Cutting the fat from the last UK boom time
If there is one employment sector in the UK which appears to have benefited more than most it has to be public services. We have seen over 500,000 jobs created over the last decade with a substantial increase in pension liabilities one of the more worrying aspects of the growth. However, a number of experts are now wondering why it has taken the recession for the government to announce a significant cost savings program. This has been prompted by the government's announcement of £15 billion in annual cost savings over the next few years.
Surely if £15 billion had been cut from annual expenses in the good times we would have had more money set aside for the bad times and hopefully seen an improvement in service standards by reinvesting the savings in more productive areas. Let us not forget that the money spent on public services comes straight out the pocket of UK taxpayers and has been increasing substantially over the last few years. At a time when many in the UK are suffering financial hardship, it would appear that life in public sector continues as normal and many still argue there is a "jobs for life" policy.
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