For pensioners, as of today. Jolly good, but that's only the start. We need a party committed to a national network of public transport, universally free at the point of use.
Unaffordable? We seem to afford the Iraq War, we seem to afford to bankroll both the devolved and the EU institutions, and we seem to expect to afford the "renewal" of Trident.
Is there such a party? There is.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Except that the war in Iraq and replacement of Trident are both one off costs, and thus funded by one off borrowing, whereas free bus travel for all would be a continuous cost. It's like saying "well I spent £3000 on a plasma TV last year on my credit card, so I should be able to afford an additional £3000 on my food bill / mortgage repayments / petrol costs every year". You'd soon find yourself in trouble if you did that.
ReplyDelete"Except that the war in Iraq and replacement of Trident are both one off costs"
ReplyDeleteReally? When do these one-offs end, then?
If Jon seriously believes that either Iraq or Son of Trident is a one off expense then he hasn't just joined his anti-war, Trident-sceptical party as a neocon infiltrator. He's joined it because he's either as dishonest as a lot of them or as thick as the rest.
ReplyDeleteToday looks like the day when they finally decided to keep us in Iraq for 100 years. Nothing one off about that, Jon.
Trident will be funded by a series of payments over the next two to six years - with the precise struxture being worked out dependant on the deal.
ReplyDeleteOn Iraq - well, your guess is as good as mine. But the salient point is that all war efforts are financed out of the Special Reserve Fund, which is financed by additional borrowing. The fact that the war might have gone on longer than initial MoD planning simply suggests that borrowing is larger than it should be (as indeed every subsequent Budget confirms). Saying "we can afford continuous free bus travel because we are spending more than we thought on Iraq", to continue my earlier metaphor, is like saying "well I'm currently overspending on running my car, if I don't do that I can over spend on my mortgage instead". The point is that you can't do either, in the long run.
And anonymous - welcome to the club. Have you met Old Durham Hack and T? Maybe you could get some badges made - fellow members of the "I make amusing, though entirely fictitious, statements about Jon" club
Nothing one-off about Trident. It needs constant reservicing and parts at preferential rates from the USA. If it were cancelled, American companies would most likely retailiate by creating pressure to withdraw funds from BAe Systems. Without American contracts, BAe would be unable to function as a private company and two thirds or so of the British Armed forces would then be in trouble, with the taxpayer probably having to nationalise or pay for BAe.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the one-off cost of Iraq, there are a zillion knock-on costs, many of which are hard or impossible to quantify, that we will be paying forever. I might also point out that the idea of a 'one off' addition to a national debt is a fallacy.
David, you are on fine form lately, as I keep saying. Thanks for the post!
Martin, I'd be glad to see a complete ban on the sale of arms abroad, provided that the Government had put in the groundwork to ensure diversification in order to make proper use of the workers (many of them very highly skilled) involved.
ReplyDeleteBAe could then revert to its proper role as a publicly owned monopoly supplier to our own Armed Forces.
And Jon, if we can afford to be in Iraq and Afghanistan for ever (and that's clearly the current intention), or if we can afford to service Trident for ever, then we could instead easily afford to provide free public transport to all for ever. Among a very great many other things, of course.
Imagine it as a selling point to potential tourists, for one thing. And how many fares are just eaten up with servicing the fares system?
So, are you a Lib Dem, or not? You've said before that you now are. In which case, have you converted to the anti-war cause, which you certainly never espoused in the past?