The Bumper Book of Government Waste

Jacket text for The Bumper Book of Government Waste

Welcome to the world of waste. You are about to enter a twilight zone of crazy spending, political correctness, utter incompetence, and fantastic jollies, all funded by the British taxpayer.

In this book, the authors have highlighted a myriad of examples of Government waste and useless spending, taken from thousands of examples held on file. The figures have been compiled from independent reports, media coverage and official statistics. Added together, they come to �81 billion of waste.

- In 1997, the Government plundered �2 billion per week from its people. In 2004-05, the figure was �4.8 billion.
- The Arts Council spent �77,000 sending a team of artists to the North Pole to make a snowman.
- Quangos cost over �22 billion per year.
- Local government pension schemes are in deficit to the tune of �27 billion. The taxpayer will fund the difference.
- 459 books were withdrawn from the EU's Luxembourg library last year. The cost to taxpayers was �2,138 per book.
- Ken Livingstone's office now costs �13.9 million to run. His staff includes 58 media and marketing personnel!
- Between 2000 and 2005, one in every two new jobs created was in the public sector, many of them administrative.
- Nottinghamshire tourism bosses spent �120,000 of taxpayers' money rebranding the county with a big 'N'.
- Each European member of Parliament (MEP) costs �2.4 million per year in salary, expenses, perks and administration.
- In 2005, 20 out of 24 government departments overspent their budgets. The total overspend was �7.1 billion.

These are just a few of the alarming facts and figures revealed in The Bumper Book of Government Waste. If you wasted your family's money on this scale, you would probably be locked up. Why should the Government get away with it?

Chapter headings for The Bumper Book of Government Waste

SECTION ONE - INTRODUCTION TO GOVERNMENT WASTE
Introduction
A Brief History of Taxation
A Brief History of Waste
When Mandarin Meets Minister
How the Government Spends Your Money

SECTION TWO - DEPARTMENTAL WASTE
Department for Constitutional Affairs
Home Office
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department of Health
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Department for Transport
Department for Education and Skills
Department for Trade and Industry
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Treasury
Department for Work and Pensions
Department for International Development
Ministry of Defence
Office of Deputy Prime Minister

SECTION THREE - BIG PICTURE WASTE
Devolved Government
Local Government
Information Technology
Politicians
Donated Asset Reserve
The Public Sector
Royal Family
The European Union

SECTION FOUR - WASTE AND EXTRAVAGANCE IN PERSPECTIVE
Chris Rock talks taxes
Understanding best taxation
Postcode Lottery
The Flow of History - Tax Freedom Day
Increased Taxes
International Context
Waste Watchdogs
�82,000,000,000 - A Very Big Number
The Case for Lower Taxes

About Matthew Elliott, Lee Rotherham

Matthew Elliott is co-founder and Chief Executive of The TaxPayers' Alliance, a pressure group launched in 2004 to represent taxpayers in the corridors of power and to fight for lower taxes. Now with over 10,000 supporters, it is regularly cited in the media as the taxpayers' waste watcher. Dr Lee Rotherham is also by background a linguist and historian. His Mediaeval Occitan was just one of several languages that proved to be absolutely useless when he acted as an advisor on the Convention that drafted the thoroughly despicable EU Constitution. He has advised three successive Shadow Foreign Secretaries, though the turnover wasn't his fault. A prominent Eurosceptic, hunted across the continent by bands of pro-Brussels politicians carrying lit torches and pitchforks, he has been widely published.

More about Matthew Elliott, Lee Rotherham

Reviews for The Bumper Book of Government Waste

"it's frighteningly excellent"
- FR