Expose of Government Extravagance
Discussion
From MSN - some truly amazing revelations of waste - waste of our money: (Be prepared for rage mode)...
A new book is published today which lifts the lid on the excesses of political spending. The Bumper Book of Government Waste – The Scandal of the squandered billions by Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham is your guide to a twilight zone of crazy spending, political correctness, utter incompetence, and fantastic jollies, all funded by the British taxpayer.
In the book, the authors have highlighted a myriad of examples of Government waste and useless spending, taken from thousands of examples held on file. The figures have been compiled from independent reports, media coverage and official statistics. Added together, they come to £82 billion of waste.
In 1997, the government plundered £2 billion per week from its people. In 2004-05, the figure was £4.8 billion.
Some examples:
The Arts Council spent £77,000 sending a team of artists to the North Pole to make a snowman.
• Quangos cost over £22 billion per year.
• Local government pension schemes are in deficit to the tune of £27 billion. The taxpayer will fund the difference.
• 459 books were withdrawn from the EU's Luxembourg library last year. The cost to taxpayers was £2,138 per book.
• Ken Livingstone's office now costs £13.9 million to run. His staff includes 58 media and marketing personnel!
• Between 2000 and 2005,one in every two new jobs created was in the public sector, many of them administrative.
• Nottinghamshire tourism bosses spent £120,000 of taxpayers' money rebranding the county with a big 'N'.
• Each European Member of Parliament (MEP) costs £2.4 million per year in salary, expenses, perks and administration.
• In 2005, 20 out of 24 government departments overspent their budgets. The total overspend was £7.1 billion.
A new book is published today which lifts the lid on the excesses of political spending. The Bumper Book of Government Waste – The Scandal of the squandered billions by Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham is your guide to a twilight zone of crazy spending, political correctness, utter incompetence, and fantastic jollies, all funded by the British taxpayer.
In the book, the authors have highlighted a myriad of examples of Government waste and useless spending, taken from thousands of examples held on file. The figures have been compiled from independent reports, media coverage and official statistics. Added together, they come to £82 billion of waste.
In 1997, the government plundered £2 billion per week from its people. In 2004-05, the figure was £4.8 billion.
Some examples:
The Arts Council spent £77,000 sending a team of artists to the North Pole to make a snowman.
• Quangos cost over £22 billion per year.
• Local government pension schemes are in deficit to the tune of £27 billion. The taxpayer will fund the difference.
• 459 books were withdrawn from the EU's Luxembourg library last year. The cost to taxpayers was £2,138 per book.
• Ken Livingstone's office now costs £13.9 million to run. His staff includes 58 media and marketing personnel!
• Between 2000 and 2005,one in every two new jobs created was in the public sector, many of them administrative.
• Nottinghamshire tourism bosses spent £120,000 of taxpayers' money rebranding the county with a big 'N'.
• Each European Member of Parliament (MEP) costs £2.4 million per year in salary, expenses, perks and administration.
• In 2005, 20 out of 24 government departments overspent their budgets. The total overspend was £7.1 billion.
Jaglover said:
Such books give us the answer to the fundamental paradox of our times. How can a government take so much of our money and produce so little to show for it.
Theres not much left when the back scratching and pocket lining is done.
Shocking statistic on weekly income from taxation...
As for the Arts council, they need devolving from tax funds ASAP, they are not only stifling art but they are a blatant waste of hard cash.
-Here's one the new salary for the head of Birmingham City Council £230,000.
Making him more highly paid than either the Prime Minister or Chancellor.
-Most expensive politician in the UK on a per vote basis ( i.e. how many times he has attended and voted on a debate......... George Galloway!
Making him more highly paid than either the Prime Minister or Chancellor.
-Most expensive politician in the UK on a per vote basis ( i.e. how many times he has attended and voted on a debate......... George Galloway!
ZR1cliff said:
Two more to add
£500,000 to prepare a safety film etc to show pensioners on how to put slippers on properly.
£ mega pounds,000 to show white van man how to drive to the goverments style and save fuel(bit of an irony in that one).
Stranger than fiction isn't it, the councils/govt must think they are playing 'brewsters millions' or something.
dont get me started this was on the news last night:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4693120.stm
why is it a gov project can run many many times over budget and noone is accountable??
s me off bigtime.
was talking to a schools consultant last week and she reckons more is spent on consultants for schools than actually spent on schools and teachers etc.
marvellous
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4693120.stm
why is it a gov project can run many many times over budget and noone is accountable??
s me off bigtime. was talking to a schools consultant last week and she reckons more is spent on consultants for schools than actually spent on schools and teachers etc.
marvellous
scorp said:
Two more to add
£500,000 to prepare a safety film etc to show pensioners on how to put slippers on properly.
£ mega pounds,000 to show white van man how to drive to the goverments style and save fuel(bit of an irony in that one).
Stranger than fiction isn't it, the councils/govt must think they are playing 'brewsters millions' or something.
The Councils are the worst culprits,gone are the days when you walked into a place of work,asked the woman on reception what floor for Mr X ,then went and knocked on his door for a two minute enquirey in an office that was moderately furnished to works requirements.
Now its ,walk into to what resembles a plush hotel lobby ,try to get the attention of one of many receptionists with head phones on having an inter-departmentmetal discussion,once youve got their attention its "the ins and outs of a cows backside" to ask why you are there,then your told to sit over there and wait for Mr X's secratary (But i want to see the engine driver
)..... Half an hour later they come down in a lift and take you to a room thats got better furniture that the local "Courts" and its another "ins and outs of a cows backside".
Eventually you are told Mr X will need your attention but is at lunch and you cant see him today because he's going straight into a meeting when he gets back in two hours time.
You leave the building having gained absolutely sod all and now have to walk to a public council paying carpark a mile away because the councils own carpark is stuffed full with countless secrataries cars.
And That Sir/Madam is what is wrong with this country today.
I've read books like this before, nothing surprising in any of it. Public sector wastage has been around as long as there's been a public sector. There is so little accountability in so many areas, so little incentive to prove the worth of departments, schemes, projects etc, that this is always going to happen. Add to that the number of people who see public sector positions as a bit of a doss, the fact that a significant number of senior people in the public sector range from being not very good at their jobs to sheer incompetance and it's to be expected really (apologies to those working in the public sector, I certainly don't mean everyone is incompetent, but you should know what I'm talking about...).
May make for emotive reading for some, but it really isn't anything new.
May make for emotive reading for some, but it really isn't anything new.
james_j said:
• Nottinghamshire tourism bosses spent £120,000 of taxpayers' money rebranding the county with a big 'N'.
That's like when the BBC logo changed from square to rhombuses (rhombi?) (or the other way round (what great vfm that was! I can't even remember the difference!))
Anyway, the point: that cost a fortune and was "our" money frittered away for apparently no benefit whatsoever (save for the salaries of a few ad execs, no doubt).
>> Edited by whatever on Thursday 9th February 13:35
dick dastardly said:
£500,000 to prepare a safety film etc to show pensioners on how to put slippers on properly.
That one just made me laugh out loud. I despair.
Mind you it costs something like £5,000 to fix/replace a broken hip so if 101 pensioners do not have accidents as a result of dodgy fitting slippers then Government has saved £5k
john75 said:
£500,000 to prepare a safety film etc to show pensioners on how to put slippers on properly.
That one just made me laugh out loud. I despair.
Mind you it costs something like £5,000 to fix/replace a broken hip so if 101 pensioners do not have accidents as a result of dodgy fitting slippers then Government has saved £5k
Why not a simple memo to the carers to just show the pensioners how to put them on properly?.
Here in Sheffield the local paper reported of a post in the council that paid £70k. The budget that this particular employee was responsible for was . . . . . £20k!
Brilliant!
Thing is, there will always be this kind of wastage. I accept that so there is no point getting annoyed about it. I know this is not a good attitude but it stops me becoming too stressed and getting on with the important things . . . . . . . like controlling the wifes budget!
Brilliant!
Thing is, there will always be this kind of wastage. I accept that so there is no point getting annoyed about it. I know this is not a good attitude but it stops me becoming too stressed and getting on with the important things . . . . . . . like controlling the wifes budget!
Jaglover said:
Such books give us the answer to the fundamental paradox of our times. How can a government take so much of our money and produce so little to show for it.
too true.
i think its indicative of govt which is now controlled by people who have never had a real job, eg a job where you have to create wealth and turn a profit. if you've never had to be front line, how can you value money? if the extent of getting the money for these jobs is writing it up and making a presentation and then getting the funding - its a far cry from the real world.
and thats whats worrying. these people who spend the money don't understand how hard it is in the real world.
its where the tories and labour fundamentally differ. many tories are successful in their own right, they have payrolls that they have to meet each week, and they understand the value of money and how easy it can be squandered. lawyers, which is what seems to make up the labour party are hired guns, they will say whatever the person paying them says. they have no ability to comprehend the difference they make on peoples lives as they have never held that responsibility.
(i'm not saying that tories dont also include lawyers, and have never squandered a penny in their life - I'm just saying its not as bad as labour)
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