as we are currently fleecing everyone over the age of 30 with a degree - some of these people are paying an effective tax rate of 60% as a result of their student loan but the interest rate means that the principal never goes down and they can still be repaying in their 60s. This is where our focus should be.

How about they stop subsidising meals and drinks for MP’s who earn well. I’m
sire they can afford full price or a meal deal like the best of us? Why am I paying for someone on more than double my wage to have nice meals and drinks?

Get rid of politicians second homes and build blocks of en-suite apartments like halls of residence that are serviced. They can stay there when working in London.

Thats 2 lots of saving without picking on peoples medications.

The problem we've gotten into has been caused by a lack of government spending due to austerity, compounded by Brexit and the effects of Covid. We cannot get out of it without spending.

People are sick because healthcare services are falling apart, and they're living in damp, mouldy houses that they can't afford to heat, while not being able to afford a proper nutritional diet. Mental health services for children and young people are all but non-existent. I had a 6-12 month wait for CAHMS when DD was suicidal. For adults, the service is hardly any better.

Public services are either closed or lacking, e.g., early intervention services like Sure Start are gone, public transport is failing, and public libraries have closed.

Rents have spiralled out of control, bumping up the HB bill. The few social houses we do have are often in a state of disrepair.

Scrapping free prescriptions won't help us, and if we cut benefits people will get sicker and cost even more. The only solution is investment into services and promoting growth, but we need money for that, and to get money, we have to tax the people who can afford to pay.

We've been "saving" money for 14 years. Saving money is what has caused this mess.

It’s meant to be an attempt to identify ways the government can save money - but we’re not allowed to even think about that apparently.

I think we should definitely try and address the problem of giving freebies to people who refuse to get jobs. I’m looking for as many ways for the government to save money as possible.

Yes, they do qualify for free prescriptions even if they are not on insulin.

You appear to be looking for ways to take from a group of people who have nothing left to give while ignoring extortionate private rents, unnecessary MP expenses, massive amounts of tax avoidance, and multi-billion-pound international conglomerates having their wage bill propped up by the UK taxpayers.

There are ways to save, but again, you need to look up to find them, not down.

OK and when you find these solutions how are you going to present them to government?

Exactly.

I still think we should try to save the money - each drop in the ocean adds up.