British government announces unprecedented social cuts: 1 million jobs

[Hannah Bell]

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government’s autumn spending review has introduced the most savage package of public spending cuts ever seen in Britain. Half a million public-sector jobs will be lost as £83 billion, or $128 billion, is cut from the budget. Another half million private-sector jobs will go as a result...

At 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), this is one of the highest deficits among OECD countries and the second highest in Europe, after Ireland...These record levels of debt have put the government under pressure from what the Financial Times dubs “bond vigilantes” — major investors who sell treasury bonds to force governments to slash public spending....

The average level of cuts is 19 percent across all government departments. But some departments will face much deeper reductions. The Home Office...23%...Foreign Office...24%. Local authorities...28%...Universities...40%. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport...41%. The budget for social housing will be cut by 60 percent. Cuts in housing benefit, which allows those with low incomes to rent accommodation, will threaten many tenants with eviction.

The disabled face savage cuts....Senior citizens will be hit... Cuts in local authority spending will hit all disabled and elderly people who depend on council-run services such as transport, day centres, home-based and residential care....The bulk of the cuts will fall on low- and middle-income people.

An estimated 40,000 teachers are expected to lose their jobs...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/oct2010/brit-o21.shtml


Who are these "bond vigilantes" that demand the majority of Europe's population suffer to pay them off? And, I imagine, the population of every country carrying debt? Why do they get to dictate economic policies to governments?

Names, faces, institutions. I read several reports about these "bond vigilantes," but none of them name names. Are they chimeras or do they have addresses?

[Winston Wolf]

1. Kicked...

...and recommended.

[Turborama]

2. K&R "Bond Vigilantes" is perfect & a keeper. The protests in Britain have begun

More details and photos here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4582172

Jesse Jackson addresses the protesters (video): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x517226

[Hannah Bell]

3. Reason I ask about their names is, I have the suspicion they're the same banksters &

financiers who brought us the crash in the first place.

[Billy Burnett]

4. If one paid attention to Cuba during their economic collapse (post USSR) ...

If one paid attention to Cuba during their economic collapse (post USSR), Cubans faced hardships as they had to develop survival mechanisms without many resources to do so. From 1994 to 1998 is referred to as "the special period" in Cuba.

All during this time Cuba continued to build schools and technical trade schools and universities, build clinics and hospitals, trained doctors and teachers to expand their social/survival infrastructures.

Now, Cuba is the only nation to achieve sustainability in the world, according to the WWF, and has world class social stats on healthcare and education - with more teachers per student and Drs per capita than any other nation. Cuba did it with no World Bank or IMF loans!

How did Cubans do this? It is worthy of our attention, instead of the corporate distraction of excoriating all things Cuban.

Learn from Cuba
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/learn.htm

[xchrom]

5. Bad times ahead. Wow. Nt

[maryf]

6. K&R

Damn...

[retread]

7. There they go again. All described here:

http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

[malaise]

8. My only question is how long can this coalition survive

I mean what kind of Lib-Dems could support this crap. And while they're cutting vital services Queenie will still get her money to celebrate 'whichever the fugg jubilee because the circus must go on for the establishment to continue fooling the masses.

[Hannah Bell]

9. my question is, since anyone can see there's going to be a reaction, what kind of

contingency plans do they have?

[Panaconda]

10. So I guess

these people are to just sit idly and just starve to death?

Not likely.

K&R