Earlier in the week I mentioned about the noticeable signs of winter. Today we had the first frost of the year. And when I wandered down the garden at 10.30am the ice in the water features was still half an inch thick. I’m taking that as God’s way of telling me to put the Koi to bed for the winter. They won’t like it, but there it is.
Yesterday the Government (I never voted for them!) announced their spending cuts. I actually listened to the announcements as they were made live on the radio. When the Chancellor was speaking he kept saying what he was doing and what he was planning and where he was going to spend more money. At the time he didn’t actually say very much at all about where the cuts would fall.
It’s interesting that he slagged off the previous Government quite comprehensively, and laid the blame for our financial mess firmly on their doorstep. Especially interesting seeing how when all this financial disaster first kicked off, his party were (at the time) broadly supportive of the previous government’s fiscal plans.
Today’s news is full of financial doom and gloom, but then (let’s be honest) we all expected it to be. But (to be very selfish) what difference will it make to me? My pension contributions are going up and retirement will come later than I’d planned. And I’ll pay more tax, but then, won’t we all.
On a broader scale there will be fewer coppers on the beat, but then we never see any Old Bill on the beat anyway, and from bitter experience they don’t actually do much for anyone, do they? And what few remaining coppers there are will (presumably) be busy chasing the villains who aren’t going to be in prison, as the Ministry of Justice is facing cuts too.
Perhaps (seeing how the Government wants a smaller public sector and loves private enterprise) we could set up our own vigilante mobs to deliver justice as we ourselves see fit?
The cost of higher education is to go through the roof. So much for plans to have an educated population – who needs an education anyway? Rail fares are to go up and the BBC is to face massive cuts. So much for their financial independence.
It’s interesting that the Navy will still be allowed to have its two new aircraft carriers at a cost of a squillion pounds each. They will have no aircraft to carry, and the Navy will have no other ships at all, But HMS Prince of Wales
And talking of senior Royals, the Civil List has got the chop. For all that I am an ardent Royalist, whilst Her Majesty is currently comfortable, I wonder how the Monarchy will cope in the future?
I’m told it’s necessary as the country is in debt. To whom are we in debt? Can’t we tell them to get stuffed? And whilst all this goes on, as a nation we can still afford to pay soccer players a million pounds a week wages… Am I missing something..?
From my understanding it seems the whole world is in a financial crisis and in severe debt. This being the case.....who is the whole world in debt to? Martians....or maybe Ferengi? I wish someone would explain to me how the whole world can be in debt.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that all this cutting is simply going to help the rich get richer and the poor get yet another kick in the wallet. In truth the rozzers are to busy bothering decent folk to worry about the criminal community, if we do start a vigilante squad the villains will only get round the clock protection from the folk wanting serve a large portion of what they so rightly deserve!
ReplyDeleteWe keep being told that we can't squeeze the banks because they would take their business elsewhere, but no one seems to connect the dots and think that if they hadn't been here we wouldn't be in the mess that we are in. My view is call the investment banks bluff and squeeze them for all they are worth, and if the bugger off then thats no bad thing.
ReplyDeleteWho is the world in hock to - THE BANKS!