Spending cuts must start with welfare

The new and independent Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that interest payments on public debt are set to rise to £67 billion a year by 2014-15. The hole in the public finances is so deep that every cut in spending that can be made should be made. Few commentators have grasped that tinkering around the edges, such as with “efficiency gains,” will not be enough. The only way to eliminate the deficit and to begin the task of repaying public debt is through making deep cuts in spending and for people to take more responsibility for themselves.
 
Cuts must start with welfare. The UK government spends more on welfare than on anything else. Welfare spending has increased in good times as well as in bad, with the total bill doubling in real terms to around £200 billion since 1988.
 
The government has received little bang for its buck from this increase in spending.