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Does my society look big in this? Understanding the numbers

penguin | 10.02.2011 21:55 | Analysis | Public sector cuts

The politicos keep telling us there's no money left, so we have to cut, cut, and cut again. So where has all the money gone? In the week that bankers get their bonuses, and the ONS has said how much the banks bail out, I've had a look at the numbers.





All of the talk of public finances confuses me. What's a billion compared to a million? What does that mean? How does it relate to other numbers? When the politicos say "the coffers are empty", where has all the money gone?

I've tried to understand this by making some images. It's almost like we're being ripped off and told lies ;-)

Sources for the data available from my blog.

penguin
- Homepage: http://penguin.ox4.org/node/586

Comments

Display the following 14 comments

  1. Not quite! — anarchist
  2. An attempt at an explanation — MDN
  3. most of that money isnt spent, its underwritten — capitalism rocks
  4. I hate to point out the obvious but: — Anon
  5. To: capitalism rocks — Dragon
  6. @anon — penguin
  7. capitalism is slavery — A
  8. amazed by this comment — what planet are you on?
  9. @ Anon — Stroppyoldgit
  10. What planet am I on? — A
  11. what planet — albert
  12. stroppy — anon
  13. Dragons be here — UXB
  14. banks are labour's scapegoat — anon