iamthecreaturefromuranus

http://spendingchallenge.hm-treasury.gov.uk/

Slashing foreign aid seems to be popular.

MartinLuther

Combine tax an benefits into a single system. You should either be getting benefits, paying and receiving nothing, or paying tax. It is stupid that someone on $40k with a family pays x amount in tax and then gets x amount in benefit. Just charge no tax and cut out the middle men shuffling the money from one department to another. There's a whole bunch of people employed with no productive output nor providing support for productive output.

PS: I realise now it's a UK question but the theory still holds.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

It does indeed. It is a UK Gov site, but many of the suggestions on the site would apply equally well to Australia, including yours.

Ditching these sounds a good idea. http://www.tga.gov.au/docs/html/cmec/cmec.htm
Complementay medicines evaluation.

Providing aid to India also seems totally out of place now.

TiddlyPom

For Aus? Solar on everything. We then put into the grid and sell to other countries...

Centurion

Shh with that nonsense. How could people like Origin Electricity earn a billion in profit that way and still have the cheek to send me a letter informing me that my electricity bill has gone up. To pay for the 25c franked dividend to shareholders no doubt...

renth

Hmm, why not buy a load of shares in Origin, that way your dividend is subsidizing your bill. Sounds like a good hedging strategy, what do you reckon?

renth

I agree, most of it goes on subsidising trips to Harrods for the wives of African dictators. I cant believe the UK govt is "ring fencing" international aid. They must be insane.

Amazulu

UK gives India approx GBP1b a year. This is ridiculous considering India has so much money and a strong economy. They have enough to sort out their poverty issues yet refuse to do so. In that case, it's not the UK's problem.

renth

I heard the amount of aid the UK has given India over the last three years is about exactly the same as they have spent on their space program!

Saw a news report this morning about the Pakistani floods, very sad, but this is a country that can afford a nuclear arsenal, why the F**k should we be coughing up to help them?

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Right, that's all aid to India and Pakistan chopped. Next !

Amazulu

Sack 750 000 civil servants.

F**k yeah!

renth

Grant those subsidy junkie countries Scotland and Wales their independence.

Amazulu

Let's see how they manage without the Westminster teat - especially the hard socialist utopia of Scotland.

renth

They'd be going cap in hand to the EU, so England would still be partially subsidising them.

Centurion

And make them pay a toll to come into England. Why not - the Welsh started with the Severn Bridge.

Actually, visas for them would be an earner too. A visa on entry system of 20 quid.

Means test benefits as well and include the value of your satellite dish system, cigarettes that you smoke per annum, burberry collection, staffy pup farming cash income, and of course the value of your car stereo system, wheels and fat exhaust.