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In an attempt to counter Labour’s pledge to freeze energy bills, Mr Cameron insisted the single biggest threat to the cost of living is the budget deficit and debts getting ‘out of control again’ under a government led by Ed Miliband.
‘There are some people who seem to think that the way you reduce the cost of living in this country is for the state to spend more and more taxpayers’ money,’ Mr Cameron said.
‘It’s as if somehow you measure the compassion of the government by the amount of other people’s money it can spend. At a time when family budgets are tight, it is really worth remembering that this spending comes out of the pockets of the same taxpayers whose living standards we want to see improve.’
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‘It also means something more profound. It means building a leaner, more efficient state. We need to do more with less. Not just now, but permanently.’
Mr Cameron said there was growing evidence that public services could be maintained or improved as budgets are reduced. ‘There are 40 per cent fewer people working in the Department for Education - but over 3,000 more free schools and academies, with more children doing tougher subjects than ever before,’ he added.
this is the point he is trying to make, stop spending other people's money.
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
What a **** - PMs job is to lead the country to prosperity, not austerity!!!
The Germans, who you hold up as a model, have led Europe into a 30s style depression. And not only that, the success of Germany as a whole is based on holding down the wages of the manufacturing class.
Austerity my arse! Austerity is what happens in Greece, Spain, Portugal.
We've had it soft here.
Cameron may appear vapid but he is an ideologue and it has been interesting for comparison to see Major, the pragmatist pop up recently.
I think Cameron looks over the Atlantic and sees a vision of a state where public services can be run into the ground and the poor left to subsist on food stamps and charity. We've already lost 1/3 of libraries in the county, which were replaced by a mobile library service. Cuts to the replacement mobile library service are now out for consultation as further cuts in spending are required.
In the first episode of "Person of Interest", the two chaps are walking through an empty building.
"What is this building?" says one.
"It's the end of Western Civilisation" says the other.
"It used to be a public library until they closed it".
Truer words rarely spoken.
There's a lovely little irony that the Mail said Ralph Milliband hated Britain because he was against British institutions such as the military, the monarchy and the church (I paraphrase). Presumably by that logic, people who are against British institutions such as libraries and the welfare state also hate Britain.
The Germans, who you hold up as a model, have led Europe into a 30s style depression. And not only that, the success of Germany as a whole is based on holding down the wages of the manufacturing class.
Austerity my arse! Austerity is what happens in Greece, Spain, Portugal.
We've had it soft here.
That is certainly part of the success, but they also hold down the cost of living through mechanisms such as more secure tenancies for housing.
And of course more recently by mercantilism through locking into the Euro at a low DM / Euro exchange rate.
There's a lovely little irony that the Mail said Ralph Milliband hated Britain because he was against British institutions such as the military, the monarchy and the church (I paraphrase). Presumably by that logic, people who are against British institutions such as libraries and the welfare state also hate Britain.
You have written 'the Mail' and 'logic' in the same post. I think you need counselling.
And what exactly is wrong with an "ad hominem" argument? Dodgy Agent, 16-5-2014
Cameron may appear vapid but he is an ideologue and it has been interesting for comparison to see Major, the pragmatist pop up recently.
I think Cameron looks over the Atlantic and sees a vision of a state where public services can be run into the ground and the poor left to subsist on food stamps and charity. We've already lost 1/3 of libraries in the county, which were replaced by a mobile library service. Cuts to the replacement mobile library service are now out for consultation as further cuts in spending are required.
Hmmm. Let's put ideology aside for a while.
Judging by most European countries' debt-to-GDP ratios and low growth rates, combined with demographic problems, it seems that the post-war welfare state as we know it may not be affordable any more. Most rich countries seem to be postponing the problem by borrowing to sustain their lifestyles, but there's no guarantee that future economic growth will solve the problems of high debt now.
As an example it seems to me the NHS is not fit for purpose any more and can only get worse as demand increasingly continues to exceed supply.
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