Britain's new govt to cut 500k public sector jobs, closing WWII bases, more

[yllus]

What can really said but about time and other nations in fiscal trouble should follow suit?

Lessons from David Cameron

[The] British Conservatives in their sell-out coalition with the Liberals have unveiled budget cuts on a scale to overawe Ronald Reagan and dazzle Margaret Thatcher.

Some 490,000 government jobs will be cut.

The qualification age for a government pension will rise to 66.

Benefits for workers claiming to be too sick to work will be time-limited.

Local governments will have to cut their budgets by 7.1 percent each year for the next four years.

Public-sector workers will have to contribute more of their earnings to their pension plans.

The social housing budget will be cut by 60 percent.

Families earning more than the average income will lose their weekly cash child benefit.

Fade Britannia

Britain’s plans to build new submarines to carry its nuclear strike force of 160 missiles has been delayed until 2016 at the earliest (after the next election, in other words) and it will reduce its stockpile of nuclear warheads to 120, a cut of 25%.

...

The Royal Navy and the RAF are both losing 5,000 men. The planned purchase of F-35 fighters will be cut from almost 140 to just 38 (other sources say 50, but that’s still a deep cut). RAF refuelling and reconnaissance capabilities will be trimmed.

The Navy will see its flagship aircraft carrier retired within months, and while two new carriers will be built, one will be immediately mothballed and put in reserve, leaving Britain with one modern carrier.

There are similar cuts planned for the Army, which will lose 7,000 soldiers, 40% of its tanks and over a third of its heavy artillery. According to British press coverage, this will effectively reduce the deployable combat power of the Army by one-sixth.

There will be non-tactical effects as well, including 25,000 civilian jobs being axed and the planned closure of as-yet unidentified military bases, which will obviously devastate local communities.

Foreign Policy: Goodbye To Britain's Defense Budget

Cameron said there would be no impact on the funding for forces fighting in Afghanistan, but he did go on to announce significant cuts in military capability. There will be manpower cuts in the Army, Navy, and Air Force totaling 17,000 personnel.

The 20,000 British troops still based in Germany 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union will be brought home and the Army will have fewer heavy tanks and artillery.

 

[GoPackGo]

It will make it that much easier for the Russians and Chinese to take over.

 

[theeedude]

So we should cut defense spending too? Or is that a sacred cow?

 

[bamacre]

So we should cut defense spending too? Or is that a sacred cow?

Sacred cow for both parties.

 

[Schadenfroh]

I wonder how long it will be before we gut social welfare, government jobs, defense, etc.

So we should cut defense spending too? Or is that a sacred cow?

Obama would disagree.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3965202

The president unveiled a federal budget for 2010 that would increase defense spending to $533.7 billion. This year the military is receiving $513.3. The difference is a 4 percent increase, the White House said Feb. 26.

 

[lord_emperor]

So we should cut defense spending too? Or is that a sacred cow?

Reduce nuclear missile counts to enough to kill all life on earth just one time, rather than five times over.

 

[Pocatello]

The U.S should do the same. There is no sacred cow until we balance the budget.

 

[Balt]

Ouch.

 

[PeshakJang]

Reduce nuclear missile counts to enough to kill all life on earth just one time, rather than five times over.

We should nuke the moon... I don't trust it up there...

 

[bamacre]

I wonder how long it will be before we gut social welfare, government jobs, defense, etc.

We'll wait until it is too late. As the former head of the GAO said, years ago, we suffer from a "fiscal cancer." The Bush administration ignored the warnings, and so far, the Obama administration has, too. Solving our fiscal problems is not politically popular. Unfortunately for us, the market doesn't give a shit about what's politically popular. Unless we make some massive changes, and soon, our future is quite dim.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Those are some savage cuts. I like it.

 

[sandorski]

We should nuke the moon... I don't trust it up there...

It has been trying to drown all life on the coasts for as long as we can measure. One day it may succeed!!!! D:

 

[Rebel44]

We'll wait until it is too late. As the former head of the GAO said, years ago, we suffer from a "fiscal cancer." The Bush administration ignored the warnings, and so far, the Obama administration has, too. Solving our fiscal problems is not politically popular. Unfortunately for us, the market doesn't give a shit about what's politically popular. Unless we make some massive changes, and soon, our future is quite dim.

I agree.

IMO its likely that US debt crisis would be similar to greece, where things went from OK status to OMG_WE_ARE_DOOMED!!!! in less than 1 year.

Real problem is that unlike Greece, US economy is too big to be rescued.

/note to myself: buy another AR-15 and ton of ammo/

 

[Ns1]

We'll wait until it is too late. As the former head of the GAO said, years ago, we suffer from a "fiscal cancer." The Bush administration ignored the warnings, and so far, the Obama administration has, too. Solving our fiscal problems is not politically popular. Unfortunately for us, the market doesn't give a shit about what's politically popular. Unless we make some massive changes, and soon, our future is quite dim.

this.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Excelente! The time is almost here.

Las malvinas so Argentinas, gracias ingleses! jajajajajaja

 

[Nebor]

Wow. Those are huge cuts to the British military. I'm surprised they're cutting the Army so deeply, with so many of their soldiers deployed to Afghanistan. I'm also surprised the royal gurkha rifles regiment has managed to escape the axe. With it's Nepalese soldiers getting the same benefits of a native UK soldier, it's a hard pill to swallow to lay off British soldiers and keep the Nepalese on board.

 

[Infohawk]

Wait for it...

 

[SamurAchzar]

Wow. Those are huge cuts to the British military. I'm surprised they're cutting the Army so deeply

Sure they do. With the reluctance of most Western nations to apply force - any force, and with US putting the (ungrateful) Western world under its wing, no wonder they can cut down on military spending. It's not that they expect US "to come to their rescue" as much as the US military presence around the world creates a very safe world for them, a world where they never need to militarily confront any hostile forces.

Basically, American tax payers, the joke's on you; while you were complaining about the pittance that is given to Israel, you created a safe haven for half the planet at your expense, with your personnel. NATO is a joke, it's like a bunch of flies riding on the American elephant. Even when US demanded military intervention from its allied nations in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was mostly for political reasons (make the war seem like more than an American-only retribution).

Not to mention that NATO has long ago ceased functioning - I just don't see Turkey going to a war with China over American interests, for example. Dissolve NATO, let all these countries defend themselves. If nothing else, it's a great way to promote the sales of US military hardware.

To put things into perspective: