Can the LibDems help deal with the National Debt

Could the Lib Dems have helped? Well, this was what their manifesto said;
"The health of the economy depends on the health of the country’s finances. Public borrowing has reached unsustainable levels, and needs to be brought under control to protect the country’s economic future."
Excellent! There is hope for us yet with a coalition government... The document continues,
"A Liberal Democrat government will be straight with people about the tough choices ahead. Not only must waste be eliminated, but we must also be bold about finding big areas of spending that can be cut completely. That way we can control borrowing, protect the services people rely on most and still find some money to invest in building a fair future for everyone."
Brilliant! Nick Clegg’s team are going to be honest and upfront with us and get borrowing under control. That’s surely good. And here is what it means;
"We have already identified over £15 billion of savings in government spending per year, vastly in excess of the £5 billion per year that we have set aside for additional spending commitments. All our spending commitments will be funded from this pool of identified savings, with all remaining savings used to reduce the deficit."
Ah.
Sad smiley face :(
 So, these £20 billions of identified savings would be used to fund the Party’s new spending commitments; only what’s left over will be used to reduce the deficit (the deficit, again note, not the debt).  The £20 billions of savings all told that are worth about two months’ worth of monthly deficit at the end of 2011.
But there is some “straight talking” to follow;
"We must ensure the timing is right. If spending is cut too soon, it would undermine the much-needed recovery and cost jobs. We will base the timing of cuts on an objective assessment of economic conditions, not political dogma. Our working assumption is that the economy will be in a stable enough condition to bear cuts from the beginning of 2011–12."
Right, so the reason why Liberal Democrats didn’t want cuts after the General Election was because they wanted to avoid ‘dogma’, as opposed to because the country was racking up more massive debts with every passing day.
Not impressed.


from "A Fate Worse than Debt" by Dr Lee Rotherham

Buy your copy at Amazon or a bookshop

As the UK talks of cuts and austerity, this book explores for beginners the true scale of our financial problems, and some of the controversies behind modern spending. Warning: do not read if you suffer from high blood pressure, or lack a sense of humour in a crisis. Among the questions answered are: What is the difference between Deficit and Debt? How much does the United Kingdom Government really owe? Who is Scotland's forgotten debt genius? How big could you build a new Hadrian's Wall from Pound coins paid out of Britain's debt? Why was Britain's first civil war two thousand years ago triggered by debt repayments? How did WW2 US airmen unexpectedly help bail out Britain's war effort? What was the Geddes Axe, and how far did it swing? What can a wombat's posterior warn us of? How big is our creek today and is there a paddle? Launched to coincide with the Coalition Government's "make or break" 2013 Budget, this book puts the country's financial problems firmly under the microscope. It explains what is going on and why in terms the layman can understand - and will find absolutely terrifying. Possibly the most important book about government you will ever read.