The Budget

[Admiral Huddy]

All I ask for return for not having the benefits and being a higher rate tax payer is that those that play the system are stopped and are forced to pay back in.

[Desmo]

It's certainly a bloody big can of worms and there's certainly no easy answer to it. The problem is there are a LOT of people out there who ARE just playing the system. How do you stop that?

[Kitten]

Originally Posted by Admiral Huddy

All I ask for return for not having the benefits and being a higher rate tax payer is that those that play the system are stopped and are forced to pay back in.

Well as I am in that situation already (i.e. with no benefits or credits at all yet paying a fair whack into the tax system) can I ask how you suggest we do that?

[Stan_Lite]

Having been a recipient of unemployment benefit in the late eighties - thanks to the nice Mrs Thatcher and the last Tory government (I can assure you, I didn't struggle for six months on the paltry amount given to me out of choice), I have absolutely no issue helping provide for people who find themselves in a similar position now that I'm earning good money (and paying a not inconsiderable amount of income tax).

I don't think there's a single person who pays income tax who wouldn't like to see the cheats and layabouts stopped and benefits only go to those who genuinely need them. Unfortunately, there are a lot of dishonest and/or lazy people around and the cost of policing the system properly would be prohibitively high.

I don't have the solution so I'm not going to whinge about it. I'll just quietly hope that someone finds a way to make the system fairer and applaud them if they do. I won't criticise the government or the benefits agency - the problem isn't of their making, the blame lies with the people who take advantage.

[Von Smallhausen]

Public sector workers have to take a thrashing just as the private sector have and a public sector pay freeze is not unreasonable.

My issue is that while funding is going to be cut, and here I make reference to the police, we have been cutting the budget for the last 5 years to the tune of 10 million and just been told to trim another 1.4 million off the budget. There is not a lot left to cut.

We are over 200 officers down since 3 years ago, support staff are being cut to the bone and there is a point where front line policing is affected.

In my humble opinion were are top heavy with Chief Superintendents and Superintendents but they seem to be a protected rank.

[jmc41]

Management always gets protected, our IT team is being moved offshore and I haven't seen any sign of the Directors moving, at least one of the lower minions - probably the best technical person they have is out though.

When we where due to lose about 10 people, out of say 60, none were management. (And about 10 were management!)

[Will]

Originally Posted by Von Smallhausen

Public sector workers have to take a thrashing just as the private sector have and a public sector pay freeze is not unreasonable.

My issue is that while funding is going to be cut, and here I make reference to the police, we have been cutting the budget for the last 5 years to the tune of 10 million and just been told to trim another 1.4 million off the budget. There is not a lot left to cut.

We are over 200 officers down since 3 years ago, support staff are being cut to the bone and there is a point where front line policing is affected.

In my humble opinion were are top heavy with Chief Superintendents and Superintendents but they seem to be a protected rank.

Too many chiefs not enough indians. It's a common problem in corporations these days :/

[Kitten]

Now I know this is the daily fail, but this is the kind of situation I was referring to in terms of Working Tax Credit and other 'family' benefits. And this is by no means an exception, as far as I understand (from people I work with who do very similar things, which are all legal, such as pay themseves lowest wage then claim MASSIVE dividends). This is NOT the people who need extra funding, but who can claim for it and inho, this should be stopped.

clickety click

[Pheebs]

The Public Sector cuts... is getting my goat. Okay if there has to be cuts then so be it but where are they taking them from!?!?!?!

How many screwballs do they need with their own private parking spot and expensive travel costs and lunches to discuss matters such as seating plan lay outs and who next to chop out of the game... take one of them out and we might be able to fund some of the critical units and keep on the DC's we need. We NEED the frontline staff. It's driving me insane seeing it fall apart all under the feet of incapable morons.

You know what really got me going? When one of these muppets called in two members of staff, sat them down, and told them that they're making job cuts. No **** Sherlock. They then say "We're going to have to lose one of you... and we've decided to put it down to both of you who would prefer to leave and stay".

My blood boiled. Here chaps, this is the position, we don't have the balls to chose, go fight it out yourselves. Both of them have refused to make a decision to the tea drinking biscuit dunking moron who has been on countless holidays to the Caribbean and other exotic locations for the past few months. All this person does is run about chasing after statistics, which is a stupid STUPID task to do with our unit - we're not a standard district unit - we cannot be statistically focused - we need focus on what we're actually doing. We mightn't get anything for months but hell, look at the work that's put in to it and the outcome. THAT'S what's important. Not how many fricken detections we've got.

MORONS. MOOOOOOROOONS.

FFS.

It's ridiculous. Absolutely ludicrous. As for HR - they need to get a grip of themselves and stop dishing out jobs to people and then a day before they start say "Oooh... sorry it's being reviewed" when they were aware of this weeks back. Absolute morons, stop messing with peoples lives.

WHY do they need managers to manage more managers and above?! It's crazy. Absolutely crazy. They also have a whole unit of muppets who analyse figures from a system which, in essence, is the biggest pile of **** in the world. Whatever stats get pulled off them are unnecessary, unreliable and do bugger nothing to reflect any of the good work that's being done. WHY DO WE NEED THIS TEAM!?! Throw them - bosh those out the windows - don't take away DC's and PC's roles. They aren't reducing crime, they're not providing support to the public, they're just boshing out unreliable statistics.

I know I'm talking about people here and about "boshing" them out of a job but to put things in perspective I don't have one come November. I'm bottom rung in my Office and although I process so much of the rubbish they have to do and alleviate worries and stress for DC's... I know I'm not worth staying. I would cut me if I had to cut people. It makes sense. Yeh it means I'm royally screwed but hey, that's life, I'll find something.

Bah.

Makes me angry. Can you tell?!

/rant

[Kitten]

Very interesting article from the independent:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion...n-2112069.html