Captain Haddock- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 7,500
Personally I was impressed with Ed Miliband's statement today. Apparently 'We'll tackle deficit with 'sensible' cuts' so that's alright then.
'If no one went no faster than what I do there'd be a sight less trouble in this world'
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Whilst we are on the lighter side of things.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
It would be wrong to take too much notice of Cable. I speak as someone who considers any cut to Defence as being too deep and that is the only budget I would not cut. At the end of the day is that deficit is not cut and public spending brought down to a level of GDP that is economically sustainable then nothing else at all will matter.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
The cuts next to be made will be based on maintaining popularity with the public, the howls of outrage when cuts are made to the NHS or the police services are much louder than when the same happens to defence spending.
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,658
Which is as they should be Howard.
We only need a lot spent on Defence when we are at war rather than fighting other countries skirmishes, in most cases we should let them get on with it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Jan - if we just spend a lot on Defence when we are at war then we will have lost the war - full stop. You cannot create a modern well equipped and capable armed force in 5 minutes or in any kind of timescale less than a lot of years. That has always been true in the past but is never more true than now with the complexity of technology and the training needed to use it. Just see how long it is taking to get the new carriers into place for the Navy shows that.
Look at the threats - a North Korean madman and a Russia increasingly flexing its muscles for two examples.
Besides, we are at war right now, alongside the rest of the free world, with Islamist extremists.
Defence is the number one priority of any government and must always be the top priority for spending. When we forget that a lot people die. Look at our history and you can see that. Remember Churchill's warning during his wilderness years...
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
Most people think we get involved in pointless wars, those with no ending with loss of service personnel together with those that lose limbs or are disfigured.
The Iraq debacle won't be forgotten in a hurry, we were told that it was all about weapons of mass destruction, when none were found Blair trumpeted it was about getting rid of Saddam, ask any Iraqi now and they will say that they were better off under him.
Afghanistan was the most predictable farce of all. Excuses for were a) breaking up terrorist training camps. b) stop the flow of heroin. C) get rid of the taleban. d) bring democracy to Afghanistan.
Failure on all 4 counts.
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,658
If I have understood the situation with the Islamic extremists correctly the majority of the problem is because we interfered in their country and their politics.
It is time we stopped backing the USA and their desire to fight whoever their warmongering leaders pick next.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
You must get ready for war before you get in to one, waiting till you are in one is to late ,and also if they see you are ready that might stop one from happing in the first place.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
howard mcsweeney1 wrote:Who is paying for it all Barry?
Wages down in real terms £1600 on average per person.
Public sector wages frozen.
Benefits Frozen.
A million people using food banks.
Public services cut to the bone.
The office of budget responsibility says that we are not even halfway with public spending cuts.
The price would be a lot higher if spending cuts were not made. Look at France. There is no easy way out the crisis created by Brown and his like. Statements such as your add nothing to the debate. You cannot change the laws of mathematics and endless wringing of hands about what has to be done will not help anyone.
By the way, public services are not cut to the bone and not only can be cut further, whole functions of the State could be done away with. Benefits remain too high as well and the public sector did not suffer the pay cuts felt in the private sector early in the crisis so no sympathy there either. Thankfully the malign influence of the Unions is not present in most of the private sector these days so a flexible approach to wages saved millions of jobs.
As for food banks - I am not totally convinced of the figures for that at all, or even whether all those using them them are really 'needy'... photos of people using smart phone while getting food from food banks is evidence of that.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Jan Higgins wrote:If I have understood the situation with the Islamic extremists correctly the majority of the problem is because we interfered in their country and their politics.
It is time we stopped backing the USA and their desire to fight whoever their warmongering leaders pick next.
No, not at all. These extremists are at war with western culture and freedom trying to spread their extremist interpretatiion of Islam by force and terror.
You need only to look at where their terror has struck to see they are not restricting their activities against those who you term as 'interfering in their countries'. What did Bali ever do to them? Or Sweden. So do not fool yourself into thinking it is our fault that these fanatics are doing what they are.
Your anti-Americanism plays rigth into the hands of these terrorists as well, they would love to drive a wedge between the countries whose democratic values they hate so much.
Appeasement and not acting against these monsters will not work now any more than it worked against Hitler.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
barry,you forget that the yanks are paranoid about every thing.
benefits should not be cut espesily for the elderly penioners and the disabled.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
The talk of further austerity has given the reds a surprise poll boost over the blues with UKIP and the yellows neck and neck in 3rd place.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/dec/17/labour-five-point-poll-lead-toriesGuest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
UKIP is losing ground sorry to say but down to some of the members who are far to the right being in leading posts.