Saturday 21 May 2011

Things to ponder.

Being a retired person now gives me time to think in greater depth about those issues that I had little time to cogitate about before. I have also noticed that my awareness of the passage of time has changed from one of days, to one of months. When you retire from your working life, your centre of attention tends to fall on other issues.

The Memsahib finds this change has distracted me from issues on her own agenda. It was then that I realised that the Government and Magicians have a little trick that they share. It is called slight of hand and distraction.

I have been pondering why what has been described as "a small increase" in personal taxation is going to cost me several hundred pounds each year. Yet on the other occasions when the government of the day have said that they are going to make a "significant benefit change" to my allowances, I only gain a few pence. I know better, but I still keep getting taken in by their weasel policies.
Why do we believe them.

I have been pondering why there is a sudden plethora of David's in the news. In a David Blane like manoeuvre, David Cameron has come up with the Conservatives version of a smoke and mirrors trick. The so called "Big Society".  In another slight of hand and a distraction,  a new white paper  will set out Cameron's plans for charitable donations and volunteering to become a "Social Norm". The Government will then announce a "Round Pound" initiative to encouraging people to make donations. Supermarkets and Banks will now be urged to round up customers' bills to the nearest pound. and give the money raised to charity. A whole raft of plans are to be used to bolster  Cameron's smoke and mirrors Big Society. 
Why do we believe them.

If all this volunteering is the answer, if all this charity giving is the way forward. I would like to see it start with British waterways senior management all giving their time free of charge. Setting an example and leading by example. I know it ain't going to happen. The government know it ain't going to happen. The BW board seem to be the only people who think that it will happen.

I have also been pondering that, David Fletcher has jumped on the Big Society band wagon. In a Kafkaesque move the ex head of British Waterways has come out with his own Smoke and Mirrors addition to the Big Society. Fletcher said "I commend the leaders at British Waterways, many of whom I recruited, for having the vision and indeed the courage to revive the charitable trust concept in the modern ‘Big Society’ format." I think that Fletcher has confused The Big Society with the British Waterways concept of The Big Salaries. If it was me, I would not want to remind people that I had recruited the current senor management at BW.
Why do we believe them.

I have also been pondering that the good old Guardian newspaper has adapted Karl Marx's slogan "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" for the Big Society: "From each according to their vulnerability, to each according to their greed".
Now I do believe them.


Later....

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please put your name to your comment. Comments without a name may automatically be treated as spam and might not be included.

If you do not wish your comment to be published say so in your comment. If you have a tip or sensitive information you’d prefer to share anonymously, you may do so. I will delete the comment after reading.