George Osborne has been put in charge of cutting the national deficit, so how hard can it be to knock a few £’s here and there off the budget? Over the next 5 days I will attempt to lop a few billion off the UK’s national deficit. I am not an economist, nor hold any qualifications to allow me to be one. But how hard can it really be?
I will be tackling 5 massive and polarising issues in this series so feedback and debate is welcomed and encouraged!
Tuesday: Scrap International Aid
Wednesday: Withdraw Troops from Conflict
Thursday: Legalise Drugs and Prostitution
Friday: Cut Tax
Saturday: Leave the EU
Brainwave #4 Withdraw Troops from Conflict
Amount Saved: £5 billion per year
£20.3 billion is a huge amount of money. But it’s not the amount NHS Trust managers took out last year in wages, nor is it the amount George Osborne is planning on putting on a litre of petrol in this year’s budget (that would just be ludicrous, even for him). No this figure represents the overall cost to the UK tax payer in being involved with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Huge isn’t it? And the figure would only bloat out even further if we were to add “other” costs, such as rehabilitation, health care and mental health care for returning soldiers.
There is another thing this figure of £20.3 billion misses out as well- the human cost. Over 500 British soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or let’s put it another way, over 500 Mothers have lost their Son or Daughter. Over 500 Fathers have lost their Son or Daughter. Over 500 Daughters have lost their Dad or Mum. Over 500 Sons have lost their Dad or Mum. War and the premature death and loss it brings with it is cruel and painful. And abroad too, their losses must not be forgotten. Up to 106,348 Iraqi civilians have been killed in this conflict. It seems the worst international criminals were in fact the morons who took us into this conflict.
Now I am obviously looking at this issue from a very strong non-interventionist angle. That is mainly because I am a non-interventionist through and through. Let’s suppose though for a moment that I was a fan of Christian nations killing leaders of Islamic nations and I enjoyed the good old fashioned “going to war” tradition. Have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan been a “success”? Well seen as there never really was a plan for Afghanistan, and Iraq’s plan was never really universally understood, it is hard to answer that question. The wars have not helped the most vulnerable citizens in these nations; many are still under the rule of Islamist organisations, threats from Islamic terrorism in the UK and in the west have increased and we have lost hundreds of British citizen’s lives. Success? No.
Total Deficit Cut So Far: £10.2billion (+increased work force, + the end of British soldiers injured and killed)
Please feel free to leave abuse/ constructive criticism/ support, and I hope you get the opportunity to read tomorrow’s deficit busting brainwave #3!
Written for Political Pundits
Strictly speaking I largely agree with this cut, but I'd like to point out that an increased workforce would most definitely not reduce the deficit, since unemployment is already high.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I take your point about an increased workforce.
ReplyDelete