Example of the effect of Government budget balancing

I am sorry if this seems very parochial of me, but I have lived in Gloucestershire for probably longer than anywhere else & so like to keep in touch. Also I think it demonstrates the reality of what happens to ordinary people because of Government actions & decisions. The story is..

Cuts force Gloucestershire council to axe 1,000 jobs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gl ... e-11737605

The local authority are cutting 108M GDP from their budget, but it is the means by how they are doing it that interests me..

selling off unused properties

What the hell are they doing with unused properties?? Why were they not sold when building prices were going through the roof, but left unused until there is a slump, the value has decreased & finding a buyer will be hard.

Up to 1,000 jobs are set to go.....equated to one in six staff and about a third would be senior managers

If they can be done without why the hell were they employed in the first place?? Senior managers are not lightly paid & the pension rights of council staff is a thing of envy to non council employees.

Library services are to be shaken up with 11 being turned into express facilities and a further 11 being offered to local communities to run for peppercorn rents.

I believe that the entire Library service in England needs a serious overall. It is a service for a past age & times have moved on. Libraries are usually old, large & centrally located so highly expensive to maintain but desirable real estate. Maybe the Library of the future is a small computer based office in the Council buildings, with books being delivered direct to home, or electronically from a central location. E-Books & audio books are available in profusion on the web, maybe the future library should just be an easily understood portal to obtaining them...
Just a few thoughts....
The sad news is that I doubt if any of the 1,000 odd staff that are laid off have much hope of ever gaining an equivalent position in Gloucestershire. Like most of the UK low paid jobs in retail or Health Care abound a manufacturing opportunity will find 100s applying for it...

Bobhelm - this may be a bit off topic, but ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the Oz version o BEEB) has a comedy show called "The Librarians" (you can probably view via ABC online) - in case, it is very funny and is premised on some of your gripes above.

I will have a look when I have a few minutes ronan - have the channel via cable, but I think the Asian version is a bit selective about what shows it puts on...

On the 'Main Stage' of Fiscal balancing the Government has introduced proposals into Parliament (in the form of a 'White Paper') on how it wishes to amend the Welfare Benefits system. They have called it

The biggest welfare shake-up since the 1940s

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11728546

I don't think many people will disagree that it certainly needs reform. Anyone trying to claim benefits has a whole raft of different items that they may, or may not, be entitled to. Although I doubt that 'ease of claim' is the thought uppermost in their minds. The Government claims that no one will face a reduction in the benefits that they receive, which sounds a little suspicious to me as the aim of the game is reduced expenditure.
As Mr Duncan Smith made great play of talking about the new system being internet based & that 'face to face' interviews would be the exception, so maybe staff in the Benefits Service should be the primary ones concerned about cuts..
It is going to cost an estimated £2bn to implement over the next four years, so is not cheap. However the Government claim that £5.2bn a year is wrongly paid out as a result of fraud and error. The fraud bit is a guess - if they knew it was fraud they would prosecute, but I can well believe the error bit - which is disgraceful & heads should certainly roll, if true.
In fairness the main thrust of the legislation seems to be making it easier for people to ease back into work & off benefits by making that a financially attractive thing to do. I can only wish them all the best in achieving that, for certain!!
Bit more detail about the proposed changes here...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11735673
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11734972

Another interesting piece from the beeb about where the money is currently being spent & what actions are being taken to reduce the spending on the welfare system.

Guide to most costly UK benefits

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11466178