Ed Balls: Conservatives planning extreme spending cuts

I keep hearing about these savage cuts we've apparently had but in reality we actually haven't had anything remotely like savage cuts.
 
And the conservative way is having one of the most developed countries in the world having people go to food banks as they cant afford to feed themselves.

Changing the NHS so much it is only a matter of time before we all need health insurance. Conservatives are good for two things.

Greed and more greed.

Business is racking it in atm, is this being passed down to peoples pay packets ? No its simply based on inflation is low yay we all have more money. No pay rises apart from those who dont need it.
 
well his allegation of 'massive cuts' is disputed with the Tories claiming it is only half the figure he cites

are they a good thing in general, well yeah we do need to make cuts - I do worry about some cuts re: the NHS and also the privatisation occurring there - but overall, cut away....
 
I'm particularly worried about Defence spending - the smallest army since Oliver Cromwell's time etc. Seems typical British naiveness to think that Putin is going to stop at Ukraine or the Islamic State will implode of its own accord in the next few years.
 
scorza said:
I'm particularly worried about Defence spending - the smallest army since Oliver Cromwell's time etc. Seems typical British naiveness to think that Putin is going to stop at Ukraine or the Islamic State will implode of its own accord in the next few years.
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The military may not have the numbers, but they have the technology and training instead.

Gone are the days when you just send a 1000 men charging at the enemy.

Islamic State and Russia aren't a threat, despite what the headlines say.
 
Longbow said:
The military may not have the numbers, but they have the technology and training instead.
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Guess you've never worked with US forces then and seen their equipment and training. And to top it off they actually get a great deal of respect from their countrymen and heaven forbid you get injured they actually look after you.

We've got this naive jingoistic thing going on. Our military is not what it once was and hasn't been for sometime.

If you ask the average Yank to close their eyes and to imagine US military power it will look like something out of Transformers, ask a Brit and they'll see a few Spitfires flying behind Monty, Waterloo and the Iranian Embassy.
 
Longbow said:
The military may not have the numbers, but they have the technology and training instead.

Gone are the days when you just send a 1000 men charging at the enemy.

Islamic State and Russia aren't a threat, despite what the headlines say.
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As you say, even the threat that they are isn't going to be fought with numbers.
 
Longbow said:
The military may not have the numbers, but they have the technology and training instead.

Gone are the days when you just send a 1000 men charging at the enemy.

Islamic State and Russia aren't a threat, despite what the headlines say.
Click to expand...

Sorry but this sort of thinking is outdated - look what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq, it needed a "surge" in both theatres to actually make some progress. When it comes down to it, how many boots you can put on the ground does matter - Putin understands this perfectly which is why he was able to take Crimea so quickly.
 
Xordium said:
and heaven forbid you get injured they actually look after you.
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If you spend any time on American centric US military forums, or actually read the news, America is horrifically failing veterans and has been for years.

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/5/on_afghan_war_11th_anniversary_vets

And don't even think about the Vietnam veterans...

This is one example that went viral a couple years back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Somers

There are thousands who have taken their own lives since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started and there are tens of thousands who end up homeless, mentally damaged or addicted coming back to civvy street that either end up dead or in the prison system.
 
Xordium said:
And to top it off they actually get a great deal of respect from their countrymen and heaven forbid you get injured they actually look after you.
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The support they get from their countrymen is irrelevant. And the support for US troops who are injured is atrocious.

scorza said:
Sorry but this sort of thinking is outdated - look what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq, it needed a "surge" in both theatres to actually make some progress. When it comes down to it, how many boots you can put on the ground does matter - Putin understands this perfectly which is why he was able to take Crimea so quickly.
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Yeah it's difficult going over to foreign lands and fighting a guerilla war on their turf.

If you're going off fighting wars a thousand miles away, of course the troops will be stretched.
 
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