UK's borrowing requirements (warning X rated - not for faint hearted )

[gingerjedi]

[expat]

Look at those unfunded public sector pension liabilities. That is the biggest chunk of all and shows massive negligence by New Lie.

Well that is a load of Bollux by any standards. Public sector pension liabilities have always been unfunded, and no government has suggested changing that. That is not New Labour's doing.

It is true that keeping unfunded pension liabilities off the balance sheet would be illegal for a company, but what would you suggest they (Tory and Labour) should have done?

1. Fund the pension liabilities? That would have required, well, Funding. Which would have required taxation. Just be glad you didn't have to pay more tax, to fund the pension liabilities.
2. Declare it on the "balance sheet"? A meaningless action: the government has power of taxation, which a company does not. Therefore the government can guarantee to meet these liabilities, whereas a company could not. They are not the same thing.

[PM-Junkie]

Folks - so many of us now have cybertory on ignore, could people do us a favour and refrain from quoting him? The whole idea of ignoring him is so that we don't get annoyed by his drivel - if you quote him, we still see it.

Thanks

[Cyberman]

Well that is a load of Bollux by any standards. Public sector pension liabilities have always been unfunded, and no government has suggested changing that. That is not New Labour's doing.

It is true that keeping unfunded pension liabilities off the balance sheet would be illegal for a company, but what would you suggest they (Tory and Labour) should have done?

1. Fund the pension liabilities? That would have required, well, Funding. Which would have required taxation. Just be glad you didn't have to pay more tax, to fund the pension liabilities.
2. Declare it on the "balance sheet"? A meaningless action: the government has power of taxation, which a company does not. Therefore the government can guarantee to meet these liabilities, whereas a company could not. They are not the same thing.

Labour had the chance to confront the unions and to get retirement ages changed but backed down a couple of years ago when faced by strikes. Police and fire service staff can retire at 45 I believe on a full pension and others can retire much younger than those in the private sector.

Labour has reduced the value of private sector pensions via the stealth tax since 1997 forcing people onto money-purchase pensions from salary-linked.
Private sector pensions are funded via investments, but public sector are funded through taxes(25% of council tax is for pensions!!), and the figure projected is clearly unsustainable.

The public sector should fund their own pensions through salary deductions, the same as we do in the private sector, and benefits should be based on the value of those investments as in the private sector. With pensions paid regardless of investment or investment performance we are heading for disaster.

A strong Tory government has to fight the unions over this or we(well others anyway!!) will all be in poverty, working to fund other people's pensions.

[TykeMerc]

Folks - so many of us now have cybertory on ignore, could people do us a favour and refrain from quoting him? The whole idea of ignoring him is so that we don't get annoyed by his drivel - if you quote him, we still see it.

Thanks

Amen.

Now if the admins would just ban him it would save us from him being quoted by people who haven't totally lost patience with the moron yet.

[expat]

Folks - so many of us now have cybertory on ignore, could people do us a favour and refrain from quoting him? The whole idea of ignoring him is so that we don't get annoyed by his drivel - if you quote him, we still see it.

Thanks

My apologies. In fact, now that you mention it, let me just have a look at this User CP thing....

Sorted!

[cailin maith]

My apologies. In fact, now that you mention it, let me just have a look at this User CP thing....

Sorted!

Fab, isn't it?