Surprise, surprise!

[observer]

Well Dave and Nick have looked at the books and surprise, surprise, have announced that the financial shambles left by Gordy, is even worse than they suspected. So we're now being softened up for the pain to come - job losses, pay cuts, benefit cuts, service cuts etc. Now whilst everyone will demand that this process is "fair", it's highly probable that the bankers and city slickers at the heart of this disaster will have their golden parachutes ready and along with the rest of the super-rich will avoid the worst of the storm; so it'll be for Plebs to take the strain, the same Plebs who had to bale out the banks and who will now have to bale out the State. So the Tories and Libs will be dishing out the medicine, but alas won't be thanked for it at the next election; meanwhile, the main cause of our living beyond our means, will sit back and criticise, and surf the inevitable public back-lash! Funny old world?!

[observer]

,,,, and, right on queue, Mrs Vobe has already started surfing!(ww news)

[Sue Durnim]

The politicians, bankers and the decision makers who influence our futures and the money in our pocket, can sit in their safe ringed fenced positions and golden hand shaked pensions, salaries and share issues, they can make a bad mistake after bad mistake and do not feel the pain of what they have done wrong.

 

They leave the general public and small businesses who have to struggle and pay for their inadequate and mismanagement time in government or for those in a position of power in banks who gamble money freely at no financial loss to them selves, getting paid even higher bonuses for making even bigger mistakes, to see them gloat and relax in their secure stately mansions paid for by ripping off the tax payer and customers of Great Britain with not an ounce of regret, guilt or remorse.

[safeway56]

*We're all in this together* cried Lord Snooty...His 17 fellow millionaires in his cabinet nodded in approval.

[observer]

Well this whole fiasco started with a "private sector" (banks) foul up - and now the "public sector" is being forced to pay the price.

[observer]

Meanwhile, while we are bracing ourselves for some financial pain; Dave has waltzed over to Afghanistan and is throwing money around like Gordy Brown, on a corrupt Karsai regime - the mind boggles.

[asperity]

Well this whole fiasco started with a "private sector" (banks) foul up - and now the "public sector" is being forced to pay the price.

 

So it wasn't Brown spending more money than was coming in that caused it?

 

[observer]

Of course, Gordy did what most countries and individuals did; tried to live on credit and run up debts; binge drinking on the free ale being doled out by the landlord (private sector banks and the city). If you recall, this fiasco started in the US sub-prime mortgage market, where monies were given out to folk who were bound to default; creating toxic debt, that these "risk takers" bought into, with our money. And yes, as did Maggie before, Bliar started a love affair with the financial sector (at the expense of our manufacturing base), with Brown resorting to "light touch" regulation, which unleashed a wave of fiscal anarchy. Then, as we know, the banks were deemed "to big" to fail, and the good old Plebs were called upon to bale them out, meanwhile the bankers were still pocketing obscene bonuses. Now those commercial debts have been nationalised, creating what is now called "sovereign debt" - and Nations being deemed "to big" to fail - we now have austerity programmes - and guess who's going to have to pay? Yes: the Plebs again - while the main culprits swan off to their nest eggs in the Virgin Isles etc. btw. this is not the first time we've been in this position (albeit for a different reason); in 1945 we had a national debt of well over 100% of GDP; principally to the Yanks; it took 60 years to pay them back; but in 1945, the NHS was created, homes were built, jobs were created (so many that we had to import labour from the W/Indies!); private sector industries were nationalised and growth resumed.

[wolfie]

I did have a great deal of respect for Vince Cable and was looking forward to watching him on Question Time last night.

 

However Peter Hitchens made him look an absolute fool on several occasions.

 

Cable himself clearly looked embarassed trying to defend coalition policies that he obviously didn't agree with.

[observer]

Sadly doing the right thing in politics is normally suicidal electorally.

[observer]

Seems electoral support for the LibDems has plumeted - perhaps in politics - "he who dares" loses!

[wahl]

Just wait until the useless overpaid jobs in WBC are cut listen to the cries then.

[observer]

When the top of trees are thinned out, it usually costs a bomb in severance pay, plus those left, usually get a huge pay rise - for the extra responsibilities taken on!

[Sue Durnim]

According to leaked information from the Government, 600,000 public worker jobs will have to go, (some stat's say 5.8 million people work in the public sector) doing my sums, that is almost 10% of the workforce. WBC could see at least 800 more jobs being lost?

[Eagle]

Three cheers for the Government. Cutting two tiers of management in every department will make a big hole in the 800.

[Robbo]

Surely you don't think it will be management jobs that will go.

[observer]

Given that many private sector jobs depend om public sector contracts, perhaps someone could explain where this surge in private sector jobs is coming from, given our industrial base is now miniscule.

[Sue Durnim]

What are the chances?

 

Now it?s official that this country is in a financial mess and cut backs upon cut backs will have to be suffered by individuals, families, private and public sectors, what the chances that, the Police, Parking Attendants, litter Wardens and Speed Cameras will be extra focused on collecting revenue from speeding fines, parking fines and fines for dropping litter etc.

 

No doubt penalties and fines will be on the increase too, including other ways of patching up leaking financial chasm?s caused by the last incumbent of No 10 and the so called whiz kids in the banking institutions, already mentioned is the proposed introduction of further toll roads, probably paying a pound a mile on certain routes for car and lorry users?

[observer]

Seems nothing will be sacred (certainly not for the Plebs) this time round - the necessary medicine is going to taste rather unpleasant - and the patient ain't going to thank the doctor at the end of it!

[Sue Durnim]

Observer, with your analogy the hospitals will be short of staff, equipment and wards, the sick and the dying will be put together with the odd nut and bolt, if we are to be lucky and we will all be looking similar to a Dr Frankenstein?s out-patient?

[observer]

To continue the medical analogy; the trauma caused by the operation can kill the patient. Whilst the books have to be balanced, and responsible fiscal managemet restored; we still need to grow the economy in order to pay the taxes to pay off the debt. Folk out of work, can't do this. In 1945 we had bigger debts and an infrastructure that was literally wrecked; the nation not only overcame the problems, but went on to create a welfare State - OK. it took 60 years to repay the Yanks - but we built our way out of it - so it can be done.