We used to laugh at the Yanks; not any more In years past, the rip-offs by American defence and aerospace contractors provided an endless source material for witty items in the newspapers. The $30 million space shuttle toilet seat, the $5,000 hammer, etc., etc. But a report released by the National Audit Office in January 2008 has shown that things are just as bad on this side of the Atlantic. The Labour party has appointed gangs of idiots to administer the finances of Private Finance Initiative projects. These people have no concept of "value for money" where taxpayers' cash is concerned, and the even greater tragedy is that they all have secure jobs on inflated salaries and they can look forward to early retirement on an inflated pension both at the taxpayer's expense.
£47.48 for supplying a key for Blackburn Hospital £149.71 for fitting a new noticeboard (labour only) at Calderdale Royal Hospital £302.30 for fitting new electrical sockets at schools in Wirral £398.30 for fitting new data points at Blackburn Hospitals £486.54 for fitting a new lock at Blackburn Hospital £104,000 paid by HM Revenue & Customs for a 'space planning facility' for redoing the layout of its Whitehall offices £300,000 paid by the Home Office for installing 300 new desks £6 million wasted every year on unjustified administration fees £15,000,000 wasted at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, over staff changes £25,300,000 spent on extending Fazakerley prison, which was built too small £180 million paid out in a single year to make contract changes If you're looking for an even worse bit of news, there are some 500 PFI contracts in operation now at a cost to the nation of £44 billion. The taxpayer is liable for every penny of this amount but Gordon Brown dishonestly excluded it from the national debt, along with the liability for the railway system's track, signals, etc. and all the other familiar hidden debts. Postscript |
Brown's new Labour a grasping hand in your pocket and an incompetent one holding the public purse |