New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to undertake the necessary changes. Her tone is compassionate and hopeful, the issues and arguments are presented in clear and jargon-free language and I thoroughly recommend this book.


Get your head around our strangely designed global financial system..., 25 Feb 2007
If you've ever looked at headlines in the newspapers about the enormous profits of banks, hedge funds and private equity companies and wondered 'just how do they do this' and 'is it really sustainable'?, then this is the book for you.

Ann Pettifor takes the reader lucidly through the complexities of global financial developments since the 1950s, laying out in clear but passionate terms the great challenge facing modern economies and societies today: how to reform capitalism so that it puts productive activity and investment over the 'making of money from money'.

A truly enlightening read, illustrated with a host of powerful case studies and quotes from the world's great thinkers and economists, past and present, which gives hope that a better world is possible.

The book covers vast ground in a concise 180 pages and the chapters on the nature of money lending and how the deregulation of global capital, driven by US political interests, have led to the erosion of public and democratic control of money supply and the setting of interest rates are particularly important for anyone wishing to understand the strange world that we live in.

Buy it, and tell your friends about it.

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to undertake the necessary changes. Her tone is compassionate and hopeful, the issues and arguments are presented in clear and jargon-free language and I thoroughly recommend this book.


Get your head around our strangely designed global financial system..., 25 Feb 2007
If you've ever looked at headlines in the newspapers about the enormous profits of banks, hedge funds and private equity companies and wondered 'just how do they do this' and 'is it really sustainable'?, then this is the book for you.

Ann Pettifor takes the reader lucidly through the complexities of global financial developments since the 1950s, laying out in clear but passionate terms the great challenge facing modern economies and societies today: how to reform capitalism so that it puts productive activity and investment over the 'making of money from money'.

A truly enlightening read, illustrated with a host of powerful case studies and quotes from the world's great thinkers and economists, past and present, which gives hope that a better world is possible.

The book covers vast ground in a concise 180 pages and the chapters on the nature of money lending and how the deregulation of global capital, driven by US political interests, have led to the erosion of public and democratic control of money supply and the setting of interest rates are particularly important for anyone wishing to understand the strange world that we live in.

Buy it, and tell your friends about it.

Clear and helpful, 28 Sep 2001
The book offers an intermediate approach to the main topics of public finance, keeping a concise but effective style. However the book sometimes lacks of mathematical proofs and is probably too centred on American datas.

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to undertake the necessary changes. Her tone is compassionate and hopeful, the issues and arguments are presented in clear and jargon-free language and I thoroughly recommend this book.


Get your head around our strangely designed global financial system..., 25 Feb 2007
If you've ever looked at headlines in the newspapers about the enormous profits of banks, hedge funds and private equity companies and wondered 'just how do they do this' and 'is it really sustainable'?, then this is the book for you.

Ann Pettifor takes the reader lucidly through the complexities of global financial developments since the 1950s, laying out in clear but passionate terms the great challenge facing modern economies and societies today: how to reform capitalism so that it puts productive activity and investment over the 'making of money from money'.

A truly enlightening read, illustrated with a host of powerful case studies and quotes from the world's great thinkers and economists, past and present, which gives hope that a better world is possible.

The book covers vast ground in a concise 180 pages and the chapters on the nature of money lending and how the deregulation of global capital, driven by US political interests, have led to the erosion of public and democratic control of money supply and the setting of interest rates are particularly important for anyone wishing to understand the strange world that we live in.

Buy it, and tell your friends about it.

Clear and helpful, 28 Sep 2001
The book offers an intermediate approach to the main topics of public finance, keeping a concise but effective style. However the book sometimes lacks of mathematical proofs and is probably too centred on American datas.

The Large State Indicted, 17 Dec 2006
The other reviewers have done justice to the very disturbing contents of this comprehensive survey, and this is a book that everyone interested in politics - and the process of government - needs to read.

However, there is a huge item of government waste which seems to have been missed: the Private Finance Initiative.

The Conservative Party has recently claimed that hospital projects which would have cost the public sector £8 billion, will in fact cost £53 billion over the 30-year lifetime of the PFIs concerned.

Worse, the private sector gets paid in full even if the hospital closes, or is merged with another one. This, of course, is not the fault of the private sector but it IS an example of government waste.

Then there is waste caused by the injection of bogus competition into the NHS.

The example of the impact of the new Horton Capio ISTC (Independent Sector Treatment Centre) on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxfordshire illustrates the problem.

The Nuffield Centre is locked into a 30-year PFI contract, but is losing income to the ISTC which only undertakes "easier" procedures. So the Nuffield's debts will mount, and it faces merger into another hospital trust.

Even if it closed, the PFI debt will remain.

Having missed one spectacular example of "waste" - a deliberate ruse by Gordon Brown to massage the PSBR - the book goes on to attack the spending of £400 million on anti-depressants.

This is an excellent example of "tabloid" journalism: an attack on a soft target, probably made without detailed evidence, since some people who need anti-depressants are thereby enabled to continue working. Depression is an illness, not a crime.

More than 400 people have been killed by `mentally ill' patients released into the community in the past eight years, largely due to the fact that - thanks to this kind of prejudice - spending on "mental health" services have been cut, and cut again since 1979.

The policy of "Care in the community" - in plain English "dumped on the street" - might usefully be investigated on the basis of "penny wise and pound foolish".

A few months ago a Lancashire man set fire to a shop in St Anne's-on-Sea, and was subsequently imprisoned for three years for arson.

A few hours before he caused the fire he had been turned out of his local psychiatric unit and left to fend for himself. He was abandoned by both the unit, and by social services, both of whom will almost certainly have had larger caseloads than they could be expected to deal with relative to the massive needs of their clients.

The shop suffered £75k of damage, and then there is the cost of three years in gaol. He will probably be released early into the care of the same inadequate services, and the whole sorry saga may well be repeated.

The waste is not only financial, which leads to the bigger issue.

This government tries to do everything, and does all of it badly.

Bureaucracies are inherently wasteful. All this is agreed.

However, there are some jobs the private sector is unlikely to want to take on, and the more problematic procedures undertaken by the Nuffield Centre - such as Lady Tebbitt benefited from - are but one example.

The proper care for the mentally ill is another.

There is an even bigger issue: do we as a society any longer believe that those of us who are fit and well - and not in need of state support - should contribute to the welfare of those less fortunate?

Or are the less fortunate simply "scroungers" to be punished?









Essential Reading!!!, 13 Oct 2006
This book is definitely essential reading. You get the impression that our government wastes money anyway, but this handy little classic of a book puts it all in perspective. I agree with what some other reviewers have already written, all tax payers should be made to read this book, most certainly before any election.
All in all finely written, sharp, witty and to the point, Genius. It directs a firm two fingers in the direction of our tax wasting "betters", and I say well done!!!

Outstanding, 19 Jul 2006
Superb book. Touch of Robin Cooper's Timewaster Letters, which makes it informative and entertaining.

Did they ever get a reply from the President of North Korea?

Government at its 'out of control' best., 22 Mar 2006
Having just watched series one and two of Yes, Prime Minister, a review of the book, The Bumper Book of Government Waste, in the weekend papers caught my attention. On reading the review I immediately went out and bought a copy and read it cover to cover over a couple of evenings. As well as bringing a smile to my face on numerous occasions it also made my blood boil to think that the Government and its ministers can call upon money which isn't theirs and waste it, on seemingly, whatever takes their fancy.

Every tax payer in the land should read this book; how the Government gets away with what it does beggars belief. As a business owner I find the whole thing infuriating as there is now no incentive at all to run a business and employ people. It makes me want to throw in the towel and go and get a job as a civil servant, knowing fully well that I will be looked after, have a great pension and never have to worry about getting the sack from my job, no matter how badly I screw up!

The sooner the whole system of Government comes crashing to its knees the better.

A fantastic book – if only it wasn't necessary though!, 15 Mar 2006
The TaxPayers' Alliance has been getting some fantastic coverage in the media for its low tax campaign, not least due to the publication of the Bumper Book of Government Waste. The book is a comprehensive review of Government spending and how big government leads to high taxes which lead to huge waste and inefficiency. As a taxpayer, it is sometimes painful to read the examples of waste highlighted by Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham. It would be nice to think that there won't be a need for further editions of this book -- I somehow doubt it though!

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to undertake the necessary changes. Her tone is compassionate and hopeful, the issues and arguments are presented in clear and jargon-free language and I thoroughly recommend this book.


Get your head around our strangely designed global financial system..., 25 Feb 2007
If you've ever looked at headlines in the newspapers about the enormous profits of banks, hedge funds and private equity companies and wondered 'just how do they do this' and 'is it really sustainable'?, then this is the book for you.

Ann Pettifor takes the reader lucidly through the complexities of global financial developments since the 1950s, laying out in clear but passionate terms the great challenge facing modern economies and societies today: how to reform capitalism so that it puts productive activity and investment over the 'making of money from money'.

A truly enlightening read, illustrated with a host of powerful case studies and quotes from the world's great thinkers and economists, past and present, which gives hope that a better world is possible.

The book covers vast ground in a concise 180 pages and the chapters on the nature of money lending and how the deregulation of global capital, driven by US political interests, have led to the erosion of public and democratic control of money supply and the setting of interest rates are particularly important for anyone wishing to understand the strange world that we live in.

Buy it, and tell your friends about it.

Clear and helpful, 28 Sep 2001
The book offers an intermediate approach to the main topics of public finance, keeping a concise but effective style. However the book sometimes lacks of mathematical proofs and is probably too centred on American datas.

The Large State Indicted, 17 Dec 2006
The other reviewers have done justice to the very disturbing contents of this comprehensive survey, and this is a book that everyone interested in politics - and the process of government - needs to read.

However, there is a huge item of government waste which seems to have been missed: the Private Finance Initiative.

The Conservative Party has recently claimed that hospital projects which would have cost the public sector £8 billion, will in fact cost £53 billion over the 30-year lifetime of the PFIs concerned.

Worse, the private sector gets paid in full even if the hospital closes, or is merged with another one. This, of course, is not the fault of the private sector but it IS an example of government waste.

Then there is waste caused by the injection of bogus competition into the NHS.

The example of the impact of the new Horton Capio ISTC (Independent Sector Treatment Centre) on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxfordshire illustrates the problem.

The Nuffield Centre is locked into a 30-year PFI contract, but is losing income to the ISTC which only undertakes "easier" procedures. So the Nuffield's debts will mount, and it faces merger into another hospital trust.

Even if it closed, the PFI debt will remain.

Having missed one spectacular example of "waste" - a deliberate ruse by Gordon Brown to massage the PSBR - the book goes on to attack the spending of £400 million on anti-depressants.

This is an excellent example of "tabloid" journalism: an attack on a soft target, probably made without detailed evidence, since some people who need anti-depressants are thereby enabled to continue working. Depression is an illness, not a crime.

More than 400 people have been killed by `mentally ill' patients released into the community in the past eight years, largely due to the fact that - thanks to this kind of prejudice - spending on "mental health" services have been cut, and cut again since 1979.

The policy of "Care in the community" - in plain English "dumped on the street" - might usefully be investigated on the basis of "penny wise and pound foolish".

A few months ago a Lancashire man set fire to a shop in St Anne's-on-Sea, and was subsequently imprisoned for three years for arson.

A few hours before he caused the fire he had been turned out of his local psychiatric unit and left to fend for himself. He was abandoned by both the unit, and by social services, both of whom will almost certainly have had larger caseloads than they could be expected to deal with relative to the massive needs of their clients.

The shop suffered £75k of damage, and then there is the cost of three years in gaol. He will probably be released early into the care of the same inadequate services, and the whole sorry saga may well be repeated.

The waste is not only financial, which leads to the bigger issue.

This government tries to do everything, and does all of it badly.

Bureaucracies are inherently wasteful. All this is agreed.

However, there are some jobs the private sector is unlikely to want to take on, and the more problematic procedures undertaken by the Nuffield Centre - such as Lady Tebbitt benefited from - are but one example.

The proper care for the mentally ill is another.

There is an even bigger issue: do we as a society any longer believe that those of us who are fit and well - and not in need of state support - should contribute to the welfare of those less fortunate?

Or are the less fortunate simply "scroungers" to be punished?









Essential Reading!!!, 13 Oct 2006
This book is definitely essential reading. You get the impression that our government wastes money anyway, but this handy little classic of a book puts it all in perspective. I agree with what some other reviewers have already written, all tax payers should be made to read this book, most certainly before any election.
All in all finely written, sharp, witty and to the point, Genius. It directs a firm two fingers in the direction of our tax wasting "betters", and I say well done!!!

Outstanding, 19 Jul 2006
Superb book. Touch of Robin Cooper's Timewaster Letters, which makes it informative and entertaining.

Did they ever get a reply from the President of North Korea?

Government at its 'out of control' best., 22 Mar 2006
Having just watched series one and two of Yes, Prime Minister, a review of the book, The Bumper Book of Government Waste, in the weekend papers caught my attention. On reading the review I immediately went out and bought a copy and read it cover to cover over a couple of evenings. As well as bringing a smile to my face on numerous occasions it also made my blood boil to think that the Government and its ministers can call upon money which isn't theirs and waste it, on seemingly, whatever takes their fancy.

Every tax payer in the land should read this book; how the Government gets away with what it does beggars belief. As a business owner I find the whole thing infuriating as there is now no incentive at all to run a business and employ people. It makes me want to throw in the towel and go and get a job as a civil servant, knowing fully well that I will be looked after, have a great pension and never have to worry about getting the sack from my job, no matter how badly I screw up!

The sooner the whole system of Government comes crashing to its knees the better.

A fantastic book – if only it wasn't necessary though!, 15 Mar 2006
The TaxPayers' Alliance has been getting some fantastic coverage in the media for its low tax campaign, not least due to the publication of the Bumper Book of Government Waste. The book is a comprehensive review of Government spending and how big government leads to high taxes which lead to huge waste and inefficiency. As a taxpayer, it is sometimes painful to read the examples of waste highlighted by Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham. It would be nice to think that there won't be a need for further editions of this book -- I somehow doubt it though!

A breathe of fresh air., 19 Dec 2004
I had the pleasure of being taught on this subject by Terry Horne a year ago. Like his teaching methods, this text uses a refreshing mix of theoretical models and frameworks together with real-world experience providing a USEFUL learning experience.

For students, this book will provide real answers which are often so hard to find. The theories brought forward are original and build on existing theories most students will be familiar with. The way in which this is done is logical and well-structured. The information is rich in both quality and quantity and follows the reader's train of thought well.

The title of this book hints that the subject matter is concentrated on a limited area; however this is not the case. Any student buying this text will find themselves referring to it for many other modules / subjects. This broad application offers great value for money. It should be noted that to fully understand areas such as Thinking Skills supplementary texts may be needed.

As well as students this book will also prove useful for managers. Rather than reams of text debating the same point whilst providing more questions than answers, this book can be used as a valuable tool of reference. The authors have clearly given weight to transferring knowledge rather than using pompous jargon and overly-complex language that serves only as a deterrent.

I'll be keeping this on my shelf.

Recommended text for any public service lecturer/student, 27 Nov 2004
This is a fantastic and well structured book which is a must for any student studying a public service cause at any level but particulary at university. It is well written and set out in such a way that makes it very easy to read.

A must buy ladies and gentlemen!

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to undertake the necessary changes. Her tone is compassionate and hopeful, the issues and arguments are presented in clear and jargon-free language and I thoroughly recommend this book.


Get your head around our strangely designed global financial system..., 25 Feb 2007
If you've ever looked at headlines in the newspapers about the enormous profits of banks, hedge funds and private equity companies and wondered 'just how do they do this' and 'is it really sustainable'?, then this is the book for you.

Ann Pettifor takes the reader lucidly through the complexities of global financial developments since the 1950s, laying out in clear but passionate terms the great challenge facing modern economies and societies today: how to reform capitalism so that it puts productive activity and investment over the 'making of money from money'.

A truly enlightening read, illustrated with a host of powerful case studies and quotes from the world's great thinkers and economists, past and present, which gives hope that a better world is possible.

The book covers vast ground in a concise 180 pages and the chapters on the nature of money lending and how the deregulation of global capital, driven by US political interests, have led to the erosion of public and democratic control of money supply and the setting of interest rates are particularly important for anyone wishing to understand the strange world that we live in.

Buy it, and tell your friends about it.

Clear and helpful, 28 Sep 2001
The book offers an intermediate approach to the main topics of public finance, keeping a concise but effective style. However the book sometimes lacks of mathematical proofs and is probably too centred on American datas.

The Large State Indicted, 17 Dec 2006
The other reviewers have done justice to the very disturbing contents of this comprehensive survey, and this is a book that everyone interested in politics - and the process of government - needs to read.

However, there is a huge item of government waste which seems to have been missed: the Private Finance Initiative.

The Conservative Party has recently claimed that hospital projects which would have cost the public sector £8 billion, will in fact cost £53 billion over the 30-year lifetime of the PFIs concerned.

Worse, the private sector gets paid in full even if the hospital closes, or is merged with another one. This, of course, is not the fault of the private sector but it IS an example of government waste.

Then there is waste caused by the injection of bogus competition into the NHS.

The example of the impact of the new Horton Capio ISTC (Independent Sector Treatment Centre) on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxfordshire illustrates the problem.

The Nuffield Centre is locked into a 30-year PFI contract, but is losing income to the ISTC which only undertakes "easier" procedures. So the Nuffield's debts will mount, and it faces merger into another hospital trust.

Even if it closed, the PFI debt will remain.

Having missed one spectacular example of "waste" - a deliberate ruse by Gordon Brown to massage the PSBR - the book goes on to attack the spending of £400 million on anti-depressants.

This is an excellent example of "tabloid" journalism: an attack on a soft target, probably made without detailed evidence, since some people who need anti-depressants are thereby enabled to continue working. Depression is an illness, not a crime.

More than 400 people have been killed by `mentally ill' patients released into the community in the past eight years, largely due to the fact that - thanks to this kind of prejudice - spending on "mental health" services have been cut, and cut again since 1979.

The policy of "Care in the community" - in plain English "dumped on the street" - might usefully be investigated on the basis of "penny wise and pound foolish".

A few months ago a Lancashire man set fire to a shop in St Anne's-on-Sea, and was subsequently imprisoned for three years for arson.

A few hours before he caused the fire he had been turned out of his local psychiatric unit and left to fend for himself. He was abandoned by both the unit, and by social services, both of whom will almost certainly have had larger caseloads than they could be expected to deal with relative to the massive needs of their clients.

The shop suffered £75k of damage, and then there is the cost of three years in gaol. He will probably be released early into the care of the same inadequate services, and the whole sorry saga may well be repeated.

The waste is not only financial, which leads to the bigger issue.

This government tries to do everything, and does all of it badly.

Bureaucracies are inherently wasteful. All this is agreed.

However, there are some jobs the private sector is unlikely to want to take on, and the more problematic procedures undertaken by the Nuffield Centre - such as Lady Tebbitt benefited from - are but one example.

The proper care for the mentally ill is another.

There is an even bigger issue: do we as a society any longer believe that those of us who are fit and well - and not in need of state support - should contribute to the welfare of those less fortunate?

Or are the less fortunate simply "scroungers" to be punished?









Essential Reading!!!, 13 Oct 2006
This book is definitely essential reading. You get the impression that our government wastes money anyway, but this handy little classic of a book puts it all in perspective. I agree with what some other reviewers have already written, all tax payers should be made to read this book, most certainly before any election.
All in all finely written, sharp, witty and to the point, Genius. It directs a firm two fingers in the direction of our tax wasting "betters", and I say well done!!!

Outstanding, 19 Jul 2006
Superb book. Touch of Robin Cooper's Timewaster Letters, which makes it informative and entertaining.

Did they ever get a reply from the President of North Korea?

Government at its 'out of control' best., 22 Mar 2006
Having just watched series one and two of Yes, Prime Minister, a review of the book, The Bumper Book of Government Waste, in the weekend papers caught my attention. On reading the review I immediately went out and bought a copy and read it cover to cover over a couple of evenings. As well as bringing a smile to my face on numerous occasions it also made my blood boil to think that the Government and its ministers can call upon money which isn't theirs and waste it, on seemingly, whatever takes their fancy.

Every tax payer in the land should read this book; how the Government gets away with what it does beggars belief. As a business owner I find the whole thing infuriating as there is now no incentive at all to run a business and employ people. It makes me want to throw in the towel and go and get a job as a civil servant, knowing fully well that I will be looked after, have a great pension and never have to worry about getting the sack from my job, no matter how badly I screw up!

The sooner the whole system of Government comes crashing to its knees the better.

A fantastic book – if only it wasn't necessary though!, 15 Mar 2006
The TaxPayers' Alliance has been getting some fantastic coverage in the media for its low tax campaign, not least due to the publication of the Bumper Book of Government Waste. The book is a comprehensive review of Government spending and how big government leads to high taxes which lead to huge waste and inefficiency. As a taxpayer, it is sometimes painful to read the examples of waste highlighted by Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham. It would be nice to think that there won't be a need for further editions of this book -- I somehow doubt it though!

A breathe of fresh air., 19 Dec 2004
I had the pleasure of being taught on this subject by Terry Horne a year ago. Like his teaching methods, this text uses a refreshing mix of theoretical models and frameworks together with real-world experience providing a USEFUL learning experience.

For students, this book will provide real answers which are often so hard to find. The theories brought forward are original and build on existing theories most students will be familiar with. The way in which this is done is logical and well-structured. The information is rich in both quality and quantity and follows the reader's train of thought well.

The title of this book hints that the subject matter is concentrated on a limited area; however this is not the case. Any student buying this text will find themselves referring to it for many other modules / subjects. This broad application offers great value for money. It should be noted that to fully understand areas such as Thinking Skills supplementary texts may be needed.

As well as students this book will also prove useful for managers. Rather than reams of text debating the same point whilst providing more questions than answers, this book can be used as a valuable tool of reference. The authors have clearly given weight to transferring knowledge rather than using pompous jargon and overly-complex language that serves only as a deterrent.

I'll be keeping this on my shelf.

Recommended text for any public service lecturer/student, 27 Nov 2004
This is a fantastic and well structured book which is a must for any student studying a public service cause at any level but particulary at university. It is well written and set out in such a way that makes it very easy to read.

A must buy ladies and gentlemen!

Ground breaking, 14 Feb 2007
Occasionally you come across a book that shows you how to look at familiar things in a new way. The blurry confusion of some aspects of modern life suddenly come into a clear focus. Ricardo's Law is such a book. It explains why the gap between rich and poor does not seem to shrink despite a booming economy and high tax bills to pay for welfare. It shows why certain parts of the UK have always been poorer and gives an historical understanding of why this has happened and what needs to be done to change it. It uses international research, it is right up to date in terms of government policy and it uses established economic ideas. It is easily understandable and very readable, but having said that your presuppositions will probably be challenged throughout. If you understand what it is saying, you will read the news and current affairs in a quite different way from then on.

Will we leave a much fairer society to our children and grandchildren? Having read this book you will see how it might be done.

Reviewed by Charles Bazlinton author: The Free Lunch - Fairness with Freedom




Why Tony Blair's 'Third Way' failed , 05 Jan 2007
If you have a disquieting feeling that something has gone radically awry with the governance of modern western society but can't quite put your finger on it, let me recommend this new book by Fred Harrison who emerges from its pages as a 21st century seer to fill a vast void in economic analysis.
Harrison's magnificent "Ricardo's Law, House Prices and the Great Tax Clawback Scam" pieces the evidence together to show how Tony Blair's Prime Ministership of the UK has failed the spatial dimension of good government. He takes us on an extraordinary journey from the centre of London northwards up the ancient Roman road through Lincoln and onwards to Hadrian's Wall. Amongst other compelling analyses along the route, he demonstrates how, in keeping with Ricardo's Law, wealth, house prices and the very length of life itself all decline through England's nine statistical divisions as we proceed northwards towards Hadrian's Wall and beyond, into Scotland.
Harrison demonstrates that although the real estate industry acknowledges "location, location, location", the failure of the Blair and other western governments to do so acts to handicap wealth creation and to marginalise those outside our major cities, and indeed, many people within them.
Harrison's case is incontrovertible. The book is a political breakthrough insofar as it shows that any politician claiming to represent the people simply cannot do so without an understanding of Ricardo's Law.

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to undertake the necessary changes. Her tone is compassionate and hopeful, the issues and arguments are presented in clear and jargon-free language and I thoroughly recommend this book.


Get your head around our strangely designed global financial system..., 25 Feb 2007
If you've ever looked at headlines in the newspapers about the enormous profits of banks, hedge funds and private equity companies and wondered 'just how do they do this' and 'is it really sustainable'?, then this is the book for you.

Ann Pettifor takes the reader lucidly through the complexities of global financial developments since the 1950s, laying out in clear but passionate terms the great challenge facing modern economies and societies today: how to reform capitalism so that it puts productive activity and investment over the 'making of money from money'.

A truly enlightening read, illustrated with a host of powerful case studies and quotes from the world's great thinkers and economists, past and present, which gives hope that a better world is possible.

The book covers vast ground in a concise 180 pages and the chapters on the nature of money lending and how the deregulation of global capital, driven by US political interests, have led to the erosion of public and democratic control of money supply and the setting of interest rates are particularly important for anyone wishing to understand the strange world that we live in.

Buy it, and tell your friends about it.

Clear and helpful, 28 Sep 2001
The book offers an intermediate approach to the main topics of public finance, keeping a concise but effective style. However the book sometimes lacks of mathematical proofs and is probably too centred on American datas.

The Large State Indicted, 17 Dec 2006
The other reviewers have done justice to the very disturbing contents of this comprehensive survey, and this is a book that everyone interested in politics - and the process of government - needs to read.

However, there is a huge item of government waste which seems to have been missed: the Private Finance Initiative.

The Conservative Party has recently claimed that hospital projects which would have cost the public sector £8 billion, will in fact cost £53 billion over the 30-year lifetime of the PFIs concerned.

Worse, the private sector gets paid in full even if the hospital closes, or is merged with another one. This, of course, is not the fault of the private sector but it IS an example of government waste.

Then there is waste caused by the injection of bogus competition into the NHS.

The example of the impact of the new Horton Capio ISTC (Independent Sector Treatment Centre) on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Oxfordshire illustrates the problem.

The Nuffield Centre is locked into a 30-year PFI contract, but is losing income to the ISTC which only undertakes "easier" procedures. So the Nuffield's debts will mount, and it faces merger into another hospital trust.

Even if it closed, the PFI debt will remain.

Having missed one spectacular example of "waste" - a deliberate ruse by Gordon Brown to massage the PSBR - the book goes on to attack the spending of £400 million on anti-depressants.

This is an excellent example of "tabloid" journalism: an attack on a soft target, probably made without detailed evidence, since some people who need anti-depressants are thereby enabled to continue working. Depression is an illness, not a crime.

More than 400 people have been killed by `mentally ill' patients released into the community in the past eight years, largely due to the fact that - thanks to this kind of prejudice - spending on "mental health" services have been cut, and cut again since 1979.

The policy of "Care in the community" - in plain English "dumped on the street" - might usefully be investigated on the basis of "penny wise and pound foolish".

A few months ago a Lancashire man set fire to a shop in St Anne's-on-Sea, and was subsequently imprisoned for three years for arson.

A few hours before he caused the fire he had been turned out of his local psychiatric unit and left to fend for himself. He was abandoned by both the unit, and by social services, both of whom will almost certainly have had larger caseloads than they could be expected to deal with relative to the massive needs of their clients.

The shop suffered £75k of damage, and then there is the cost of three years in gaol. He will probably be released early into the care of the same inadequate services, and the whole sorry saga may well be repeated.

The waste is not only financial, which leads to the bigger issue.

This government tries to do everything, and does all of it badly.

Bureaucracies are inherently wasteful. All this is agreed.

However, there are some jobs the private sector is unlikely to want to take on, and the more problematic procedures undertaken by the Nuffield Centre - such as Lady Tebbitt benefited from - are but one example.

The proper care for the mentally ill is another.

There is an even bigger issue: do we as a society any longer believe that those of us who are fit and well - and not in need of state support - should contribute to the welfare of those less fortunate?

Or are the less fortunate simply "scroungers" to be punished?









Essential Reading!!!, 13 Oct 2006
This book is definitely essential reading. You get the impression that our government wastes money anyway, but this handy little classic of a book puts it all in perspective. I agree with what some other reviewers have already written, all tax payers should be made to read this book, most certainly before any election.
All in all finely written, sharp, witty and to the point, Genius. It directs a firm two fingers in the direction of our tax wasting "betters", and I say well done!!!

Outstanding, 19 Jul 2006
Superb book. Touch of Robin Cooper's Timewaster Letters, which makes it informative and entertaining.

Did they ever get a reply from the President of North Korea?

Government at its 'out of control' best., 22 Mar 2006
Having just watched series one and two of Yes, Prime Minister, a review of the book, The Bumper Book of Government Waste, in the weekend papers caught my attention. On reading the review I immediately went out and bought a copy and read it cover to cover over a couple of evenings. As well as bringing a smile to my face on numerous occasions it also made my blood boil to think that the Government and its ministers can call upon money which isn't theirs and waste it, on seemingly, whatever takes their fancy.

Every tax payer in the land should read this book; how the Government gets away with what it does beggars belief. As a business owner I find the whole thing infuriating as there is now no incentive at all to run a business and employ people. It makes me want to throw in the towel and go and get a job as a civil servant, knowing fully well that I will be looked after, have a great pension and never have to worry about getting the sack from my job, no matter how badly I screw up!

The sooner the whole system of Government comes crashing to its knees the better.

A fantastic book – if only it wasn't necessary though!, 15 Mar 2006
The TaxPayers' Alliance has been getting some fantastic coverage in the media for its low tax campaign, not least due to the publication of the Bumper Book of Government Waste. The book is a comprehensive review of Government spending and how big government leads to high taxes which lead to huge waste and inefficiency. As a taxpayer, it is sometimes painful to read the examples of waste highlighted by Matthew Elliott and Lee Rotherham. It would be nice to think that there won't be a need for further editions of this book -- I somehow doubt it though!

A breathe of fresh air., 19 Dec 2004
I had the pleasure of being taught on this subject by Terry Horne a year ago. Like his teaching methods, this text uses a refreshing mix of theoretical models and frameworks together with real-world experience providing a USEFUL learning experience.

For students, this book will provide real answers which are often so hard to find. The theories brought forward are original and build on existing theories most students will be familiar with. The way in which this is done is logical and well-structured. The information is rich in both quality and quantity and follows the reader's train of thought well.

The title of this book hints that the subject matter is concentrated on a limited area; however this is not the case. Any student buying this text will find themselves referring to it for many other modules / subjects. This broad application offers great value for money. It should be noted that to fully understand areas such as Thinking Skills supplementary texts may be needed.

As well as students this book will also prove useful for managers. Rather than reams of text debating the same point whilst providing more questions than answers, this book can be used as a valuable tool of reference. The authors have clearly given weight to transferring knowledge rather than using pompous jargon and overly-complex language that serves only as a deterrent.

I'll be keeping this on my shelf.

Recommended text for any public service lecturer/student, 27 Nov 2004
This is a fantastic and well structured book which is a must for any student studying a public service cause at any level but particulary at university. It is well written and set out in such a way that makes it very easy to read.

A must buy ladies and gentlemen!

Ground breaking, 14 Feb 2007
Occasionally you come across a book that shows you how to look at familiar things in a new way. The blurry confusion of some aspects of modern life suddenly come into a clear focus. Ricardo's Law is such a book. It explains why the gap between rich and poor does not seem to shrink despite a booming economy and high tax bills to pay for welfare. It shows why certain parts of the UK have always been poorer and gives an historical understanding of why this has happened and what needs to be done to change it. It uses international research, it is right up to date in terms of government policy and it uses established economic ideas. It is easily understandable and very readable, but having said that your presuppositions will probably be challenged throughout. If you understand what it is saying, you will read the news and current affairs in a quite different way from then on.

Will we leave a much fairer society to our children and grandchildren? Having read this book you will see how it might be done.

Reviewed by Charles Bazlinton author: The Free Lunch - Fairness with Freedom




Why Tony Blair's 'Third Way' failed , 05 Jan 2007
If you have a disquieting feeling that something has gone radically awry with the governance of modern western society but can't quite put your finger on it, let me recommend this new book by Fred Harrison who emerges from its pages as a 21st century seer to fill a vast void in economic analysis.
Harrison's magnificent "Ricardo's Law, House Prices and the Great Tax Clawback Scam" pieces the evidence together to show how Tony Blair's Prime Ministership of the UK has failed the spatial dimension of good government. He takes us on an extraordinary journey from the centre of London northwards up the ancient Roman road through Lincoln and onwards to Hadrian's Wall. Amongst other compelling analyses along the route, he demonstrates how, in keeping with Ricardo's Law, wealth, house prices and the very length of life itself all decline through England's nine statistical divisions as we proceed northwards towards Hadrian's Wall and beyond, into Scotland.
Harrison demonstrates that although the real estate industry acknowledges "location, location, location", the failure of the Blair and other western governments to do so acts to handicap wealth creation and to marginalise those outside our major cities, and indeed, many people within them.
Harrison's case is incontrovertible. The book is a political breakthrough insofar as it shows that any politician claiming to represent the people simply cannot do so without an understanding of Ricardo's Law.

Non suited for the uk, 27 Apr 2008
Based on predictions for the american market rather than the uk, a lot of wild predictions, probably best to give this one a miss...

You should buy this book NOW! In 2007, before it's too late., 10 Sep 2007
A really fascinating book.

The author is NOT a professional "bestseller drudge" who churns out rubbish with catchy titles.

In fact the man is a statistician from G.E., which is saying something, who came to some conclusions about the current state of the financial world, and felt compelled to set these findings out. You should read this book, and do so this year.

New Labour's Profligacy and Incompetence Exposed, 20 Oct 2008
I deducted a star in my review of the First Edition of this book, partly because I could not find any reference to Brown's reckless - and deceitful - use of PFI schemes, which are kept "off balance".

No such doubts about the second edition, which makes it quite clear what benefits we would all get from an efficiently run government machine.

The staggering figure of £101 billion (page 19) is almost beyond comprehension, but illustrates New Labour's catastrophic failure to spend our taxes wisely and carefully.

This book is more important than ever, now that government has responded to the credit crunch - and looming recession - by racking up borrowing which, on 14 October 2008, The Independent reported to be above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time in half a century.

Six days later, the same paper reported that borrowing is heading toward the £120 billion level.

Reflect on what it might be were it not for the level of waste unearthed by TaxPayer's Alliance! Almost a tenth that figure.

Further reflect on the burden being racked-up for our children and their children.

Is six stars possible, please Amazon?

Spot on the money, but a bit hazy on economics..., 07 Jul 2008
Ann Pettifor's background appears to be in church groups campaigning for debt cancellation. Her take on debt, in particular third world debt, is primarily a moral one. This is right, as the question only has importance as it is a moral issue. She is also being proven right that, despite what the mainstream news will tell you, the debt crises are gradaully coming closer to the "first world" nations, and will inevitably occur there just as they have done everywhere else.

That said, her understanding of economics and history is a little shaky. In some cases this is only a minor problem, like saying Thatcher was PM in 1978, or the UK lost the Boer War. However, her account of Keynes is a bit mangled, and although she pitches for a moral Guardian-reader audience, her economic understanding probably owes more to writers like Michael Rowbotham. Moreover, although she is justifiably outraged at the dehumanising effects of massive debts, her strident moral tone sometimes reads as if she believes that the banks are run by sadists suicidally bent on causing mayhem for the sheer hell of it. Her attempts at a historical analysis of the development of the modern economy doesn't take into account the fact that economic pressures force people, even those in high places, to act the way they do or else to face bankruptcy themselves.

That said, this is a very timely book, and I'm not sure what other book on this topic is available just now.

highly recommended, 24 Sep 2007
This book analyses the nature, the historical context and the potentially horrific consequences of the enormous levels of debt that have grown in the so-called First World countries during recent times. Ann Pettifor shows us clearly the unsustainable structure and dynamics of our global debt-based financial systems, how Third World countries are already enslaved by irredeemable debt and how, unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will be next. She adopts an ethical stance and contrasts and compares the accepted and now orthodox laxity towards money creation and lending practices with the more controlled and conservative traditions of Islam and earlier Christianity. Towards the end of the book she outlines a five-step programme of action through which we can alleviate and manage the coming crisis by radically changing our beliefs, morals, politics, economics and personal behaviour.

Sometime within the next few years at most it is mathematically certain that there must be fundamental change of one sort or another to the current runaway global debt-laden financial system. Ann Pettifor's book alerts us to this fast approaching massive global dislocation and shows us how we might turn it into a change for the betterment and spiritual uplift of humanity rather than allow a world of misery dominated by universal debt-slavery to engulf us. Her message is that we need not be passive victims of the coming crisis and that radical change is both essential and possible. She shows that we all need urgently first to understand the nature and causes of our predicament, and then to influence and encourage those presently in power to unde