Is this cost cutting?

Somerset council is struggling to reduce its £350 million debt has hired a cost cutting consultant on salary of £700 a day the six month contract will earn Lesley Ottery about £181,000 the council will also have to pay £100 a day in agency fees and expenses. This from a conservative lead council that is axing 1,500 jobs Mrs Ottery is a former business service manager at West Sussex Council a council spokesperson said the she is delivering many millions of pounds in savings. I just hope that the people of Somerset show their disdain by refusing to pay their community charges.

Budget Economic and Financial Experts.

So the chancellor has given his budget and as usual the opposition do not agree with his forecast, but whats new about that, it happens at every budget, no matter which party is in power. But the annoying part is all the so called economic and financial experts and pundits who suddenly appear on our screens giving their predictions and speculating about who is right or wrong, when the bottom line is that none of them truly know what is going to happen over the next year or even over the next week, and at the end of the day one or two of these experts may be correct but no body knows till they are proved right by world circumstances. Which of these economic or financial expert predicted the devastating earthquakes in in New Zealand  and Japan or the even worse devistation from the Tsunami. Flood and fires in other areas of the globe over the past twelve months were not predicte. Then we have the unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya that is spreading to other areas of the Middle East and these are areas of the world that are monitared by the CIA and other intelligence organisations yet this upsurge in these countries now demanding free elections overthrowing dictators that have ruled them for in some cases for nearly half a century  as they demand democracy. All these things are occuring in far off areas of the globe. They may  not have in some cases have been predictable, but these happenings  affects  what goes on in the financial markets here and around the globe. The bottom line is that when these economic and financial advisers make predictions or recommendations they have as very little knowledge than the average man in the street. Perhaps these experts would be more accurate if they used a ouija board.

UN Resolution 1973 Black and White or Grey Areas.

The UN resolution 1973 that gave permission for a no fly zone over Libya now seems to have been rushed through, and now is leading to confusion between ministers and the military. If the resolution was to implement a no fly zone why have NATO coalition aircraft targeted Libyans air defence sites? Should the UN have informed Gaddafi that if any of his aircraft flew they would be shot down and if any of his air defence sites shot at coalition aircraft then these sites would  be attacked. There has been no reports of these air defence sites or radars locking onto coalition aircraft at any time.There is now confusion in certain parts of the coalition as to whether the resolution permitted the coalition to attack Gaddafi himself, or not. The attack on his compound must surely be an attempt to remove him from power, regime change in any bodies language. The French have attacked and destroyed some of Gaddafi's tanks, this again is supporting the rebels and must be against what the resolution 1973 intended, as this kind of action supports the rebels.   In the House of Commons 557 MP's have voted to support the governments action on Libya with 13 voting against. Yet there are reports that many MP's are not happy with the situation, if they are not happy with the situation then they should have voted against the government when they had the chance. 

MP's Expenses. Again.

Well we are into a new parliament and the expenses scandal that rocked the last parliament that was exposed thanks to the Fourth Estate is forgotten by the MP's or so it would seem. IPSA the expenses watchdog is expected to relax the so called draconian rules after a ten month campaign by mutinous MP's. Some of the changes are to let more MP's claim second home allowances, members with families to claim more, and MP's to be able to claim more on their parliamentary credit cards. On Monday MP's will vote to freeze their pay for two years, this has been proposed by Downing Street rather than been voluntary on the part of MP's.Been left to their own devises we know how the vast majority of them would vote. This goes to show that MP's are not in this with the rest of the population, who are having to tighten their belt in these austere times. MP's with older children could now claim travel  and accommodation for children up to 16 and 18 if they are still in full time education, now they can only claim for children up to 5 years old. They are saying that it puts a strain on family life because they cannot afford to see their children enough. How sad, but they should have realised the strains that it may cause on family life before they became MP's. Its like the MP's who keep bleating on about the salaries they are on and how they earned four or five times more before the became MP's. Becoming an MP isn't compulsory, they knew the pay and conditions before they become MP's. I thought that MP's became MP's because they wanted to do something to improve the country and well being of its citizens. As each day passes it becomes more and more clear that the vast majority of them are only out for what they can get for themselves, and how they can improve their standing with better contacts in the business world.

Fat cats are not good for the Public.

The Big Society that David Cameron is talking about is only big for the fat cats who now run our services through companies such as Capita, Serco, and G4S,and who hope to run even more of them as councils outsource more and more to save money but do  they save money? Outsourcing work does not save tax payers money, because these companies are in business for one thing and one thing only to make money. If the government or councils give them contracts but as for a saving, the companies may agree, but they will never be out of pocket because they will either cut the employees wages or get rid of staff,  just to keep their profits at the same level or above. The bosses of these companies are rewarding themselves salaries in there millions and believe that they can justify it by saying that they are doing a good job. They can in many cases prove this by showing efficiency charts, but we know that in many cases these are fictionalised  by doctoring the results. See Dispatches: Britain's Secret Fat Cats that was on Channel 4. We know that the previous governments PFI Publicly Funded Initiative schemes that were used to build and maintain some of our schools and hospitals cost millions to build and run, and its the tax payers who will be paying for these schemes for the next two or more decades, yet these schemes  do not save the tax payers money, they cost the tax payers more. The only people to get anything from them are the organisations who were given the funding to complete these projects. If they were schemes to save the tax payers money how come that these companies are pocketing millions of pounds that should by rights be going back into the chancellors coffers.

Health and Safety Gone Mad.

In the media today we see how stupid idiotic and low this country has now slumped to. When the police and fire brigade crews were told to wait till a special water rescue crew was dispatched to retrieve a body from a lake. Was this lake twenty feet deep was it suffering from a tsunami wave due to a hurricane. No it was two feet deep, two bloody feet deep that any competent ten year old could have walked into with no harm. Superintendent Phil Winchester said "officers saw no obvious sign of life so immediate entry into the water not appropriate as it may have compromised the lives of others."  One has to ask how they saw no sign of life, from the safety of the edge of the lake. Perhaps the man had just fallen in within the past few minutes, but more importantly how could it have compromised the lives of others. Did the officers not want to get their feet wet? No body wants to see the emergency service personnel taking risks that will endanger their lives. Yet these so called health and safety rules are now making these people look foolish to say the least. It just goes to show that these people are over paid and under worked. Greater love has no man....  but in this case no body was going to have to lay down their life. Just get their feet and legs slightly wet. And we see the signs on the side of police cars to protect and serve, and the fire service has the audacity to use the word fire and rescue service. I just thank God that the RNLI never comes up with these kinds of excuses. This is a proper service staffed by men and woman, who I might add do this in their spare time and when called out go out in torrential weather, and the do it without pay unlike our other overpaid so called emergency services. 

Military double talk from Cameron

Its reported that Britain will push the USA and NATO to implement a no-fly zone over Libya, this sounds very gunge ho from a prime minister that has cut Britain's military capability to the bone. Harriers scrapped or moth balled, Nimrods scrapped, aircraft carriers scrapped.  There is even talk of selling the Harriers  to India, or another as yet undisclosed country yet he still seems to think that we are a world power on both the diplomatic and military scene, when the truth is that we are slipping further behind some third world countries. After 13years of Labour mismanagement we have got a government that hasn't been in power for a year and they are having to backpedalling on policies. Every time a government minister makes a statement. Even William Hague has got it wrong at least twice on Libya, saying that Gaddafi  had left for Venezuela then the debacle over the special forces that were held for some hours before being released. Have we any confidence in these people I don't think so. Perhaps if they checked their history books they wouldn't make such basic errors. But they have been busy taking PPE's at university, thinking that this will qualify them to run the country, well it just goes to show how wrong they are?

Perks, bonuses, and greed.

Its been reported that some Lieutenant Colonels earning a salary of £81,000 a year are leaving the army because some of their perks have been taken off them, they complain that they will struggle to meet the boarding fees at Eton, that are around £30,000 a year how sad. Why should the public pay for this, I'm quite sure that there are thousands of parents who would love to send their children to these kinds of establishments. Doesn't these Lieutenant Colonels think that they should pay for this out of their salary's? Only 0.1% of  private soldiers receive this allowance and 10% of non commissioned officers. The MoD education allowances system has been criticised because more than £40 million of the annual  £180 million budget goes on Lieutenant Colonels and other ranks earning £81,000 and above. On another vain, now we are seeing councils having to cut services and make staff redundant as they have to balance the books as they find savings of anywhere between £14 million to £29 million and above depending on the size of the council. These large amounts are what some individuals in the banking profession are getting as bonuses, and in many cases for failing. Now we are seeing   the police  complaining that they are having their salaries cut, when in fact they are not. They may be having their perks cut, that is a totally different thing. They are complaining in some cases that if their overtime allowances are cut their standard of living will fall. How sad. Over 60,000 police officers do not work unsocial ours (8pm-6am) Many receive double pay for working Sundays and also get a day off in lieu. One Metropolitan police VIP protection officer is reported to have received £67,000 in overtime payments in a year, three times his salary. Other officers complain that if they have to contribute more to their pension schemes, a freeze on pay, and allowance cuts that he will have to forgo holidays, fewer night out and their children will have no school trips. Welcome to the real world, there are thousands of people who have to work overtime as part of their normal working week with very little increase for having to work unsocial hours without twice the daily rate or a day off in lieu.They say that policing is a dangerous job, that they put their lives on the line each day, that they may be attacked on the street in the line of duty, its not right, but they  knew that might happen when they signed on to become a police officer. Paramedics, ambulance crews doctors, nurses, face similar things every working day but they didn't sign on for that when they took up their profession. No body should have their wages cut and no body in these professions are. But the culture of bonuses no matter how large or small isn't creating hardships it has created greed, and these people who have reasonable salaries should remember than before they start to moan. The bottom line is that the bonus culture has got out of hand and has to be brought back under control. But the government has to start at the top with the bankers and CEO's of some of our public institutions first.    

Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew may be an ambassador for Britain and British industry, but has  he also use his position to enhance his. It's reported that he sold his estate to a Russian billionaire for three million more than it was worth? Even millionaires don't throw their money away when not necessary.He has been known to frequent the homes of dubious characters and so called celebrates, with  laxed morals. He deliberately accepted a public role that comes with accountability, responsibility and scrutiny. Prince Andrew may be above any government minister but he is not above the law, as Jacques Chirac of France is now finding out. If it found that Prince Andrew has enhanced his wealth through dubious means, whilst doing this  public  duty, should he not be held accountable and if it is found that he has abused his position and found to have gained financially from it should he not be prosecuted. His actions could possible bringing the Queen into criticism from certain areas within the country, people who may not be loyalists and would see any thing that damages the Queens reputation a good thing and a reason to get rid of the monarchy. One cabinet minister said that Prince Andrew  is not a bad man but he's not very bright, he's surrounded by dreadful people who fawn on him and he gets manipulated. This may be true in parts but he's served as a navy officer and knows what life is about at the poorer end of the social scale. But again has the possibility of easy money and his play boy image tarnished him and his reputation even more?  As for the prime minister support could this be because he would like some royal rewards in the future for backing him ? 

Toxic Bulbs

Its reported that councils across the UK are refusing to pick up low energy  light bulbs from homes because they contain toxic mercury which gives off poisonous vapours. These broken bulbs should not be put in the household waste as we have done for the past 120 years. German research has shown that these bulbs give off toxic vapours 20 times higher than the safe guidelines. The UK's Health Protection Agency advises households that if one of these bulbs should break in the house that they evacuate the room for at least 15 minutes, people are also advised to wear protective gloves and masks and to clean the effected area with a damp cloth, all shards of glass should also be collected and placeed into a plastic bag then seal it.Then the light bulbs should then be taken to a council dump and disposed off in a safe recycling bank because councils do not collect hazardous waste. A DEFRA spokesperson said that if the light bulbs break the mercury in it does not pose a health risk to anyone exposed to it? Again who is telling the truth but more importantly if it is correct that there is a danger from toxic vapours why did the EU allow these bulbs to be sold or manufactured in the first place, knowing full well that they might expose people to a danger, and how will council workers know if there are any of these broken  light bulbs in the household waste? Once again are these health and safety worries going over the top.  

Who's kidding who.

Vince Cable has launched an investigation into why penalties, including fines have nor been meted out to companies failing to disclose their subsidiaries based in tax havens. Yet we have Zac Goldsmith the wealthy Tory was paid almost £60,000 in European farming subsidies just three years the payments were for his ecological farm in Devon which is believed to be owned through an offshore companies based in the Cayman Islands But under an information blackout ordered by the Government all payments to Mr Goldsmith and hundreds of other rich farmers have been removed from official figures. This from a government that promised open and transparent government. Last week it emerged that the family of Richard Benyon the minister whose department covered up the details of the subsidies earned £2 million from the same payout. This government and many of its ministers are corrupt. we've sent a few MP's to jail but there are bigger and corrupter fish floating round our corridors of power. George Osborne planes to tackle corruption in the city. The man put in charge of prosecuting big business, Richard Alderman accused the government of going soft on bribery. This is something the man in the street could have told him. There is no chance of people that high up been prosecuted let alone being investigated These people all come from the same, or similar  old boy net work. To put it crudely, they all drink from the same cup and all piss in the same pot, and all wallow in the same mud.   

Car Insurance

The European courts have ruled that car insurance companies can't differentiate between the genders when setting motoring premiums. Expert warned yesterday that this could result in female drivers paying as much as £840 a year more. Its not sure whether male drivers would pay less. The companies work on statistics and we all know about them. They may need them to work out the accident rates depending on age and gender and so fix the rates. Yet why should a young new driver be penalised because of his age. Its like sending some body to prison before they have committed an offence. Surly the correct way would be to give these new drivers a fair insurance cover, and if they happen to have an accident within say five years they will have their insurance tripled, at least this would perhaps be fairer and stop people from driving without insurance that in the long run increases every bodies insurance no matter how old or whether they have never made a claim.