Chuka Ummana just now o.n

[pacharan]

We mustn't bash the unions because they are made up of "Millions of people in the public sector who are wealth creators in this country"

Wealth creators? What's this man on?

[Doggy Styles]

Again?

[pacharan]

Again?

Bit fat fingered this morning DS lol!

[minestrone]

The guy is a vacuous new labour talking machine. You could ask him about cheese and he would have the conversation swung round to spending cuts in 10 seconds. I heard him on the TV a couple of weeks ago referring to Glen Oglaza as Gleno, he thought George Osbourne had a knighthood last year.

[amcdonald]

Like Ed Balls you really want to punch him, he's a really irritating lickspittle

[minestrone]

Ed Balls, would not trust him being the banker on a monopoly game.

[shaunbhoy]

Ed Balls, would not trust him being the banker on a monopoly game.

Exactly. For someone who might be driving Labour's monetary policies, I wouldn't trust him to count his gonads and get the same number twice.

[minestrone]

It is irritating how much time Ed gets on the TV to say absolutely nothing. "I strongly disagree" & "this is sending out a clear message" shyte.

[IR35 Avoider]

On a serious note, there is a common right-wing view (that I used to share) that all wealth is created in the private sector and that the public sector is completely parasitic: it's econonomic output is zero and is paid for by taxes on the private sector.

It only takes a few minutes thinking about what difference it would make if activities like health and education transfer between the sectors to realise this is wrong. A productive doctor's or teacher's economic output does not alternate between 0 and some number roughly equivalent to his pay when the organisation he works for is relocated to the alternate sector. And their taxes do pay for the public spending in exactly the same way that those of private sector workers do.

Of course there are lots of public (and for that matter private) sector workers whose output we would consider of zero value, but that's just our opinion. If someone (including a government or local authority) is willing to pay someone to do something, then, to an economist, what they do is worth what they are paid.

[v8gaz]

And their taxes do pay for the public spending in exactly the same way that those of private sector workers do.

Oh you were almost convincing up until that point. do you need someone to explain how returning some money that originally came from the public purse is not actually contributing? really?