What is causing that 180 billion deficit?

[minestrone]

If we could get rid of some of the civil servants that take up 1st class on the train every morning then I would be happy.

About 50% of people in there are state workers who are getting free transport. If this is meant to be us in an age of austerity...

[Tingles]

Hmmm can the country afford to make a million people unemployed?
Is paying them benefits (unemployment, housing etc etc) to do nothing more efficient than paying them a bit more to do something?
I don't have the answer to that question but that is the crux of the matter.

You heard from his own mouth!!!

He dont no everyfink

[OwlHoot]

... WTF has this government done over the past 12 years to leave us in this situation?

I don't want to sound glib, but three words - PFI

[Doggy Styles]

Hmmm can the country afford to make a million people unemployed?
Is paying them benefits (unemployment, housing etc etc) to do nothing more efficient than paying them a bit more to do something?
I don't have the answer to that question but that is the crux of the matter.

I think we all agree that welfare will be horrendous if we try to move people back into private-sector employment.

But that wasn't the point of my post. It was, how have the UK finances been managed over the past 12 years to get to the current situation where we are losing so much money? Where is it actually going?

[milanbenes]

amazing thing is when they came to power they had all that cash from the sale of the 3g licenses

Milan.

[Doggy Styles]

1) There are not enough private sector jobs to go round in the UK since we destroyed our economic base in the 80s

I'm not sure about that.

Our financial services expanded a lot in the 1980s, such that the City became one of the biggest players in the world, much to the envy of the rest of Europe.

Regarding manufacturing, it is true that it dropped as a proportion of GDP under Thatcher from 25% to 22.5%. But under Blair it dropped from 20% to 12%, a far more significant fall over about the same timescale (source the Grauniad).

Although she did oversee cuts in many money-losing industries, it's a myth that Thatcher destroyed the economic base. The Labour party seem to be making a much better fist of it.

[AtW]

Our financial services expanded a lot in the 1980s, such that the City became one of the biggest players in the world, much to the envy of the rest of Europe.

It wasn't envy: mainland Europe continued to focus on making useful things rather than focus on making money from hot air - existence of such gambling casino in the City was a distraction because it pushed money away from investment into real stuff like manufacturing to go into gambling.

[Doggy Styles]

War can rack up the cost ... we've had Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan .. got to add up to a pretty penny.

True.

And I've just remembered that, to service our current national debt of £820 billion, we are paying around £50 billion a year interest.

So that's a big chunk that can only be saved if we get the debt down. But we'd have to cut £178 million a year in spending just for that £50 billion to stand still.

[Doggy Styles]

It wasn't envy: mainland Europe continued to focus on making useful things rather than focus on making money from hot air - existence of such gambling casino in the City was a distraction because it pushed money away from investment into real stuff like manufacturing to go into gambling.

Regardless of your opinion AtW, and no doubt the opinions of many others, the other leading nations in the EU envy the city's money-making operations. It has made the UK a lot of money and taken business from Europe. Please keep to the point.

[Churchill]

Hmmm can the country afford to make a million people unemployed?
Is paying them benefits (unemployment, housing etc etc) to do nothing more efficient than paying them a bit more to do something?
I don't have the answer to that question but that is the crux of the matter.

Yeah, pay the f**kers 64 quid a week!

In Ireland they get up to 204 Euro a week dole!