the Austerity Con or Con

[Beef Oven]

qed

Good. Now you are being quiet.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You would think the public sector were enemies of the staten if you listen to the barrage of untruths hurled around by the Coalition.

[amateur51]

My memory tells me that the misbehaviour of the banks were principally to blame for the austerity measures being implemented in UK. They have been punished with fines. You might have thought then then any income accruing from this punishment of the banks would be applied (with some imagination) to avoiding some of this austerity.

But hold! What's this?

A memorial wall bearing the names of troops who lost their lives in Afghanistan will be built in Britain using money from banking fines, the Prime Minister announces.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10149985/Afghanistan-memorial-wall-to-be-paid-for-by-banking-fines-says-Cameron.html

"More than £300,000 worth of fines from the Libor scandal will be used to construct a sandstone memorial at the national arboretum in Staffordshire.

A further £3.5million will be spent on other charitable projects including support for military families and programmes providing mental health support the veterans.

A memorial wall at Camp Bastion will be dismantled and the materials used to build the new wall.

Speaking in Camp Bastion during an official visit, Mr Cameron said: "I think Armed Forces Day is just an opportunity to say a very big thank you but also to say how proud we are of our armed forces."

So it's being used as a vanity project for the Prime Minister, a PR effort to try to buy off his critics while still not acknowledging the feelings of those who regret deeply the last ten years in Afghanistan and the Chancellor Osborne's bungling attempts to get the economy back into growth. "We're all is this together" - yeah right, Dave

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But it would be political suicide for the Coalition to admit the financial crisis was caused by the gambling bankers, rather than "the previous government".

[Flosshilde]

A further £3.5million will be spent on other charitable projects including support for military families and programmes providing mental health support the veterans.

Shouldn't that come from the War Office budget?

[amateur51]

Shouldn't that come from the War Office budget?

Or even the NHS budget but I agree Flossie. Cameron's just frittering this money away on things to make him look good. I think it's good that we should want to support traumatised veterans but why do they get their own special budget that appears to extend beyond the one the rest of us have to watch shrinking as a result of 'austerity'.

[teamsaint]

Ed Balls, man of the people speaks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/spending-review/10147221/Labour-must-face-up-to-difficult-decisions-on-reducing-the-welfare-bill-admits-Ed-Balls.html

Anybody want to play " Spot the logical inconsistency?"
Actually lets not bother, it's too easy.

[Serial_Apologist]

Ed Balls, man of the people speaks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/spending-review/10147221/Labour-must-face-up-to-difficult-decisions-on-reducing-the-welfare-bill-admits-Ed-Balls.html

Anybody want to play " Spot the logical inconsistency?"
Actually lets not bother, it's too easy.

Balls is diving from a very high board into a kiddies' inflatable splash pool, just like stereotyped pensioner in the Wonga ad he refers to. What with the Stalinist shenanigans over the Falkirk selection procedures, and new new Labour's support for HS2 and Trident, I can't see voters rightly envisaging any difference between the three main contending parties for the next election. It's no good the ostensible Labour supporter from the three "experts" on the Politics Show pointing out Tory inner differences over Europe. The Libs will concede away their differences with the Tories on Trident to book themselves into the next coalition.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My memory tells me that the misbehaviour of the banks were principally to blame for the austerity measures being implemented in UK. They have been punished with fines. You might have thought then then any income accruing from this punishment of the banks would be applied (with some imagination) to avoiding some of this austerity.

But hold! What's this?

A memorial wall bearing the names of troops who lost their lives in Afghanistan will be built in Britain using money from banking fines, the Prime Minister announces.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10149985/Afghanistan-memorial-wall-to-be-paid-for-by-banking-fines-says-Cameron.html

"More than £300,000 worth of fines from the Libor scandal will be used to construct a sandstone memorial at the national arboretum in Staffordshire.

A further £3.5million will be spent on other charitable projects including support for military families and programmes providing mental health support the veterans.

A memorial wall at Camp Bastion will be dismantled and the materials used to build the new wall.

Speaking in Camp Bastion during an official visit, Mr Cameron said: "I think Armed Forces Day is just an opportunity to say a very big thank you but also to say how proud we are of our armed forces."

So it's being used as a vanity project for the Prime Minister, a PR effort to try to buy off his critics while still not acknowledging the feelings of those who regret deeply the last ten years in Afghanistan and the Chancellor Osborne's bungling attempts to get the economy back into growth. "We're all is this together" - yeah right, Dave

This exactly the same as the government spending the funds from the Royal Mail Pension Scheme after taking it over, on pet projects. Then they have the brass neck to attempt the pull the wool over our eyes with their deceptions over various public sector pension schemes.

[Flosshilde]

Ed Balls, man of the people speaks.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...-Ed-Balls.html

" Mr Balls replied: “We’d supported when we were in government a three-day wait, so the principle of a wait is fine. If this is a blank cheque to Wonga and other payday loan companies, that would be a very bad thing. If it’s a sensible way to focus on job search, it might not be.”

"If"? Can there be any doubt ?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

time for a positive approach, or the despair will kill us all ...

i like this framing of the issues, it is common sense pragmatism, non ideological and actually more supported by evidence from the real world than owt else ... shame about the 'middle out' tag though

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

on the other hand the con goes on .... warning reading this will seriously depress your mood

[amateur51]

on the other hand the con goes on .... warning reading this will seriously depress your mood

Grim reading indeed but I like his analytical style. I coped rather well with his book "23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism" too. We're fortunate to have Ha-Joon Chang and Will Hutton (and others) keeping their eyes on Osborne's spinning.

Many thanks once more for posting a vital link, Calum

[eighthobstruction]

I'm sure on the jobs front that a great many of the jobs being created in fiscal sector are in fact jobs that are putting right the sins of the past....like mis-sold PPI, Insurance, morgages, financial poackages etc etc etc ....just this week I got £128 back from Swinton Insurance because they mis-sold car hire on my car policy....at a rough guess off the top of my head I'd say there are 100,000 people employed putting these wrongs to right....

Speed read CON article....Yuck!! Hmmmm....Please Entity in Sky that does not exist....give me strength....and a glass of water to take this bile from my mouth....

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

it's a con innit

as in con