The Uk In Debt? Not In The Least It Would Appear.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3337073/5million-foreign-aid-boost-fishing-Caribbean-Despair-Cameron-says-money-help-countries-make-maritime-advantages.html

£5 million to boost fishing in the Caribbean, all part of a £26millon aid package?

What could our own people do with that amount?

[sp1814]

Svejk

We can afford it.

We're rolling in cash.

We're stinking rich.

[Bigbad]

sp.
Please don’t be so infantile by changing my user name. Why does my opinion make me a bighead?
And to answer your question, no, I would not be happy with any money going to foreign aid. (You call them “developing countries,” but they are not developing). Foreign investment? Depends where and in what it was being invested.

And for the record, re your post at 11.44. I also have a mortgage and other financial commitments, and I too give to charities of my choice. But charity donations ARE a matter of choice, whereas how our massive overseas aid budget is spent, is not.

[sp1814]

Bigbad

You may not believe this, but my autocorrect changed your name, it wasn't me. Apologies if you thought I was being offensive.

As mentioned before, foreign aid and investment (the two are linked) benefits Britain in the long term, because it gives us a presence in emerging economies. We don't do it purely out of altruism.

I think we need to focus on the big spend items to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

For a start - abolish the state pension (which is by far the biggest drain on the public purse) and instead encourage everyone to pay into private pension schemes.

There could be tax incentives to help the transition.

And get rid of all child benefits. If people cannot afford to have kids, they should wait until their salaries are large enough.

And introduce a system whereby all recipients of treatment on the NHS have to prove that they are paying NI contributions. Perhaps a card proving NI submissions could be produced, which would immediately kill off the 'health tourism' issue.

Oh, and get international companies who trade in the UK to pay corporation tax at a fair level, and not the same amount of tax that a Mcdonalds manager pays.

If you implement all these strategies, I'm sure that we would have far more money to play with, than the 0.7% of GDP that the cessation of foreign aid would provide.

[Bigbad]

sp.
Apology accepted.

I don’t think the likes of Ethiopia, Eritrea or Sudan can be described as “emerging economies”.

I can’t agree with you regarding the state pension. Mainly because I have a 90 year old father who is in receipt of a state pension and a private pension. Despite having worked hard and paid into his private pension all his life, it alone would not be enough to give him a comfortable living, and he pays out about a third of his monthly income to carers that Social Services INSIST that he has.

Have to agree with you on child benefits.(And many other benefits, too). The expression “Cant feed ‘em, don’t breed ‘em” doesn’t just apply to the poor countries!

Partly agree with the NHS idea. But if someone without ID or proof of entitlement was taken to A & E in an ambulance, I doubt they would be turned away.

Having said that, there is absolutely NOTHING you or anyone could say to convince me that chucking money at backwards, uneducated and underdeveloped countries is a good idea when it could be used for the good of the British people.