Reply to: The Public Sector is to get its pips squeaked!!

[BoredBloke]

BBC News - Cameron: 'Difficult decisions' on pay and benefits

I especially like what Dave Prentis said

Dave Prentis said the speech was a "chilling attack on the public sector, public sector workers, the poor, to the sick and the vulnerable and a warning that their way of life will change".

"There was nothing in this speech that told the rich, the banking and financial sector or the city speculators that their privileged way of life will change," he said.

"With breathtaking gall, David Cameron is spinning a myth about a hard-done-by private sector. The Tories and their friends in big business seem to forget the tens of billions of pounds of profit made by the private sector out of public sector contracts."

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The private sector is there to make profits. They couldn't make huge profits out of the public sector if the public sector had and any clued up people negotiating the contracts on their behalf. I worked on a procurement role at the NHS and they were utter tulipe! The levels of waste in the NHS are monumental.

[gingerjedi]

So what would be the fag packet figure to switch the NHS to Linux... 20, 40, £100bn? They've got some pretty heavy bespoke stuff written for them.

[minestrone]

The top down approach in the NHS really pissed people off, many departments, trusts etc were quite happy with the way it was all working, they had choice and could pick and choose their technology stack.

They should have set up a standard for middlewear and let the freedom continue.

[Sysman]

Whoever made the decision for the NHS to go down the Microsoft route should be shot. The NHS is a prime candidate for Linux.

I'm not getting into the Windows vs Linux argument, but when the MS agreement was put together a lot of NHS managers were dischuffed at having it forced on them.

IIRC it all started when Blair (a self confessed illiterate in IT) was wowed by meeting Gates. Next thing we heard the deal was done.

[Mich the Tester]

Why?

Because Linux fans think everyone should use Linux.

[Churchill]

Whoever made the decision for the NHS to go down the Microsoft route should be shot. The NHS is a prime candidate for Linux.

Why?

[Paddy]

Whoever made the decision for the NHS to go down the Microsoft route should be shot. The NHS is a prime candidate for Linux.

[Sysman]

The previous government liked to convince us that "Tax Credits" and "Benefits" weren't the same thing, that way they could convince us that they'd reduced the amount of benefits being paid out.

They also changed the language to "Hard working families" I.e. if you were in work and part of a family, you were also "hard working".

Anyone single and without dependents was obviously not a "hard worker"

[Churchill]

What about if people simply pay taxes, and those who warrant benefits are simply paid... benefits?

It's radical I know.

Why not do away with work and taxes altogether. We could all be on benefits.

If things need to be done then we could import workers from poorer parts of the world. If we need to pay for things we could just borrow it or even print it.

Simples.

The previous government liked to convince us that "Tax Credits" and "Benefits" weren't the same thing, that way they could convince us that they'd reduced the amount of benefits being paid out.

See "Tax Credits" "Benefits", not even sound same - simples!

[HairyArsedBloke]

What about if people simply pay taxes, and those who warrant benefits are simply paid... benefits?

It's radical I know.

Why not do away with work and taxes altogether. We could all be on benefits.

If things need to be done then we could import workers from poorer parts of the world. If we need to pay for things we could just borrow it or even print it.

Simples.

[Doggy Styles]

And while we are at it they can ditch the tax credits system. Why pay people under the odds and then pay a whole army of other people to top that up to a living wage? Pay 'em the right money in the first place and cut out the middle-man.

What about if people simply pay taxes, and those who warrant benefits are simply paid... benefits?

It's radical I know.

[centurian]

And while we are at it they can ditch the tax credits system. Why pay people under the odds and then pay a whole army of other people to top that up to a living wage? Pay 'em the right money in the first place and cut out the middle-man.
I know this is a totally off-the-wall idea but perhaps we could start making things again?

The solution is simpler than that - tax credit is basically a refund of tax paid, although there are cases where claimaints can get more than the tax they paid.

So why not just reduce taxes for the low paid - paid for by doing away with tax credits...

[Zippy]

Saving money in the NHS should be like shooting fish in a barrel. They could start by ditching the idea that a high pay scale=knowledge about everything.

And while we are at it they can ditch the tax credits system. Why pay people under the odds and then pay a whole army of other people to top that up to a living wage? Pay 'em the right money in the first place and cut out the middle-man.
I know this is a totally off-the-wall idea but perhaps we could start making things again?

[centurian]

and to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, Microsoft agreement with the NHS expires. As the article concludes, the NHS haven't got much time to roll out any alternatives...

However, it might also mean that NHS Trust's buy/license the software they actually need instead of putting the whole kaboodle on everything "because it's free".

Seen a few national agreements in the NHS. Every single one of them cost more than they would have done locally, because they are specced to the highest common demoninator, even though the vast majority don't need or want it.

[xoggoth]

ere ere.