IF BRITAIN WERE GREECE ....

Posted by David Smith at 10:30 AM

Radio 4's Broadcasting House asked me to imagine the consequences of
Greek austerity, if translated to Britain. This is what I said:
If Britain were Greece .
We would be in the middle of the longest and deepest recession in the
modern era, much worse than the Depression years of the 1930s, with no
end in sight. Unemployment would be nearly 7 million, more than a fifth
of the workforce, 2.5 million of it among young people. Half of our young
people would be out of work.
If Britain were Greece .
Workers, particularly low-paid workers, would be about to be hit by a lot of
pain. The minimum wage would be cut from 6.08 to 4.74, while the
rate for young people would be cut from 4.98 to 3.39. More than 100,000
public sector workers would be put into reserve a waiting room for
redundancy and their salaries immediately cut by 40%. Well over a million
public employees would be sacked by 2015. All public sector workers
would see their wages, not just frozen, but cut sharply.
If Britain were Greece

VAT would got up to 24%, wed pay a solidarity levy of up to 5% of

income, and new taxes on property. Alcohol and tobacco duties would go up
by a third and wed pay roughly 2 a litre for petrol and diesel: 120 to fill
the tank of a family saloon. Anybody with a yacht or luxury car would pay
extra tax on it.
People with a state or public sector pension above 800 a month would see
it cut by 20%. Anybody with a pension above that level who had retired
before the age of 55 would see it cut by 40%. Early retirement would
become a thing of the past. The equivalent of Greeces retirement age
increase in Britain would be a rise in the state pension age to well over 70.

All state benefits would be cut for years and be strictly means-tested..
If Britain were Greece .
The defence budget would be slashed by a fifth in cash drastically
reducing the number of military personnel and making it hard to maintain
the army, navy and air force as viable separate services. NHS spending,
instead of being ringfenced, would drop by a sixth. Treatments would be

withdrawn, dozens of hospitals would be cut and tens of thousands of

medical staff would lose their jobs. Education spending would not escape
the axe, necessitating the merger or closure of thousands of schools and
huge redundancies among teachers and support staff.
If Britain were Greece .
We wouldnt even have the weather to ease the gloom.

IF BRITAIN WERE GREECE ....

Posted by David Smith at 10:30 AM
Radio 4's Broadcasting House asked me to imagine the consequences
of Greek austerity, if translated to Britain. This is what I said:
If Britain were Greece .
We would be in the middle of the longest and deepest .. in
the modern era, much worse than the Depression years of the 1930s,
with no end . Unemployment .. nearly 7 million, more
than a fifth of the workforce, 2.5 million of it young people.
Half of our young people would be out of work.
If Britain were Greece .
Workers, particularly low-paid workers, would be about to be hit by a
lot of pain. The minimum . would cut from 6.08 to
4.74, while the rate for young people would be cut from 4.98 to
3.39. More than 100,000 public sector workers would be put into
reserve a waiting room for redundancy and their salaries
immediately cut by 40%. Well over a million public employees
by 2015. All public sector workers would see their
wages, not just frozen, but cut sharply.
If Britain were Greece
.... would got up to 24%, wed pay a solidarity levy of up to
5% of income, and new taxes on property. Alcohol and tobacco duties
would go up by a third and .. roughly 2 a litre for petrol
and diesel: 120 to fill the tank of a family saloon. Anybody with a
yacht or luxury car would pay extra tax on it.
People with a state or public sector pension above 800 a month
would see it cut by 20%. Anybody with a pension above that level who
had retired before the age of 55 would see it cut by 40%. Early

retirement would become a thing of the past. The of

Greeces retirement age increase in Britain would be a rise in the
state pension age to well over 70. All state benefits would be cut for
years and be strictly means-tested.
If Britain were Greece .
The defence budget would be slashed by a fifth in cash drastically
reducing the number of military personnel and making it hard to
maintain the army, navy and air force as viable separate services. NHS
spending, instead of being ringfenced, would drop by a sixth.
Treatments .., dozens of hospitals would be cut
and tens of thousands of medical staff would lose their jobs.
Education spending would not escape the axe, necessitating the
merger or closure of thousands of schools and huge redundancies
among teachers and support staff.
If Britain were Greece .
We wouldnt even have the weather to ease the gloom.