An 84-year-old British grandmother of 8 gets $57.5m a year from government handouts
65 replies, posted
[url]http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11088571[/url]
[release]Like millions of her subjects, Queen Elizabeth II is going to have to make do and mend — cutting spending and putting off palace repairs as royal finances are squeezed by Britain's budget crisis.
Accounts published Monday by Buckingham Palace reveal the total public cost of supporting the monarchy was 38.2 million pounds ($57.8 million) in the year to March 31, the equivalent of 62 pence (94 cents) per person. The total is more than 3 million pounds less than in 2008-2009.
Britain's public sector is facing cuts as the government tries to eliminate a record deficit, and Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said the royal household "is acutely aware of the difficult economic climate" and will be cutting costs and putting off essential maintenance.
The 84-year-old queen receives 7.9 million pounds ($12.3 million) of public money each year to pay for staff and other costs, an amount that has not risen in 20 years. The accounts show also drew an extra 6.5 million pounds ($9.8 million) from a reserve fund built up over the years by saving portions of her allocated budget.
If the queen continues to use money from her reserve at the current rate, the fund will run out by 2012 — the year she celebrates her 60th year on the throne.
She had been expected to ask for an increase in basic funding this year, but the government — which is bringing in deep cuts to welfare payments and spending programs — imposed a freeze until at least next year.
The accounts show the government spent more than 15 million pounds ($23.4 million) on the upkeep of royal residences including Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and almost 4 million pounds ($6.2 million) on royal travel. Both amounts were down from the previous year.
Reid said the royal household would be cutting its property services budget by half a million pounds, "implementing a head count freeze and reviewing every vacancy to see if we can avoid replacement."
He said "the necessary cuts in public expenditure will have an impact on the backlog of essential maintenance which it is hoped can be addressed in the longer term."
"In the meantime, the household is continuing to pursue opportunities to reduce costs and generate income from the estate's assets, including commercial lettings and management charges," he said.
News of the royal cost-cutting did not satisfy the anti-monarchy group Republic, which held a protest outside Buckingham Palace on Monday.
Campaign manager Graham Smith said Britain's monarchy was the most expensive in Europe, and "continues to waste many millions of pounds of taxpayers' money when front line services are being threatened."
"It's time to slash the budgets without reservation or sentiment," he said.[/release]
Wow, I didn't know that she got that much money.
Holy shit that's a lot of money
That's a fuckton of money.
brb voting for BNP
No worries, she'll run out of money right in time for the apocalypse.
I have to keep my Castle clean rather than the good of my country.
Does she get money from all Commonwealth nations as well, or just the UK?
[editline]02:12AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=WickedIcon;23143322]That's a fuckton of money.
brb voting for BNP[/QUOTE]
:gonk:
Useless, old, money-chugging entitled bag of hapless shit. She need's to die, and take the last reminents of the monarchy to hell with her.
In summary, fuck the queen.
[QUOTE=BBKF;23145049]Useless, old, money-chugging entitled bag of hapless shit. She need's to die, and take the last reminents of the monarchy to hell with her.
In summary, fuck the queen.[/QUOTE]
Monarchy have no place in todays society. It's nothing more than extreme welfare for a selected few.
[QUOTE=BBKF;23145049]
In summary, fuck the queen.[/QUOTE]
Good god what is with this language!
I don't even see the point of having a queen, she is of no use, [not so] Great Britain is far from a monarchy.
[QUOTE=BBKF;23145049]Useless, old, money-chugging entitled bag of hapless shit. She need's to die, and take the last reminents of the monarchy to hell with her.
In summary, fuck the queen.[/QUOTE]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upm8z2nF5Ws[/media]
[editline]11:53PM[/editline]
thread music I suppose
the royal family are all a bunch of useless people now
they're nothing but glorified celebrities and they do shit like pushing homeopathy which is detrimental to society
I thought this was just gonna be a normal British grandma who found a loophole of some sort.
[QUOTE=Hoffa1337;23145117]Monarchy have no place in todays society. It's nothing more than extreme welfare for a selected few.[/QUOTE]
Oh but the media loves them, that's their only purpose
Well I do sorta like prince charles
Reading your comments makes me sad, guys. It's the culture of your country, how at least some decency! :smith:
Lets all forget the stability provided in times of crisis by having a stable vestige of emergency power in the queen for all of the royal realms.
[QUOTE=Luuper;23145438]Lets all forget the stability provided in times of crisis by having a stable vestige of emergency power in the queen for all of the royal realms.[/QUOTE]
Does she need $57.7m a year to support her personal staff and massive mansion to retain these powers
it's a lot cheaper than the government's solution to such an emergency would be
She should have to live in a flat.
Title is misleading.
[QUOTE=WickedIcon;23143322]That's a fuckton of money.
brb voting for BNP[/QUOTE]
They would spend more money on the queen. Durp.
In fairness, although the monarchy is useless, she does bring in a fair amount of tourism. However whether that matches up to $57.8m a year, I'm not quite sure.
57 m is not really alot of money to a government
[QUOTE=Paravin;23145414]Reading your comments makes me sad, guys. It's the culture of your country, how at least some decency! :smith:[/QUOTE]
They sit around on their ass and do fuck all that your average person couldn't do.
They are the final remnants of a long gone age, and the sooner they all die the better.
Let her only have one castle (one is too much) and put the others up as tourist attractions and shit to generate some money.
[editline]12:28PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Paravin;23145414]Reading your comments makes me sad, guys. It's the culture of your country, how at least some decency! :smith:[/QUOTE]
Fuck no.
[editline]12:30PM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Luuper;23145438]Lets all forget the stability provided in times of crisis by having a stable vestige of emergency power in the queen for all of the royal realms.[/QUOTE]
Yeah but you're Canadian.
[QUOTE=BBKF;23145049]Useless, old, money-chugging entitled bag of hapless shit. She need's to die, and take the last reminents of the monarchy to hell with her.
In summary, fuck the queen.[/QUOTE]
Charles will be fucking pissed if it ends with her.
[QUOTE=JLea;23147680]57 m is not really alot of money to a government[/QUOTE]
While I'm not fond of the royal family he has a point, the UK's GDP was measured at $2.67 Trillion in 2008, that's $2,670,000,000,000 of which 0.0021535 is spent on the royal family as a percentage (if my maths is right).
...Yet no one complains about the crap load of money we pay out to MP's...
What the hell does the Queen actually [B][I]do[/I][/B] other than sit on her arse? We don't need a Queen, we have a government.
Thread song
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f42Hpfrs7_E[/media]
[QUOTE=David29;23148402]...Yet no one complains about the crap load of money we pay out to MP's...[/QUOTE]
Actually people do, besides MP's actually fucking do something for the country.
and how much does she bring in with tourism
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