Welfre Reforms - Biased Reporting By The Bbc

[dave50]

Watching the BBC 6-o'clock news last night you could have been mistaken for thinking that the government was planning to make huge cuts in all welfare payments and everyone will starve and die of the cold, when in actual fact they simply won't be increased as much as inflation over the next three years ie rising by 1%. It was the most blatent piece of scaremongering I have ever seen on the BBC news.

[jackthehat]

Happy New Year, dave.

[Mamyalynne]

By what percentage will outgoings rise by ??

[Mamyalynne]

Oh and Happy New Year x

[bazwillrun]

what do you expect from The Blatantly Biased Corporation

[sandyRoe]

Are the BBC wrong to highlight the fact that the poorest people in our society are going to suffer a reduction, in real terms, in their income over the next three years?
Contrary to what some sections of the press would have you believe people on benefits aren't living on the fat of the land.

[emmie]

it was, but many won't see it that way.

[Ric.ror]

I agree with Sandy

[Gromit]

A 1% rise. When inflation is forecast to be 3.5% sounds like a lot of people will be worse off. And energy prices which are hard to avoid other than to freeze are rising more than that.
I saw the six o clock news and they said the poor would be worse off, I do not remember anything about people dying.

[dave50]

Everyone on here who does not agree with any spending cuts please suggest an alternative.

[Gromit]

Cancel Trident - Save £80billion.

[emmie]

cancel christmas, will save everyone a kings ransom

[GetOverIt]

I always find the BBC a bit too understanding of Government policy. I've always found ITV news to give a fairer view of the other side of the argument.

[chrisgel]

Cancel foreign aid. 2.5 Billion pounds per year currently. That should help.

[emmie]

yes ^^

[LazyGun]

Really? a BBC report actually stated, on camera, to an audience, that as a consequence of the proposed cap on rises to the benefit payments, "everyone will starve and die of cold"?

You are absolutely right - if they did say that, then that it blatant bias and should be reported immediately.

Of course, you are not right - just a massive over-exaggeration on your part.

Any respectable news organisation should report on both the proposals and the likely consequences to some of those most affected. Thats called balance.

[jake-the-peg]

Cancel HS2 and save £65 billion

Oh Dave here's a novel idea - spend more money getting businesses up and running so they employ people.

Then you don't pay as much benefit and you get greater tax revenues from business rates, income tax, corporation tax (assuming they pay any!).


Hold on to your hats for the big shock -- !

Despite what Margaret Thatcher might have told you the economy of a country is *not* like a housewife balancing a household income!

Investing in the right places creates growth

Growth brings you income and cuts your costs

Growth promotes confidence which means that businesses invest more which promotes further growth


This government has slashed its spending and 3 guesses what has happened to growth and confidence?

[emmie]

cancel that train link perhaps, or have it go to a better station link up, Euston won't be the right place, if you see the level of destruction and disruption for all the people who live in and around the area. One suggestion was Stratford, which in my humble opinion would be better.
There was a young man on the BBC News who said that the 1percent cap will lead to people starving or words to that effect, i forget where he was from, perhaps will try and find the link, piece.

[VHG]

>>>the poorest people in our society are going to suffer a reduction, in real terms, in their income over the next three years?

But so are people in work as well.

My son has had no pay rise for 2 years, but when he went back to work after Xmas his bus fare had gone up.

People on benefits have seen a 5% rise in benefits over the last 3 years when peoples pay has not gone up by anything like that amount (some have gone down).

Why should people in work pay more and more tax to pay for people's benefits who dont go to work.

[New Judge]

Quite right, VHG. People in work are bearing the brunt of the recession, not people on benefits. This is a fact the BBC conveniently overlooks. They also overlook that people on benefits have their income adjusted as soon as their circumstances change. "Had another child? Don't worry have some more child benefit and a bigger house". I wonder how your son would get on if he tried that on with his boss.

"This government has slashed its spending "

Er..... where exactly? Without getting too bogged down, a few overall numbers:

Total Spending 2012-13: £676bn. 2013-14: £715bn. 2014-15: £728bn

Numbers for spending on health: £126bn; £130bn; £133bn
Pensions: £138bn; £144bn; £149bn
Education: £97; £99bn; £102bn
Welfare: £116bn; £114bn; £115bn

Not quite keeping pace with inflation (then neither are wages) but hardly “slash and burn” territory.

Here’s a few suggestions from me:

1. Leave the EU (net contributions 2011-12 £7.7bn). (Please don’t suggest that all trade with the remaining EU nations would cease because it would not).

2. Cut social security payments by 2% (£3.5bn on 2011-12 figures). (Please don’t suggest that there will be people dying in the gutter because there would not).

3. Cut the Education budget by 5%. (Easily achievable by reducing the numbers of pupils (currently 13%) identified as having “special educational needs” and stopping such things as sending taxis round to get them to school in the morning). (£5bn)

4. Cut Overseas Aid entirely (forecast at £9.1bn for 2013-14)

5. Cut NHS funding by 5% (easily achievable by culling hospital management, reducing Gps’ salary to pre-2009 levels - adjusted for inflation since then - and reversing a few PFI contracts) (£5bn)

6. Abolishing the Department for Energy and Climate Change (£1.1bn)

7. Abolish separate grants to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by reversing devolution and subsuming the payments into general expenditure for the UK (the grants totalled £47bn in 2011-12 and could probably be halved) (£23bn).

And to show it’s not all about cuts:

8. Increase the Defence budget by 20% (+£8bn)

9. Increase the Justice Dept budget by 10% (+£9bn)

There! £37.4bn saved and a bit of common sense restored to public spending. Yes it would be difficult. But we live in difficult times.