Why I'm supporting Rally Against Debt
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 14:23 I support radical public spending cuts. There, I've said it.
I'm no economist but even I can see that Britain is borrowing far more than it can afford and something has to be done to reduce public expenditure and the size of the public sector in general. As Mrs T once said, "There is no alternative".
Personally, I believe that excessive debt is a serious threat to 'freedom' in the sense that it leads to greater taxation (higher VAT, higher National Insurance, and an extended period of higher rate income tax) and other controls with the result that more power is placed in the hands of government and unelected civil servants at the expense of ordinary people.
The longer it takes to tackle the debt problem the longer we are subservient to government, in much the same way as people who have a long-term mortgage or other debts are subservient to banks, building societies, loan sharks etc etc.
If there is a problem it lies in the fact that public spending is not being cut as much or as quickly as many of us believe it should. (As for the NHS and overseas aid being ring-fenced from public spending cuts, the only question is – why???)
As I wrote a few weeks ago ('Cuts in public spending are something to celebrate', The Free Society):
I want to see less not more government. That means a leaner, more efficient public sector and fewer public sector workers. The Government shouldn’t need an excuse to reduce public spending because it is the right thing to do ...
Clearly there is a huge amount of waste and inefficiency in the public sector which is staffed by hundreds of thousands of unelected mandarins (the same mandarins who draft tobacco control regulations) ...
The economic crisis has given Britain an unexpected but wonderful opportunity to cut public expenditure and reduce inefficiency in the public sector.
Long term the benefits should include lower income tax and less government interference in our lives. Demonstrate? We ought to be celebrating.
Other reasons to support Rally Against Debt:
The TUC's March for the Alternative was supported by Labour leader Ed Miliband who, unbelievably, seemed to compare anti-cuts protestors with the suffragette movement, the anti-apartheid movement, and the civil rights movement in America.
Opponents of the cuts, including members of UK Uncut, a direct action group, staged a sit-in at what one columnist called the "upmarket food emporium Fortnum & Mason", while a group of black-clad activists in masks smashed some of the windows at the neighbouring Ritz Hotel.
For further information about the Rally Against Debt in London on Saturday May 14, click here.
Reader Comments (7)
We can begin by withdrawing taxpayer funding to ASH etc.
The banks are the cause of of these cuts and we taxpayers have to pay while the bankers are still getting great big bonuses.
The banks, Chas, are a very convenient scapegoat for the 'cuts'.
The 'cuts' as the opposition likes to call them, are the direct fault of the last Government's bad management of our economy.
Just this weekend, I (unfortunately) spoke to 3 different people, all of whom I attribute to helping cause the terrible mess we now find ourselves in.
The first, was a Moroccan man who used to run a restaurant near where I live. This guy took the restaurant over when it was a prosperous business, and a very good restaurant. Within a couple of years or so, he had run it into the ground - he was hopeless and the restaurant closed! When I bumped into him and asked what he was doing now, he replied that he is now living off benefits. He stood there in front of me, telling me how he gets everything paid for him, from his rent, to his dentists bills, and now for the first time in years he can take his family on holiday.
The second, was a woman that lives near us. She lost her job with the NHS because of incompetence, about a year ago - she then claimed she had been bullied in work, and has been paid by them ever since. She now has a part time job (cash in hand) and is claiming benefits.
The third person, was another woman, who said that she had heard about the other woman, and her part time job etc., and said that the first woman is going to help her, by telling her exactly how to scam the system.
Three people has, all living off the legacy of Labour, all living off our money. Three people who have the audacity to stand there and tell me face to face that I am helping to pay for their lifestyle because they are too last to go and do a proper job.
It is because of people like these and Labour's bad management and legacy that the so called 'cuts' are being made Chas.
Peter. The UK is not the only country that is in trouble and is making cut backs. The common cause of all the countries making cut backs is the over lending by banks.
Chas, Britain was worst placed to deal with its deficit, than any other country in the world. Brown had sold off our gold reserves at rock bottom prices, and had borrowed - borrowed - borrowed. Brown and his government were like a bucnch of schoolgirls who had never had to handle money in their lives before, and just maxed out the credit cards, and now, I am afraid, it us us, who are paying for their mistakes.
Peter. I didn't realise that Brown was the cause of the financial troubles of ireland, Spain, Greece etc. I suppose Brown was also the cause of Black Wednesday?
It would be nice if they cut the wages rather than the services. I personaly see no reason why "Public Servants" should be paid competative wages to the private sector - they should all be on minimum wage not a peeny more. If they don't like it then they can always try and take their "Talents"!!!! to the private sector.