Dave's cuts are going be deep and they will hurt

[FellatioNelson]

I've been hearing this all day on the radio. I can't take the suspense any longer. They are going to affect the lives of 'every one of us'

I feel like a person wincing and clenching my teeth in anticipation of the big fuck-off needle the school nurse is wielding, and I'm next in the queue....

Come on then, what's it going to be?

Katiecarr -As a public sector worker I would rather pay extra tax and take a pay cut than lose the olympics

Hmm what does that say about public sector pay then??

regarding it being cheaper to keep someone on the dole or pay a wage...

this may not always be the case. it would depend on the persons wage and who that person was supporting if they were in reciept of benefits also,

yes, re less tax and NI. also less vat paid etc as not earning enough to spend. [so less cash coming back]

Also, isn't poverty a factor in health? so these people would need more health services also. the same goes for education dosn't it [not always I know, but statistically] so again, the same. Isn't it about the bigger picture? as well as on an individual level. people loosing jobs is just a loose, loose situation for everyone.

Ps. me being a public sector worker, I would not like a [or should I say another]pay cut! What does that say about generalising public sector pay?

'True, but it also means less tax & ni coming in'
Tax and NI are deductions from gross pay which is paid for by....the tax payer.

oldandgrey-also, the public sector employs a huge number of people from every pay scale. katiecarr was generous in saying that, I am sure she was not saying she was minted because she was a publi sector employee.

I know I am late to this but
I am also a public sector employee and there are some of us who do contribute to the economy. In my job for the last tax year, I brought in over 30 times my salary in additional tax revenue.
Do I deserve a 5% pay cut?
(I have name changed for this)

Er, No, I think they'll definitely be keeping you!

Thanks I certainly hope so

There has been a jobs freeze in the NHS trust that I work for, for several months now. Whenever staff leave for whatever reason they are simply not replaced.

Patients are not sufferring because of this as yet but the staff are simply exhausted and morale is very low.

Adding insult to injury the trust has had a major reshuffle at executive level with additional project managers being appointed.

We are increasingly relying on volunteers and students to assist on the wards and there are very few jobs advertised for newly qualified NHS staff of any discipline.

I used to be actively involved in Unison but I honestly wonder if the whole NHS would not be better off privatised now, it is so badly led.

Seriously though just trying to point out that the generalised 'just cut public sector salaries by 5%' comments by everyone doesn't always work (as with most generalisations).

In fact someone further up suggested 5% each year over 4 years. Meaning a 20% pay cut overall!

There are such a huge variety of jobs within the public sector, there will be just as many people like me whose jobs arent wasteful as those who are.

Where do you draw the line

Means testing child benefit is such a rubbish idea - looks good on paper (all those minted people getting it when they don't need it!) but the actual process of means testing it would cost almost more than it saved.

Also isn't it CB that provides a great way of ensuring that women's NI pension contributions continue to be paid when they're not working due to having children? I might be wrong on that, but I'm sure I read something about it being the CB info they used to do it. So they'd have to find another way to administer that, too.

Thats' the whole point, is it not Serin? The NHS certainly has not lacked funding in recent years, but the money has been poorly allocated, as it has across all areas of the public sector.

I'm absolutely sure that the NHS has it's faults and there is room for improvement, as in all organisations. Identifying those areas than can be improved without affecting services is where the difficulty lies. I'm pretty sure privatisation isn't the answer though!

From personal experience, the NHS has improved massively in the last 10 years. I owe my life to it. I'm just glad I had my diagnosis under the last government and not this one.

Agree wubbly- zero-based review of expenditure is a good thing..well done Dave. But privatisation is not a panacea for solving deficit problems

Wubbly,I am glad you had a good experience of the NHS. Sadly I do not see the massive improvements that you have noticed over the last 10years. Well other than in hand washing technique!

I spend a sizeable portion of my time filling in silly monitoring forms and completing audits to 'prove our worth'. What exactly do the jobs worths who request this information do with it? I doubt they even read it.

Today I had to complete a uniform audit of all the staff in our department including checking that black socks were being worn.
I felt like brown bloody owl!

What muppet thought that up and what is he/she going to do about it?

All this 'you choose' crap is just A-Level Politics rubbish.

Because who are they going to listen to?

Oh, that's right - their peers........the rich, privileged, arrogant toffs who think their money represents their 'success' and justifies their superiority (never a mention of inherited privilege)

So, when they listen to their peers........it's the 'scroungers', the ' feckless', those who don't have the privilege, who are the targets because their voice will not be heard because essentially they cannot empathise with their predicaments and lives..... and then maybe a few tiny concessions to the disproportionately high earners which the papers will blow out of all proportion.

And people wonder why it is a problem that these guys are privileged beyond our wildest imagination?

They have no empathy for the people they label 'feckless' and 'scroungers'. And their social network will be the only voice they listen to.

serin - my NHS experiences in London has also been first class. Also NHS saved MIL life with advanced bowel cancer (10 years ago).

Serin,I am 'front line' NHS worker too and I agree wholeheartedly.
Many many cuts were on the cards well before the election in our Trust.
There are more people than ever patrolling the corridors with clipboards,yet our workload is ever increasing and likely to get worse.
What is the solution?
Work out where the axe should fall ourselves,unpoplular though alot of measures will be,or have the IMF do it for us??

Mamatomany Don't quite understand why private schools are vat exempt. Wealthy parents {for the most part} benefit from the schools charitable status. Have also paid private boarding fees so no axe to grind with private schools. This pain must be shared by all. I think most parents would moan then cough up very few would leave the sector, after all we manage year on year fee rises.

Serin, referral to a specialist - 2 weeks.
Results - same day.
Operation in a brand new hospital wing, private ensuite room within 3 weeks of diagnosis.
Free prescriptions, free counselling, free wig, free prosethesis, free parking, free reconstruction surgery.

I went through a similiar thing in the early 90's. A three month waiting list to see a specialist. In that same timescale, I've had my diagnosis, numerous scans and investigations, surgery and I'm now one third of the way through the chemo.

oldandgrey I am not going to claim that I am badly paid, I am not. But the statement is made because I don't do my job for the money, it is a vocation. As long as their is food on the table I am happy tbh.

justmythought I don't think I deserve a paycut, very few of us do. But needs must and all that.

wubbly - really pleased to hear that it worked so well for you. We tend to hear of the minority of cases where things got cocked up...really good for you...

Thanks TDiddy

I do feel so bloody lucky that this thing happened now and not a year down the line. I'm not confident that these guarantees will still be in place by then and early detection is so crucial to prognosis.

It saddens me though that others might not get the benefit of such a great and speedy service.

If the private schools lost their charitable status the fees increases would affect many who struggle to pay them now. A pretty good perentage of fee-paying parents struggle now, I think. It is a myth that all privately educated children are from very wealthy backgounds.

My bet is many would go back into the public sector. And the schools would no longer need to offer burseries to bright/sporty disadvantaged children as part of the deal. Not sure that's a huge disadvantage, as it's a relatively small number who benefit. But the private school system only caters for 7% of kids anyway, so how much income is that going to bring in? Not much. Anyway, I agree that every little helps so I guess it must go on the list as a potential.