The scandal of the squandered billions

[Gemini]

Perhaps this goes some way in demonstrating, just where the Tax Payers
money goes, a b****y disgrace! we are trying to get a new school for
our kids, without loosing precious assetts, meanwhile this Labour government are literally p*****g it up the proverbial wall.



"Welcome to the world of waste. You are about to enter a twilight zone of crazy spending, political correctness, utter incompetence, and fantastic jollies, all funded by the British taxpayer.

In this 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 £81 billion of waste.

- In 1997, the Government plundered £2 billion per week from its people. In 2004-05, the figure was £4.8 billion.
- 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- 459 books were withdrawn from the EU's Luxembourg library last year.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.

These are just a few of the alarming facts and figures revealed in The Bumper Book of Government Waste. If you wasted your family's money on this scale, you would probably be locked up. Why should the Government get away with it?

Chapter headings for The Bumper Book of Government WasteSECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION TO GOVERNMENT WASTE
Introduction
A Brief History of Taxation
A Brief History of Waste
When Mandarin Meets Minister
How the Government Spends Your Money

SECTION TWO - DEPARTMENTAL WASTE
Department for Constitutional Affairs
Home Office
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department of Health
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Department for Transport
Department for Education and Skills
Department for Trade and Industry
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Treasury
Department for Work and Pensions
Department for International Development
Ministry of Defence
Office of Deputy Prime Minister

SECTION THREE - BIG PICTURE WASTE
Devolved Government
Local Government
Information Technology
Politicians
Donated Asset Reserve
The Public Sector
Royal Family
The European Union

SECTION FOUR - WASTE AND EXTRAVAGANCE IN PERSPECTIVE
Chris Rock talks taxes
Understanding best taxation
Postcode Lottery
The Flow of History - Tax Freedom Day
Increased Taxes
International Context
Waste Watchdogs
£82,000,000,000 - A Very Big Number
The Case for Lower Taxes"

[Dadaist]

Very interesting.

Thanks Gemini for creating a bit of breathing room where we're free to say the completely obvious - that is that it's the same party in charge at a national, devolved and local level - even if they do all hate each other!

I'm a bit sceptical of some of this though - it seems a bit tory somehow as, for example, it concentrates on overpayment of benefits but doesn't mention tax dodging by the rich as far as I've seen.

The likes of you or I, Gemini, have little chance of getting the school we all want unless a miracle happens - like maybe PFANS and PPAG uniting against the council - more likely there will be a bit of nudge-wink and we'll end up with some sort of complex deal involving Tesco paying the school funding deficit - at least that way the kids will have somewhere close to buy their lunch!

[Dadaist]

With all due respect, Gemini, this lot behind the book you reference are not people I want to be remotely involved with :

http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/

I'll leave you to make up your own mind on them but I think they sound like tories.

[Dadaist]

at least one of their contributors is a tory :

http://concom.blogspot.com/

sorry pal.

[Gemini]

With all due respect, Gemini, this lot behind the book you reference are not people I want to be remotely involved with :

http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/

I'll leave you to make up your own mind on them but I think they sound like tories.

Agree totally Dada, but much of the expenditure is on Labour C**p, e.g £7.500for Cheri's Hair doo's/£500.000 + for Two Jag (oops my afair has been uncovered) John Prescott's campaign bus, and a whopping £2.4m per annum per MEP - what do they do? There is also of course, the illegal war!
In stark contrast, a pensioner friend of mine turned 80 recently, they received 25p per week increase in their pension, only to be sent another letter advising that they had paid her 10p too much!

The Big Gravy Train..... keeps rolling along..........

[Dadaist]

I'm not having anything to do with the tory agenda whether it is or isn't officially attached to the Tory party, Gemini.

I think there will be other sources which deal with Neo Labour waste which don't also carry the insidious evil which your sources would like us to sign up to.

These guys hate all income tax.

[Novastar]

- Quangos cost over £22 billion per year.

I distinctly remember New Labour saying they were going to get rid of all Quangos - they did nothing but slag them for most of the early Ninties (I remember this as I realised future generations wouldn't have a clue what the Blur song was about)

- Ken Livingstone's office now costs £13.9 million to run. His staff includes 58 media and marketing personnel!

technically he's London Mayor and nothing to do with Government but I'm quite happy to hear this

[Pal of Porty]

- The Arts Council spent £77,000 sending a team of artists to the North Pole to make a snowman.

Better value than sending them to the Equator to do it!

[Rex_Mundi]

Yes but did Ian Perry.......