Quote by robert400andkay
Those look similar to the figures on which I based a previous response to a 'Gulson Rant' -
If you look a good half to two thirds of expenditure goes on benefits, and health care. Also being (overly) charitable to the bankers the costs of the various bailouts are small compared to the rest of government expenditure.
I wonder, if Gulsonroad 'wonders what the total cost of unemployment and disability benefits are', why he just doesn't look at the financial reports?
On another point I believe the levels of tax avoidance and evasion in Greece are significantly higher than other EU countries. Also there is a reported fall in unemployment which given the cautions reported at the same time is probably true.
Then there seems to be a whole mixture of spittle laden ranting, containing a mixture of truth, half truth, and some really not so truthful statements. Note to self never leave a beer any where near Gulsonroad at a social if it starts to look like he is going off on one!
Now trying to answer the main point of Gulsonroad's post. Being objective about the 'poor phuckers on sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, disability benefit and any other kind of welfare', the costs are indeed a significant drain on the system. Likewise money saved be reducing the number of fraudulent claims could be a significant boost to the UK economy.
This may well be why the 'Evil public school plutocrats' that are now the current government are looking at Disability benefits? I think the last government tried to do exactly the same thing with Disability benefits. So this benefit has been looked at twice now maybe because of abuse, rather than because 'people from very privileged backgrounds with vast wealth' want to 'dictate to others much less fortunate than themselves'?
as a response to
Quote by gulsonroad30664
i wonder what the total cost of unemployment and disability benefits are ? for that matter add the cost of the n.h.s. and all pensions. i think that you will find that the total pales into insignificance to the bailout of the banks but it's all the fault of your next door neighbour or the immigrants. not to mention the necessary predatory wars to steal natural resources in the name of spreading democracy or humanitarianisn.
the greeks are not tax avoiding lazy phuckers. their puppet government sold out to goldman sachs with creative accounting to join the euro with the full knowledge of the rest of the e.u. bankers and politicians before they joined as did many others.
austerity (for the too small to save) reduces cash in circulation. this in turn reduces demand and therefore employment. lenders not lending as much as is taken back in interest reduces cash in circulation further depressing demand (production and employment).
statistics claiming a fall in unemployment at this time is pure propaganda to keep you in hope and in a trance just like x factor and soaps, it's all make believe.
oh there's global warming caused by mans activity, we gotta reduce our carbon footprint and pay carbon tax. oh no, we gotta avian/swine flu pandemic. we gotta stay indoors and buy loadsa drugs bollox. handy timing for big pharma, they gotta antidote bullshit.
osama bin liner blew up the towers and he's in afghanistan. quick, lets bomb the bastards.
saddam got weapons of mass destruction and can hit cyprus in 45min. quick, lets bomb the bastards.
gaddaffi is bombin his own and handin out viagra. quick, lets bomb the bastard.
assad is shootin his own. quick, lets bomb the bastards.
the iranians gettin nuclear power whilst surrounded by countries with nukes. quick, lets bomb the bastards.......
so, them poor phuckers on sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, disability benefit and any other kind of welfare are draining the system from us hard workin tax payers. lets bomb the bastards and while we are at it, those public sector lazy phuckers on high pensions (that they pay an increased contribution to), lets bomb them phuckers too, that will get the country back on it's feet.
If you look Mr Gulson was curious as to the costs of 'unemployment and disability benefits' but also wished to add in 'cost of the n.h.s. and all pensions'.
I had already made a statement on a previous thread (as was noted in the post on this thread) which I quoted regarding the relative costs albeit this didn't include the above mentioned pension costs.
Besides that Max777 had already posted the figures for both the benefits and health budgets.
The point of the post was to show that the costs of the NHS, and benefits of various kinds do not pale into insignificance compared with the costs of either bailing out the banks, or various wars.
So Staggerlee_BB I'm not quite sure why this post disturbs you? I can find three specific points in your posts which are -
It was this
If you look a good half to two thirds of expenditure goes on benefits, and health care.
and the fact that no-one saw fit to point out that health care hadn't been mentioned and wasn't what was being discussed, that I thought looked suspiciously like an assertion and acceptance of that assertion that the health and benefits budgets were indeed the same thing ... now I'm sure this wasn't the intent of the statement but I'm also sure that there are certain things that NEED to be made clear .... it is the nature of the system that public opinion is changed by tiny steps,one should be careful not to tread that path,even by accident
I did not intend to make this assertion when I made the post. You could read this assertion into the single sentence you extracted. In the context of both my (whole) post, and the thread, this isn't true. You also say that Health care hadn't been mentioned, and yet it had.
And my point was and is that the statement is open to misinterpretation and should be clarified ... as I said tiny steps
Like extracting a single statement, posting it back out of context and saying that it could be misinterpreted?
Oh Max ... does the fact that I apparently misinterpreted the statement not tell you something ???
My point is that in a thread that discusses benefits, where in many cases the validity of those benefits is being questioned to casually and unprompted throw the health budget into the mix also puts that budget under , you will, I'm sure, have noted that I've stated that I'm sure that was not the intent ... nevertheless I do believe clarification was needed
The fact that you misinterpreted the statement tells me a lot! But that aside I did not either unprompted throw into the mix, nor indeed casually question the health budget.
. It would be lovely to declare the income of various bankers and MP's the 'proceeds of crime'. Then round them up, ideally with the retail rioters from last summer, and drop them on a small currently uninhabited island. They could then just get on with it outside the rest of society. 
. 