Cuts, cute, cuts..
Is it just me or can I see a very real pattern of systematic abuse of the national austerity plans? Alongside all the savings plans we have seen as a nation - the Police service, the NHS, education (and probably much we aren't aware of), that old chestnut of libraries and background resources appears once again. So, what is the plan now?
Now, am I the only one who is getting really, really pissed off with these glossy publicity ideals and “soundbite” quotes, attempting to fool people into thinking all that which is happening is doing so for some greater good, whilst seemingly exonerating those with a duty of care for the wellbeing of said resources? Don’t misunderstand me - I’m all for sorting problems out. National debt cannot be allowed to continue – ask any American today and they’ll probably agree. However, such a stance requires taking hold of the reins in politics, something the Tories never seem to have ever had a clue about since they seem happy to turn the fate of everything over to market forces.. AGAIN. These days it seems that every “square peg” service which is being jammed into a “round hole” solution for the sake of saving a bit here and there, is being done so with the same old private interests at heart, interests which began crippling our nation many moons ago. As someone whose employment terms are due to fall foul of the privatisation of education support in a year’s time, I can tell you that the solution too is unsustainable.
As I write this I cannot think of any one example of any system in the UK which hasn’t gone pear-shaped when it’s been taken out of public ownership and moved into the private sector. When I was young the local buses used to cost 5p for an adult trip into the city from my grandparents place. For me it was just 2p. This was cheap back then (late 70’s early 80’s), and although I believe it was generally recognised that these South Yorkshire prices were very cheap even by national standards, I suspect the costs of public transport were quite reasonable across the nation. Then the bus services were contracted out to a private company, and in the “spirit of competition” a couple more companies were also seen to establish themselves. It wasn’t long before the costs began to rise quite sharply, and the quality of service began to drop, only being propped up by the continued demands of the consumer versus the best wishes of the supplier. I can also tell you that we seem to have buses which have been either built to a price or designed by lunatics, powered as they are by Volvo engines which are apparently notorious for easily overheating (this in turn probably explains why the heating systems are ALWAYS on), and which are still in circulation years after the problem was identified. I know this as it was many moons since a bus driver was kind enough to spill the beans as we sat cooling in a lay-by with the engine alarms “pinging” away. That same “ping” can still be heard today.
From where I’m sat it seems that the people with the power to help veto all this foolishness when it happens, continue instead to buy into the bullshit, their eyes fixed on the short term gains. Whether those gains are for themselves personally, their business interests or simply in the purported interests of “getting national debt down”.. it’s all the same. On the surface it could be argued quite reasonably that the privatised mechanisms DO keep turning - it’s not ALL that bad. I expect this idea might be the first line of defence thrown into the ring if this financially-driven madness were to be put in the dock - but you know, just because something appears to work it doesn’t necessarily follow that what is happening is in people’s best interests. You can run a car engine badly with crap fuel and crap oil and it WILL work, but eventually it will break, and the mess you’ll be left with will probably mean it’s an irredeemable write-off – akin to those buses I expect I won't be using in a few years’ time. So too is it likely to be the case with our social systems, if those with the power to affect change continue to gloss over the cracks and continue to accept the “extra funding” carrots dangled by such unworthy saviours, as has I think been the case with so many school/academy conversions.
All hail the mighty monetary system, mechanism of the universe and saviour of mankind.
Personally, the bit I fear in all this is the continued near-silent passing of all this ownership until we reach the point of domination of privatised (financial) concerns over EVERYTHING we do, as opposed to “most of that” which we do today (I can still recall the fictional news corporation CEO in Max Headroom saying "Credit fraud? My god, that's worse than murder") . We’ve already seen the chaos which can happen when these institutions unravel. Ironically for this, I point to the recent events concerning a news corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch and his son (and I’m more than tempted to point out another infamous double-act of recent years in the White House which got us all into a lot of trouble, but I leave you to draw any conclusions or parallels).
I’m thinking that maybe the first signs to show the inherent corruption of our current ways will be when the gnashing and wailing begins in the shadowy corners of education - when it’s realised by a learned few that the many leaps made to academy status throughout the system were on the whole a poor long-term decision – that is if anyone remains to remember and make comparisons between the old and new ways. I anticipate that by the time the damage is done, either those people will have been moved into positions far removed from the places they previously occupied, or worse still that the systems themselves will have been so drastically changed as for them to be "self-concealing" nightmares, their truly damaged state all but invisible from anywhere but above, in the hands of the few where the real gains from these changes are being reaped.
Can we not understand that it may be better for us to simply relax, accept that we won't all die overnight and allow some money to be spent on some things as a "going concern"? (incidentally, it may be a little naive of me or perhaps an oversimplification, but it feels to me as though the only people getting hysterical in all of this austerity are the people who are trying to make their money from money, rather than actually doing anything real.. but I digress). For example, one re-occurring argument is our "wasting money on space missions, when we haven’t even sorted our own problems out here on Earth”. For me there are three problems with this argument:
a) To this specific argument of financial misappropriation, I would make the counter-challenge that in this case people themselves have to change. Throwing money at a problem never changed anything unless it was supported by the will to support and appreciate the change that said money could conceivably bring - this is why a lottery winner isn't necessarily a happier winner. Something such as this which is given generally has no value with the recipient, unless there is an ethical foundation beneath them.
b) Space contains many valuable resources to help us with our issues here.
c) Most relevantly here - my traditional reaction to this matter is to simply relax. Don't worry. If the money we spent on space missions and research were thrown into the void along with all our probes and never to be seen again then okay, I could accept that would be a problem. However, we don't keep printing money to suit and support our circumstances, so what happens? Well, that very same money goes around. It pays people’s wages and eventually comes around into the ownership of other people, likely with an entirely different vision on how to spend it. I think it far better to worry about those who are hoarding all the money and resources – they are the ones who really concern me. They are the ones clutching the resources which make the “costly” space missions actually seem more like pocket change. They are the one's who are making money out of money (maybe I didn't digress after all).
Personally, I’d prefer some sacrifices be made elsewhere, such as perhaps the ideals and misplaced faith in capitalist values and monetary worth which drive us apart from our common sense on a daily basis, and take us to a place where our actions generally take precedence over the greater good. Like ants, we are capable of doing such total, wholesome damage with our individual little piecemeal bad decisions which may not actually seem that drastic or powerful when taken on a day-to-day basis, but ask any Buddhist practitioner and he'll advise you differently. True, Capitalism as a whole may be the better model from a bad bunch, but it is not infallible and we would be wise to keep our options open and our imaginations fertile, lest we end up with an even smaller handful of dictators fuelled by power and money than those which we already have to tolerate. It isn’t even that these people can’t be usurped (is it Mr. Murdoch!?) but rather that I wish for us as a species to put a stop to the scale of suffering, wrongdoing and even bloodshed which we are all experiencing to some degree, in the name of their ideals and dogma.
We have a choice. We have always had a choice.
It's so simple, isn’t it?
Peace.
