I don't think it's an either/or but on balance, I would choose cutting benefits and services. It doesn't seem that we have efficient or effective services and the addition of further taxes wouldn't solve this. Civil servants have no incentive to spend money effectively and use tendering/procurement as they would in the private sector. the ban on promotion means that they get paid no matter how hard they work (or don't). They can't better themselves in that system. We have to engender a sense of personal responsibility and I am sick of paying high taxes (41%+) and having poor public services. No matter how much money is pumped into the health service, it never gets any better. Public transport is 3rd world. Yet salaries of our top civil servants/semi state executives are 1st world. Thanks for asking!
Thanks for your comment, you're right of course, there isn't a binary choice here. The provision of effective public services is something we all want, even those within the services themselves, but when the economy stalls, either public services suffer, or taxes go up, there's really very little choice. Of course efficiencies should be sought--longer working hours, lower pay, redundancies, etc. I'd like to see the top 1% get reduced back down a few pegs in line with everyone else, but in terms of the economy as a whole, that wouldn't help the bottom line much. Really we need a new set of services, with a different structure of remuneration and purposing amongst the people in that system. Not all of the system is broken either, but at heart, yes, things do need to change.
I don't think it's an either/or but on balance, I would choose cutting benefits and services. It doesn't seem that we have efficient or effective services and the addition of further taxes wouldn't solve this. Civil servants have no incentive to spend money effectively and use tendering/procurement as they would in the private sector. the ban on promotion means that they get paid no matter how hard they work (or don't). They can't better themselves in that system. We have to engender a sense of personal responsibility and I am sick of paying high taxes (41%+) and having poor public services. No matter how much money is pumped into the health service, it never gets any better. Public transport is 3rd world. Yet salaries of our top civil servants/semi state executives are 1st world. Thanks for asking!
Hi Rosaleen,
Thanks for your comment, you're right of course, there isn't a binary choice here. The provision of effective public services is something we all want, even those within the services themselves, but when the economy stalls, either public services suffer, or taxes go up, there's really very little choice. Of course efficiencies should be sought--longer working hours, lower pay, redundancies, etc. I'd like to see the top 1% get reduced back down a few pegs in line with everyone else, but in terms of the economy as a whole, that wouldn't help the bottom line much. Really we need a new set of services, with a different structure of remuneration and purposing amongst the people in that system. Not all of the system is broken either, but at heart, yes, things do need to change.
Gah, looks like this poll thing is borked. Cheers to the 70+ people who voted!