cuts - Wednesday's Spending Review

[mrsbaldwin]

Brace yourself ladies - these cuts are big, there will be tens of thousands of public sector redundancies and it's said (by the Fawcett Society amongst others) that they will disproportionately affect women.

Some workers will get some sort of payoff, and some will be pleased to go. Some will find new jobs.

But I reckon the overall effect (licks finger and holds it in the wind) will be to drive down women's wages, meaning that once you are made redundant from your public sector post you may find more work but it will be at a lower rate and the extra competition for jobs across the board will drive wages down across the board. This may be true for men as well but I think it will affect women - mums - more.

If you are watching the press coverage on Weds, what do you think the effects of the cuts and the job losses for women (and mums) will be?

I am scared- lanlady makes decision on whether to rent to us agin after the announcements: state cannot house us (nothing suitable for disabled family even possible atm) and private won't look at us.

I won't be watching though; I will read when I feels trong with a cup of coffee.

Have an SNU to look around today anyway for ds1, assuming that doesn't get cut of course.

I actually feel sick. I suspect we may lose our home, me my almost-complete college course (had to privately fund so comes after food clearly) and any chance of getting the help my boys need to become independent.

Gideons, that is terrible :(

GideonsMum, nobody will throw you out on the street and enough women will care to make sure you will be seen right. Have faith. I do not see someone with your get up and go walking around the streets with two kids stuck in a pram and sleeping on a park bench.

Gideons - Really hope things work out okay for you.

Blimey Alpine I don't even know who LV are!
labour amde mistakes; in particular the Iraq / Afghanistan thing: in fact that was enough to end my vote for them. Otehr aspects of their spending were influenced by Tory policy (eg the massive hosuiing costs rise due to sell off) and banking crisis.

No party would have survived this without a significant financial crisis.

I had an interview for a good job on Monday; however, it is half term and DH has a very important day in his job (a professional exam) soc annot help with the (disabled) boys; Mum is busy with my nephews; half term club isn;t running this half term because of fiddly room allocation reasons and youc an't send autistic kids to just anyone. SSD refused to help becuase they are worried about their budget.

These cuts will not encourage social mobility: they've just stolen mine.

yet on anohter thread I was castigated and told it was time I elarned dspite the poster knwoing I was a carer, Dh in low paid work and the interview thing. i feel a pariah of society and for the first tiem ever close to giving up completely.

Gideons, who is your MP?

BM thank you, though after losing teh chance to be a SSD researcher with teh interview am feeling a bit anyway. i;d have been bloody good at that job!

BM Labour; I emailed him and he told me not to be silly, nobody would amke a cut that affected us.
A week before the annoucement about universal credit that may affect my carer's Allowance.
he hasn;t replied since. My Am tends to be more useful (MP was outed on QI for being a bit lazy) but he's been promoted and is a LibDem so probably has a gag now

Gideon I really feel for you for your current situation - however, tbh, I am a little that you've managed to self-fund a course and yet still have your hand out. That aside, obviously I hope it all works out for you. As for "selling off housing" - you are aware of course that the just-departed Labour government sold more social housing than the Tories ever did right? It's such a shame they only had 3 days in office and were unable to reverse decisions they felt affected their core voters.

I love how some people have totally bought the line that the cuts are 'the Labour party's fault'. Yep keep on buying it.

NOt saying mistakes weren't made but really look beyond Tory rhetoric. These cuts do not have to be so savage and can be over a longer time period. fact is the Tories WANT to reduce the public sector.

As someone has already said......when the Tory voters start complaining that their refuse collection service is poor and irregular, that the roads aren't being repaired, that their kids' schools can't afford to build a new classroom, that there is a rise in crime in their area but no police on the streets, more criminals in the community (cos jail is too expensive you know) yet no probation officers to manage them.....

BTW best laugh so far - cutting defence budget. Keeping an aircraft carrier yet axing the planes that go on it. Great idea.

You reap what you sow.

Raise tax, it will have a proportionate impact and will significantly reduce the deficit.

The Labour party is almost totally responsible for the cuts. We were running a deficit before the financial crisis in 2007 that was 4%. This was a ridiculous thing to do considering that our stage in the economic cycle but Brown believed he had abolished it somehow.

Agree Fifitot - with everything you said. This government are total muppets. Worse than that, muppets on a mission.

fifitot Do you understand that many of the government's borrowing liabilities are due for a "interest rate re-set" within the next few years? Yes? And, the rates will undoubtedly rise - thereby increasing the INTEREST bill to even more than we're paying now. If cuts are left later they will have to be even more to simply balance.

As for the aircraft carrier - you do know all about the cancellation contract on that right? Like in the same way you know about the contract for the flu vaccines last year right?

What public service do you equate to a £700 handbag I wonder? Where do you see that sort of luxury in public service?

The government doesn't work on a household budget, as well you know. Running a budget deficit is a common and generally accepted economic policy.

Not a good time to be looking for my first job in 7 years :(

AP- DH works; my only hand out is tax credits and carer's allowance that is not means tested.

And it's part time, not in anyw ay full time- we're talking far, far less than you'd expect with year one funded entirely by DH (who ahd the temerity to have a well aying job at the time).

Don;t assume we are a workless family; we are not. We had a redundancy that meant we took a significant pay cut.

AP - as I said earlier, I'm out of the loop living abroad - what's the cancellation contract - presume it's a huge cost if it's cancelled so in the long run it's better to keep the project going? Apologies if I have totally the wrong end of the stick.

Which taxes should be raised to have a proportionate impact - isn't income tax one of the least fair taxes as it effectively taxes those with the least disposable income the most, and hits them the hardest. Would a rise in VAT on non essential items raise more? is it going back up to 17.5 in jan or higher? We all moan every year in the budget when tax goes up on wine, other booze and cigarettes but these are not essentials are they?

I think I need a bit of Economics and Politics 101 to get back up to speed.

I have become increasingly worried about the idea that there was actually another workable way and that this method of dealing with the deficit might be an 'ideological' choice in that it is intended to return to a 'Thatcherite' agenda (i.e. wealth 'should' only be created in the 'private' sector). I am confused .

Guess we will just have to wait and see.

Would a government (any government) really do something like this out of choice?

"Gideon I really feel for you for your current situation - however, tbh, I am a little hmm that you've managed to self-fund a course and yet still have your hand out"

WTF? [hshock]

AKAIK VAT is a aprticularly unfair tax as it penalises those who ahve the elast sapre- I'd up CGT for a start on buy to lets but give an exemption to LLs willing tor ent to HB claimants.

And we''d take 1- 2 % on income tax dspite it affecting us more potentially, as it's not something that would only see us affected: true shared pain.

Oh hubbly just ignore; Dh and i challenge stereotypes by fighting ahrd to change things, some people can't deal with that. C'est la vie.

VAT might not apply directly to food but it certainly increases the cost of food production and the consumer pays, regardless of their income.

And VAT does apply to fuel, so commuting becomes more expensive. I suppose those on low incomes could just pitch a tent outside their place of employment though... Does VAT apply to sleeping bags?

Could it have been done through taxation?

Some could; it's about the balance of cuts and taxation.
So we can protect X (for example, child rpotection which some councilsa re looking at outsourcing) if we take X on our taxes.