Mindsets

Just watching one (of many) latest reports this AM on the various financial fun 'n games.

And... wait for... it... just had to offer a thought.

Because the Breakfast bouffant laid out for us the two options we council tax payers face as a consequence of some of those who impose such taxes blowing the civic wad with bad investments.

The only choices were, to him:

1) Taxes go up
2) Services go down

I had to suggest that there was surely, Yoda-like, 'another':

3) Pay, pensions and/or perks go down... or at least get held

Oddly, such a thing seems not to have occurred to the employee of an entity who, like councils, does not serve in, and hence suffer from the vagaries of the real world.

One pities those who may not have been directly responsible within any organisation in such a case, but as one who has shared the pain with many a company in my career, it may aid understanding of how life is amongst the income generators who co-fund the licence fee.

Indy - Councils trapped in £1bn black hole - Council tax payers are facing increased bills or cuts in services to pay for a £1bn black hole

Indy - Leading article: Local authorities cannot duck their responsibilities

Gaurdian - History can guide, yet there are new limits of the possible

Speaking of mindsets...

Even more oddly, this 'choice' was mirrored in the Indy, too.

Could work for government & quangos, too.

And then, if that works, there's the now discredited notion of 'bonusses', especially getting back those paid for meeting targets to serve short personal aims rather than public service.

Newsnight -

As there's no 'general' 'What's exciting today, children?' one yet, and the last Editor's blog was in August, I guess this will have to do, if O/T, before I head off and earn a crust..

'Gordon Brown to sue Iceland over near £1bn of frozen bank deposits'

Lawyers! Start your engines!

Mr. Brown 'showing by his action' that he stands by people who can save his career?

Oh, and what a pickle elsewhere...

It seems that across the board, public service means self service first.

'He warned that if the investments could not be recovered, residents could face council tax increases or cuts in local services.'

Telegraph - The public sector must not be exempt from the cuts -

At last! After a morning trawling the media funda... firmament, the first articulation of what sprang into my mind from the moment I popped on Breakfast TV and opened a few online papers up (inc. this one)..

The two options we council tax payers face as a consequence of some of those who impose such taxes blowing the civic wad with bad investments.

1) Taxes go up
2) Services go down

It's astounding to me that there was no hint of recognition that, like you have articulated, Yoda-like, 'another':

3) Pay, pensions and/or perks go down... or at least get held

Oddly, such a thing seems not to have occurred to the employee of entities who, like councils, do not serve in, and hence suffer from the vagaries* of the real world.

One pities those who may not have been directly responsible within any organisation in such a case, but as one who has shared the pain with many a company in my career, it may aid understanding of how life is amongst the income generators who co-fund their salaries.

Could work for government & quangos, too.

And then, if that works, there's the now discredited notion of 'bonuses', especially getting back those paid for meeting targets to serve short-term personal aims rather than public service.

Then I find that our Dear Leader's next clunking great notion is... sue!

Lawyers! Start your engines!

Mr. Brown 'showing by his action' that he stands by people who can save his career?

Oh, and what a pickle (for the tunnel-notioned sentiment seems common to all who feed at the trough) elsewhere...

It seems that across the board, public service means self service first.

'He (Conservative Local Gov. type Mr. Pickles) warned that if the investments could not be recovered, residents could face council tax increases or cuts in local services.'

Telegraph - Gordon Brown is right: his recklessness must be punished -

*Telegraph - Cartooning credit crunch carnage -

'My non-journalist friends and family..'

One presumes that they, like me, were not laughing at our newly invigorated ('..the smile... the confidence... the bravura!') PM's recent .... 'joke' either.

Yours,

A self-employed, middle-aged, Anglo-Saxon male with family to raise and no sodding pension in his sights, save the ones I am having to fund cut by thousandth cut

Newsnight - Backroom battle rages: what do we get for £35bn?

'the executives go immediately onto civil service payscales. '

Easy, Tiger.

That would also include Civil Service pension arrangements too, would it not?

And empathising with how those work for the rest of the country generating the money to fund them has not as far as I can see, worked too well of late in the various mindsets at play.

From the Independent to Eric Pickles I am still resisting the notion of 'The Two Choices', namely taxes up or services down, without the other in the mix even registering: public service sharing the public pain, too.

Telegraph - The public sector needs to share people's pain

Newsnight - You have to read this:

'As a public sector worker for the past 20 years I can say the idea that I should share in the pain caused by the greed of the capitalist system handing out money to itself when I have taken below inflation pay rises for every one of those 20 years is absurd and an insult ... so I feel no hesitation in saying sort your own bloody mess out.'

An interesting insight into the 'them' vs. 'us' mentality of 'a public sector worker for the past 20 years' that somehow creates a different form of working person to those not in the public sector, and then conflates all with a bunch of City bankers.

To get insulted by the odd notion that in addition to whatever adjustments (I'm betting down) to the pay structure many like myself labour under, whatever else we either fork out more to keep public sector workers on track or keep paying and see what they currently deliver removed is... interesting. And also rather cute divorcing oneself from your direct employers so totally when it comes to accountability. I've told a lot of folk who hired me that they were wrong, and often paid the price of being right. That's life.

As one who has gained very little from the mess of the last decade (with public spending for often poor returns a factor of note) over which I have had little control, I'd like to think my forthcoming vote (though frequent poster Barrie S and I have disagreed on this) might go some way to expressing how I feel about the 'bloody mess' that has been imposed on me and mine, but at least by accepting (if not enjoying) my position in the electorate of a democracy, and being subject to and grudgingly accepting the consequences of same, I will politely suggest it is, at the very least 'our' mess. Grasping that might be a help, for both teacher and students alike, in the future.

Times - Urgent talks to avert rise in council tax

Newsnight -

Just noticed... no bonuses... this year.

Don't spend what you can't afford to pay.

Always keep something back for a rainy day.

Be professional, ethical and true in your dealings.

Understand your limitations.

Listen before speaking.

Don't fib.

Don't underestimate your audience....

Nope. I can't see who you could invite on either.
As to guests....