The Chancellor today fed everyone the bad news and now we know that the National Debt is collossal. This is the backdrop to the Public Service workers strike tomorrow where they will take to the streets waving their flags demonstrating to retain a pension that the nation cannot afford.
I can understand that they want to keep their wealth but the country is in the mess because their party, the Labour Party, ruined the economy of the country. It was 13 years of socialist mismanagement (which had to be deliberate) which has cost them their pensions so there is no point in continuing to be angry because they supported the very people who let them down.
Let them ask Gordon Brown where the money went! let them ask Gordon Brown why he signed us away to Europe! Let them ask why our soldiers are constantly assigned to wars that we cannot afford. We are skint and we have been fighting a pointless war for years now.
I have been listening to the politicians and their petty point scoring but nobody seems capable of addressing our real needs. They must have known that Bombardier in Derby desperately needed the railway contract that they awarded to Siemens. Our politicians, on all sides, should start backing Britain. All major government contracts should stay in the country.
We must tell the EU that we cannot keep subsidising their profligacy. All Foreign Aid, with the exception of emergency aid, should cease immediately. We must tighten up on immigration and that means seeking out 'illegals' who are milking the welfare system. We must also seriously review welfare payments and introduce a time limit on unemployment benefit. I would also limit child benefit to two children.
I have no idea what penalties the government placed on the banks but if they still owe the nation money then that money should be repaid before they pocket any further bonuses. The Tories should also implement their election promise to cap the salaries of the town Hall Fatcats.
If we could only see an effort being made to reduce the huge expenditure by the politicians then I think that many who will walk out tomorrow may think again. However it doesn't appear that any of those responsible can stop our taxes from being frittered away in a never ending tide of ineptitude. The public sector will march tomorrow knowing full well that what they want is unaffordable but what the hell when you are surrounded by greed it becomes contagious.
2 comments:
Cannot but agree. Public Sector Pensions. Mmmm. I get one of those.
Are they fair? Probably not today.
When I signed up - nearly 50 years ago - the salary was somewhat less than in the private sector but the pension was good and that was the contract.
A fair trade off. Lower salary but better pensions. Except I have since undertaken freelance work in the private sector and found workers paid 50% more, with as good a pension scheme, than they would receive in the public sector for the same job. Worse is that they were far less competent - otherwise they wouldn't have needed me. I am well competent.
Mrs Thatcher somewhat screwed that by abandoning the pension rise being linked to average increases in earnings. Osborne/Cameron have further broken the contract by the link to CPI.My "gold plated pension" is actually covered in copper and the verdigris is showing.
My original contract has been breached several times now by the "employer" and I suffered reduced pay (compared to the private sector) in return for a con.
MY pension is with the funded Local Government Scheme.
NHS, Civil Servants, Police, Fire and others have UNFUNDED schemes. Some of those get better pensions earlier.
For example. I served almost 30 years in LG and left as a Deputy Chief Officer in a major Northern City. A Police Constable, with the same length of service, retiring at the same time. gets pretty much the same pension as me. Cannot be fair. I actually paid more in and at least equalled an Assistant Chief Constable in a major Force.
Then again Labour Local Authorities often promoted failing senior officers to the senior job for a year to increase their pensions. The Chief Officer was paid 50% more than the Deputy. Promoted 1 year before retirement increased the Deputy's pension by 50%. Why do they do that?
We are generally of accord because I too have a public service pension, in fact I have FOUR (if you include my army pension and my state pension). Of course when you and I were earning our old age nobody who worked in the public sector actually earned a great deal. In those days our pensions were our security. In this modern age they earn enormous salaries which are linked to their pensions and that is the problem.
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