From John Dix.
OH dear. Our Deputy for Grouville doesn’t like to be criticised for putting forward an idea to reduce the States structural deficit.

Her article in the Grouville Gazette proposed raising the ceiling on Social Security and refers glibly to those earning £200,000 pa. This cheap attempt to stir up envy ignores the fact that everyone earning more than £43,752 will end up paying more tax.

I, for one, do not want to pay more tax while States spending is out of control and still rising. This tax increase is a tax on jobs and would reduce employment opportunities in the Island.

I shall continue to criticise as nowhere in her article did it mention the antithesis of her suggestion to raise more tax which is to reduce expenditure. I have in the past suggested many areas where the States could reduce spending and will continue to do so. Here are some more ideas:

•  Reduce the cost of running the States by reducing States Members’ salaries to the average salary in the Island. The last figure published by the States in June 2009 was £620 per week. By doing this, the States would show us that they are serious about reining in their expenditure. Also by basing their pay on the Island average, they would get an increase only when the Island as a whole is prospering.

•  Close the final salary pension schemes for States employees and replace them with money purchase schemes. We can’t afford defined benefit schemes and it is unfair that we taxpayers should be required to fund benefits which we can’t afford for ourselves.

•  Stop the employment of temporary staff to fill in for States employees working in offices who are absent on sick leave, maternity leave, etc. In the private sector if your colleagues are absent, you fill in for them. Place an immediate freeze on all recruitment for any post that is not involved in delivering an essential service. To achieve this, the ministers will have to publish a detailed list of those services for debate by the States to define the essential services and weed out the ones we don’t really need.

•  Look seriously at outsourcing within the Island any function currently carried out by States employees which is already provided by the private sector. Some obvious examples are emptying bins, anything to do with transport of people or goods, IT support, architectural services, building repair and maintenance and all manner of back office functions. For every job that is outsourced, the States reduces its pension liabilities and the requirement to manage and organise its own employees, activities which just distract the States from the provision of the core services which only they can deliver.

•  Lose the fear of means testing and stop delivering benefits to everyone. Benefits are designed to assist those in our society who are unable to fend for themselves. I object to the concept of paying extra tax only for some of it to be given back to me just to keep States employees busy. It is ridiculous to give out free nursery places to those who can well afford to pay for themselves and free prescriptions to anyone who is not receiving welfare.

We have a real financial problem in this Island, and trying to become a high tax, high spending government is not going to solve the problem. I ask all of our States Members to get real, make some real savings to balance the budget at no more than the current rate of expenditure, but preferably less. If they can’t or won’t do this, they deserve all the criticism they will undoubtedly receive all the way to the next round of elections.
Pied du Câtillon,