Looking Back On 14 Years Of Austerity - For What?

Exactly GG. Bashing those who have managed to improve their lot in life is pointless.

As an ex CS I can tell you what austerity achieved! Poorer families, failure to end Child Poverty, all public sector workers worse off year on year since 2009, failing public services, shortages of Police, Carers, Doctors, Dentists and Nurses, complete loss of trust and respect in our govt, increases in crime, need I go on? Sad times!

Casdon

The point is surely that however hard they work, some people will never have the earning potential to buy their own home. Sheer hard work is not only the province of those who succeed economically.

I do not disagree with you Casdon but constantly castigating those who are home owners, and in some cases business owners and employers, how does that help others to get on the property ladder?

People need a goal, something to aim for, whether that be promotion at work, a bigger house, a family.

Pay a decent wage and not only is the employee empowered but the employer benefits from a happier and more productive workforce.

There needs to be investment in social housing, which in turn provides employment and apprenticeship in building trades.

The point is surely that however hard they work, some people will never have the earning potential to buy their own home. Sheer hard work is not only the province of those who succeed economically.

I didn’t say it was sheer hard work to live in a house that rises in value. Sheer hard work and house price increases appear in two separate sentences in my post. I have benefited from both. However, the sheer hard work paid the mortgage. I started out with very little and have worked hard to improve my lot in life. I have no apologies.

Doodledog it was sheer hard work that enabled us and the majority of homeowners to buy our homes, whilst paying tax on income along with high interest rates on the mortgage.

I am so sick and tired of being berated on GN for being a homeowner in the South East, it is not a crime (yet)

It's not 'sheer hard work' to live in a house that rises in value to the point where the next generation can't afford to live there, and geographical mobility is stifled. That is exactly the attitude that turns young against old, and the rest of the country against South East.

I am not against sheer hard work being rewarded - not at all - I believe that people should benefit from their own efforts. But many who will never be able to afford to own a home work very hard and pay taxes out of their income too, and it is largely those people who are affected by austerity, not the people making money from their labour, or from simply living in the homes they bought at the right time and in the right place.

So much is geared towards keeping the rich rich, and preventing the poor from having the opportunities to improve their circumstances. Whether that is in the form of attempting to reduce university places, talk of putting fixed caps (as opposed to percentage of income) on care home fees, so that those with money in houses still have most of it left to leave behind, and those without it become paupers, or blatant lack of investment in swathes of the country, it is wrong, and high time things were changed.

flappergirl

The Tories have ensured that the generation coming through will have no teeth by the time they are 40, no homes to call their own, soul destroying zero contract jobs and terrifying hospital waiting lists.

They will have no free movement in Europe and should they wish to start a small business trading with Europe they will suffer extra costs and red tape which will negate the whole point. The Tories have not been caretakers of the country's future on any level.

This is in contrast to the inherited wealth and privilege (George Osborne, Jacob Rees Mogg, David Cameron for example) that many of them enjoy, safe in the knowledge that their children and grandchildren will live life with impunity at the very top of society.

They should hang their heads in shame.

I agree. Don’t forget Clegg’s part in all this though.

Germanshepherdsmum

Many have got there by sheer hard work, exploiting nobody. And by the rise in value of their houses, paid for out of taxed income and with mortgages, in recent years. There are probably a fair few millionaires on GN - it’s not all about money in the bank.

Indeed. 👏👏

There's nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get poorer
In the meantime, in between time
Ain't we got fun?

Germanshepherdsmum

Many have got there by sheer hard work, exploiting nobody. And by the rise in value of their houses, paid for out of taxed income and with mortgages, in recent years. There are probably a fair few millionaires on GN - it’s not all about money in the bank.

👏👏👏

Many have got there by sheer hard work, exploiting nobody. And by the rise in value of their houses, paid for out of taxed income and with mortgages, in recent years. There are probably a fair few millionaires on GN - it’s not all about money in the bank.

grannyactivist In real terms the poor (inching now towards the middle classes) are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer - at the expense of the poor. There is an explosion of ‘millionaires’ in this country - and most of them didn’t get there by winning the lottery. The number of millionaires in the UK in 2010 was 508,000, by 2023 that number had risen to 2.85 million.

Please explain how number of millionaires, risen from 508,000 to 2,85 million in 13 years impacts the poor or has been at expense to the poor?

“The number of millionaires in the UK in 2010 was 508,000, by 2023 that number had risen to 2.85 million.”

That would be made up of House value, pension value plus any investments or savings, but is still less than 5% of the population the increased taxation point has to be a lot lower to make a difference.

flappergirl

The Tories have ensured that the generation coming through will have no teeth by the time they are 40, no homes to call their own, soul destroying zero contract jobs and terrifying hospital waiting lists.

They will have no free movement in Europe and should they wish to start a small business trading with Europe they will suffer extra costs and red tape which will negate the whole point. The Tories have not been caretakers of the country's future on any level.

This is in contrast to the inherited wealth and privilege (George Osborne, Jacob Rees Mogg, David Cameron for example) that many of them enjoy, safe in the knowledge that their children and grandchildren will live life with impunity at the very top of society.

They should hang their heads in shame.

Yes, just about sums thing up. Spot on 👏

With regard to the NHS, the think tank, the Institute for Government, published this report last year. I think it is well worth reading:
The question it seeks to answer is:

Why has hospital activity not increased in line with funding and staffing?

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government provided the NHS with a large injection of funding. That funding means that hospitals now employ more staff than ever. But despite those increases, hospital activity remains below pre-pandemic levels on some metrics.
This report examines why this has happened and what might be needed to bring productivity back in line with trend levels. It was funded by the Health Foundation, an independent charitable organisation working to build a healthier UK.

Its key findings:

We identify the slow flow of patients through over-capacity hospitals, covered in Chapter 1 of this report, as the most immediate cause of the problems

^Chapter 2 looks at how changes in the composition and morale of NHS staff could be
exacerbating the problem^

Chapter 3 investigates the system within which the interaction of capital (like beds) and labour (staffing) occurs – the targets and incentives attached to hospitals and how well placed the management is to meet these

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/nhs-productivity-puzzle_0.pdf

While the debate about how it should be funded is an interesting one I feel that identifying the causes of its problems in a reasonably objective fashion has to come first.

There seems to be no area of public life that has not been affected by the swingeing cuts to services brought about by Conservative fiscal policies aka ‘austerity’. This is not surprising when the Tories have long been the party of ‘small’ government that supposedly doesn’t interfere in people’s livesu or the economy.

In practice though we see banks and big businesses being bailed out by the government (using taxpayer’s money) and whilst the lives of those who are poor and/or on the margins are being increasingly controlled by government (legislation re: rights to withhold labour, protest etc.), we have fewer and fewer safeguards from wealthy individuals and businesses who are attempting to bulldoze through laws that will increase their already great powers. (I’m thinking of planning de-regulation and a certain wealthy landowner’s recent challenge to ‘right to roam’.)

In real terms the poor (inching now towards the middle classes) are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer - at the expense of the poor. There is an explosion of ‘millionaires’ in this country - and most of them didn’t get there by winning the lottery. The number of millionaires in the UK in 2010 was 508,000, by 2023 that number had risen to 2.85 million.

Absolutely. And as income is very easy to tax, it is those in work who end up paying every penny, whilst those whose money comes from elsewhere can often escape paying their dues.

“The tax system needs a huge overhaul, IMO. Nobody should be allowed to opt out (which is not the same as not being able to contribute), and all sources of income should be taxable, not just earned income. After that, means-testing should be abolished, as one's means would be tested at source, and appropriate contributions taken.”

Yes, and those with the wealth should pay more, far too much wealth is untaxed especially inherited wealth where it is not earned it’s just handed over.

As I see it, paying more taxes can save individuals money in the long run, as it is cheaper to pay for huge-scale things such as health and education if everyone contributes than if we pay as we go. Yes, there is a 'risk' that we will be lucky enough not to need healthcare and our contributions will be 'wasted' on the less fortunate, but isn't the security of knowing that we will be cared for if our luck runs out worth it?

The tax system needs a huge overhaul, IMO. Nobody should be allowed to opt out (which is not the same as not being able to contribute), and all sources of income should be taxable, not just earned income. After that, means-testing should be abolished, as one's means would be tested at source, and appropriate contributions taken.

We need to have proper conversations about how much people are prepared to pay for a genuine 'cradle to grave' safety net, and what we want it to cover, too. Expectations should be managed, and returns on contributions should be binding, so that people can plan their lives without goalposts being moved with no time to make arrangements. As it is, taxes of various kinds are imposed on (most of) us, and what they cover is not only fluid, but dependent on the ideology of those in power. I am very much in favour of a proper social contract that is binding on both sides.

Tax cuts to benefit who? I'm cynical that it's a desperate attempt to curry favour with a dwindling electorate who will vote Tory. Public services benefit everyone except successions of Tory governments have decimated them.

mae13 sadly I have to agree with you and now it seems the Chancellor is going to do it all over again i.e. cut public services to pay for tax cuts. What with that and war everywhere and it never stops bloody raining I refer to another posting about stopping elderly people drinking - an evening drink is the only thing to look forward to at the moment.

flappergirl

The Tories have ensured that the generation coming through will have no teeth by the time they are 40, no homes to call their own, soul destroying zero contract jobs and terrifying hospital waiting lists.

They will have no free movement in Europe and should they wish to start a small business trading with Europe they will suffer extra costs and red tape which will negate the whole point. The Tories have not been caretakers of the country's future on any level.

This is in contrast to the inherited wealth and privilege (George Osborne, Jacob Rees Mogg, David Cameron for example) that many of them enjoy, safe in the knowledge that their children and grandchildren will live life with impunity at the very top of society.

They should hang their heads in shame.

Excellent post.

Curtaintwitcher

The problem with the NHS is poor management. If the health service stuck to what it was intended for...providing basic health care for the poorer in society....perhaps there wouldn't be a problem with finances.
One of the problems with the austerity cuts is that there is an increase in street crime. At least, that seems to be the case where I live. The streets are poorly lit in the evenings, so the area is rife with drug dealers and muggings. Any money saved on lighting is now being diverted to dealing with criminals.

The problem with the health service is Unlimited Demand and it never will meet that demand, ever more complex treatment combined with increasing lifespan will ensure that.

We have to accept that either treatment is going to be rationed or some kind of payment or means testing is going the be introduced. Management changes are not going to change much, they never have, there simply isn’t enough money.

👏👏👏 Agreed Flappergirl.