Tag: Economy

What makes a government not work in the interest of the people?

You must first define who does a government consider to be the people or more precisely ‘it’s people’. It’s citizens that live within it’s boarders? it’s voters that elected it into power? It’s own politicians that vote through its laws and or its own financial backers that fund campaigns and promote voting habits or those that profit from the decisions that it makes and advocate the policies it enacts? Sadly in the UK for many years now there has been an overwhelming consensus of opinion from those in power or promoted by those who influence and determine the policies of those in power to simply make choices that are cost saving to them, whilst at the expense of the people and results in profiteering at the expense of people, whilst decreasing quality of the goods and assets and services for people of the UK, whilst continuing to charge more for those ever decreasing quality of goods, services and assets.

A considerable proportion of people in the UK can no longer look forward to getting educated, to have a job, to buy a home and a roof over our head and then one day retire. There are no longer the quantity or quality of homes, and we no longer have the backup of a strong government to support us in providing decent water, homes, roads or medical services to us. What we receive now in all aspects of goods and services is of a poorer quality that it was prior to when the conservatives came to power in the UK and yes this is a political and policy lead problem very much caused as a result of the government decision making processes no longer working in the interest of the people but for the profiteering of the few.

This country and its people is experiencing the perfect storm of greed and incompetence, where it is perceived to not only be necessary and good in corporate and capitalist orthodoxy and that there is no alternative to exploitive capitalist ventures being only way of doing things.

This is a political view and economic choice done in order to grease the wheels of the economy and the system so as to get what can be done, done. To say this is the only way is a lie and a profitable one at that, which politicians that profit from this system tell themselves, tell us and tell those that do their bidding or profit themselves from what is being done.

A simple example of how exploiting others works well in the UK for people in power at the expense of the people and is designed to succeed over delivering a good service to the many and profit to the few. I moved into my housing association over 15 years ago and in that time it and many other housing associations have been bought up and by bigger more profitable housing associations.

What makes them bigger and more profitable is to do less work to their tenants housing stock, the less you do the more money you have to spend and can be seen to be a more profitable housing association. The more money you have means you can buy up smaller housing associations. Therefore do less and buy more puts your competitors out of business and makes you too big to be bought yourself. The quality of service to the housing tenants decreases as the profits to the associations increases. My first housing association had a community housing officer that helped me get a job assisted with me getting shoes and clothing to attend an interview which I got and was a win, win for all concerned.   

A second example of a failing normal everyday inadequate, under delivering incompetent public good is that of the UK water utilities and their failure to clean up water pollution and profiteering at the expense of the people. Water utilities have been providing money to share holders whilst failing to cleanup our waterways or future proofing water sector. It’s more profitable and economical to pay money out to share holders and pay out fines for pollution that it is to spend the money on cleaning up on said waterways in the first place and then being able to sell shares in a clean and working water industry. Government bodies designed to monitor and fine waterways are too weak in order to force water companies to change to do what they should have been doing all along which is providing clean water to customers and through clean waterways. The failing current model of delivery and service is a politically sanctioned choice that fails the people but works for water companies and government bodies and decision makers and profiteers.

Purely focusing on profit at the top as a business model only, fails society and fails to join the dots of the whole economy or social structure that it operates within. For example legislating to have housing association that can enable its tenants to take the next step after having a roof put over their heads to make steps towards going into employment so as to be able to fund that roof over their heads themselves is priceless and as a service to tenants should not be priced out of the housing model.  With regard to our waterways having clean and usable rivers and beaches is so health for the people and wildlife that use those waterways (and sadly as this is not reflected on the profit sheets of a water utility they see no gain to themselves to provide this service effectively) But the costs of not cleaning up the environment for our wildlife and for people that cannot use their polluted areas are not on anyone’s costs and balances spreadsheets.  

I always want to express the view that it pays to be kind, it is cost effective to care and that it is short sighted not to care and ultimately we all pay the price when no one cares both politically and personally.

If the UK is designed to be run down or at breaking point in the eyes of its own citizens or getting worse by the day then it is easier for politicians here to pedal their lies that we should not help those from abroad if we live in such a crap country that cannot help itself. If we were well governed we would no longer have our own countries government acting incompetently as an excuse to not help others.

Frank Turner – Be More Kind

 

The Matrix has you!

When they learn how to plug you into a digital world, you might not ever know how to unplug and come back to the real world or even the reason why you should. They will probably start plugging in the old, disabled and poor into a new matrix of control as an act of kindness, in order to save us from ourselves.

The Matrix Has you

My mum has finally sold her home in Cornwall and due to move to Devon next Wednesday; we are all really looking forward to it. Though moving during an energy crisis is not the easiest time to move if you’re trying to save money on your energy bills. Mum has spent hours over the last week on the phone to utility companies, banks and council officers trying to update her home location status with them and there are very few people left in those organisations to take her calls due to the reduction in customer services employees and a push to do everything online.

One of the key roles that I have to do in my job at the council in Exeter is answer the phone and speak to customers and as such my job is also under threat due to long term restructuring aims seeing this role as a money saving cost effective form of progress to get rid of. This so called progress has forced me to bounce in and out of work for the last 26 years of my working life, sometimes choosing to apply for new jobs prior to an organisation or role being shut down or sometimes being made redundant due to restructuring issues and businesses closing down while I am still employed at them.

I can honestly say I am a very good hardworking and dedicated employee in an area of employment that people no longer wish to employ. I know for a fact that the work that I do is hard work and still needs to be done. I solve problems that are presented to my organisations, I am always busy there is always something important that needs to be done. By sacking people like me that need to answer phones and work with customers it does not make those customers problems go away it just means those customers are either ignored now or processed via a different channel.

This job is one of the many work roles in the UK that has been rapidly phased out by many companies there is a money saving exercise to increase profits by not enabling customers to speak to staff in business and government agencies.

First that sacked the face to face staff and I did not speak out, although I too was made redundant.

Then they came for the staff that talked to customers over the phone and again I did not speak out and again I was at risk and at times made redundant or moved on.

Finally the aim will likely be to digitise the workings of staff customer service roles so that there will be none left to hire, and likely none left to speak out too!

I strongly disagree with the digitising and outsourcing to computers of employed roles within any organisations and my main reason for this is that is businesses do not need to hire people and people do not have money from working to afford to pay to put a roof over their head and feed and clothe themselves then the state will not hand them those resources on a plate.

Either so called wealthy societies such as ours learn to adapt to look after and resource their most vulnerable members of society be they pensioners, disabled or the out of work or there will be a considerable amount of damage and ongoing suffering in society to these vulnerable individuals people claim to care but often money and actions or even lack of money and lack of action speaks louder than words.

No mainstream political party in the UK grasps this nettle at present as both Labour and the Conservative parties consistently want to chase the right wing element of the voting public in this country which is why the labour party do not have my vote in the upcoming council elections and it is a labour party that is presently facilitating my next round of redundancy at the council.

I have just written to my local MP Ben Bradshaw asking him if he wholeheartedly endorse the new planned restructuring of employment roles that are going to take place at Exeter council by a labour council and merely blames the Conservative for the cuts that will be endorsed in customer services roles and can he explain to me why I should vote Labour in the next council election and vote in my own potential redundancy at the hand of a Labour lead Exeter Council?

Though I cannot stop the world from spinning even when it appears to be spinning out of control, I can at least look to make sense of the madness and express my disapproval in my own way to my political representatives at the very least.  

Your Coronavirus Pandemic 1 Year on

On 11th March 2020 the world health organisation announced that COVID-19 could be characterized as a pandemic and that a pandemic was not a word to be used lightly.

The early stages of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns were hard on many people, in different ways, unemployment, families trying to live, work and study under one roof or individuals having to rely on themselves and draw on their own resilience resources to adapt and absorb the enormity of the situation. There were also many other challenges severely affected the mental well-being of many people around the world and yet here we are, a year on.

It’s a tough subject to write about and one which we are all effected by on daily basis in our own uniquely uncomfortable way. It’s possible to feel both guilt for the good things that have happened as well as joy or remorse for the bad things that have happened and yet relief for the bad things that have not happened too, all in one blink of an eye on a reflection of range emotions and issues.

I do also wonder what would have happened politically, socially and environmentally to our streets, towns, cities, countries and planet had no pandemic occurred and life had continued to race on at its break neck speed into potential oblivion.

It feels like the brakes have been put on a runaway train of consumer capitalism that was our everyday race for life and although consumer capitalism is still very much our way of life and affords us to live, can we now appreciate what we have a little more and aspire to protect and value the sanctity of life in a new found appreciation of what we have and what we hold dear to us. Essential workers can finally feel that well for want of a better word they are essential to the fabric of human life and society.

Who would have thought 12 months ago that to stack a shelf in grocers store was a means to help feed a nation. If I had my way I would give all essential workers and minimum waged workers a huge pay increase not as a thank you but as an acknowledgment to the role they play in a society and economy. This would enable workers to be able to afford to keep an adequate roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. The money that the low paid earn is ploughed straight back into the economy because unlike the wealthy they don’t have the luxury of saving wealth you simply spend to live.

You could tax pollutants such as fossil fuels like they were industries equivalents to humans smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol. You could also create a new digital economy type of VAT where everything bought online had a Digital value deducted tax. It would cause prices to increase but if people are earning more this would still balance out.

Well look at that not been in a pub or had a drink of alcohol for what must be over 3 months and still getting drunk on ideas and trying to put the world to rights. Roll on the open of those bars again so I can go in and start to have a conversation about ideas like this and pretend it is because I am drunk again!   

Massive Attack – Teardrop