Woo Hoo the Energy Saving Trust is on the quango hit list

In absolute terms, it's a good idea. But if it's a choice between a load of old buildings, and the lives of cancer patients, there's no contest.

They'd still be with us in essence.

Yes, I'm not noticing any great sympathy for all the private sector workers who've lost jobs, taken pay cuts, or gone on short-time working. Or are public-sector workers special in some way that's not apparent to the rest of us?

I completely agree - even with my vested interest. But it was the sweeping statement that no good is done by any of these bodies that I took exception to. Not the cost cutting - which, yes, I voted for, and understood - though didn't appreciate it would impact things like the CCT! :-(

That is a typical example of an organisation that should be a charity, not government funded.

Nothing prevents any of these quangos re-defining themselves as such, if they want.

yep. old buildings every time :-)

And remember that since 1997 about 387,000 people of UK origin (i.e. born here) entered the job market, yet Crash Gordon frequently boasted about the 2 million jobs ZanuLabour had created. Where did these extra people come from ?. Is the country really printing/borrowing =A3156 billion EVERY year just to provide cushy non-jobs in the public service for them ?. Millions of older people who took no part in the last 13 years 'get rich quick' on the back of low cost 'liar loans' are now paying the price as a result of NEGATIVE interest rates. (I.e savings rate lower than inflation). Dennis Healey tried this trick with a vengeance between 1974 and 1978 when inflation hit 26%. I remember it well, when as a hospital path lab technician I was getting a 'pay rise' every 6 months, plus back pay. Unless the deficit is reigned back severely HMG will suddenly find that no-one will buy all those devalued Gilts and long-term interest rates (as opposed to the politicaqlly controlled bank base rate) will need to go up well above 8% to tempt buyers back. Guess what that will do to all those idiots with their 125% mortgages ?.

very simply : something that is exportable to pay for the massive amounts of imports we consume.

So here is a slight case for preservation of heritage, as a tourist attraction. There is no case to answer for the vast majority of all quangos, which don't even fulfil the purpose for which they were allegedly set up.

The classic case was EEDA. The East of England development agency. East Anglia doesn't need to be developed. Its fine as it is, thanks.

In order to justify themselves they started ramming through policies on more houses, more industry, more bloody everything that there wasn't the infrastructure to support...

Instead of allowing natural development to take place where it was viable and appropriate.

Yes, they have unions, and they don't ever have to earn money through what they do. Its all someone else's money.

The terrifying result of > 50% of the workforce being in one way or another public sector funded, is that more than half the country has no real idea that work , in order to justify payment, has to produce something useful to someone else.

I have to agree with that, if they can find people willing to give time/money to keep them open, fine. If not then flog a few of them off for private ownership or for building plots, that ought to keep a few of the others going for a while ...

Quite. We're well shot of that, even though I don't live there anymore!

Who needs palaces for non-existent sky fairies?

And our equivalent, SEEDA, wasted many millions. I have had indirect contact with them on a few occasions and they were useless.

Hopefully they'd be more accountable then, too. Next in our sights should be Network Rail and the like.

Why do we want to preserve a load of old churches nobody is interested in? They can be converted into houses or a fish and chip shop. We certainly don't need a quango to look after them.

Don't be silly, churches have nothing to do with God, they are religious artefacts.

All very easy to say until it happens to you. All very easy to type out the words at a keyboard but when you actually think of the reality of those words, ie, no job = no money to pay mortgage = no house = what? then it becomes more than just "unfortunate". It's not like you can come out of one job and get another the day after. My cousin went for a job a few weeks ago (didn't get it) and found out that there were 538 applicants for the one vacancy.

to try to drag the country back from the brink

Not in the slightest, and I do have sympathy with _anyone_, private or public sector, who loses their job - apart from the fat cats, of course. But working in the public sector is not a disease or something to be ashamed of, nor is it something that makes one rich - not at grass-roots level anyway. Work is work; it pays the bills and keeps a roof over our heads. Don't forget that there are/will be costs, both monetary and perhaps some more sinister, to making people unemployed. It's not like doing away with a quango also does away with the people, and costs associated with them.

They 'live' a lot longer!

So do many private sector workers. Mate of mine is an electrician at a food factory and belongs to the electricians union. Another mate works for a company who make printing presses and he's in an engineering union. I used to work on BT and was a member of the CWU. Your point is?

and they don't ever have to earn money through

Maybe it's just me being thick, I often am, but I just don't get this - at least in the context of this topic. Say, for example, you own a successful business and you're "generating wealth". That business has to pay tax that is then used further down the line to pay for services such as schools, hospitals etc. We know that most businesses are legit and will pay their taxes, but some won't. We therefore need a tax man to ensure payment.

The tax man is doing something useful to someone else, ie, making sure tax is paid so that the money is available for services and so justifies being paid for the work he has done. He then pays tax on his salary, pays his mortgage and other bills thereby keeping a roof over his head and spens money in the economy therby keeping the merry-go-round going. Like I said in an earlier reply, working for the public sector is nothing to be ashamed of. It keeps the bills paid, keeps a roof over your head, but will never make you rich as an "ordinary" grass-roots worker. You just hit the hamster wheel on Monday morning and get off on Friday night.