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February 14, 2008
Cash crisis
The newspapers this morning report the gloomy predictions of the Governor of the Bank of England about the UK economy. He says we will have to learn to accept a lower standard of living. (Not him-- but many of the rest of us)
One wonders what form the descent will take. Throughout this investigation of the public library service and the local government process within which it operates, I have often wondered what form the inevitable ecoonomic 'correction' will take.
Ten years ago, when Labour came to office, the Public Sector Unions were not strong and sensible management of the sector could have, at that time, brought value into line with cost. Indeed 'Best Value Reviews' were intended to achieve exactly that.. However local government management failed dismally to face the questions posed of them then and have continued to avoid them ever since.. That has been the almost daily observation of all this study.
The problems are most certainly not the responsibility of the work force-- they are the responsibility of the management from middle levels to the most senior and ministers beyond. Nevertheless if, now, a correction were to be applied it would normally be the working lower ranks of civil servants and government officers who would bear the strain, literally, of their inept seniors.
Now, however, the public sector unions are extremely strong and they have achieved working conditions, contracts and practices which make the junior staff almost unassailable. Well done them; but that means that there can hardly be any economic correction in the public sector-- without - well without major, serious and unpleasant upheaval.
Public sector operations are able to extract cash from the public almost without limit. There are no enforcers as powerful as tax collectors-- either local or national. Public servants have been brought up to believe that it is their right and entitlement to raise more taxes and grants without limit. They praise each other for their ability to obtain yet more public funds. Every day they invent new handouts of money which is not theirs to give.
So how will non public sector citizens survive a real and major reduction in available cash predicted by the Governor when it suddenly hits us? When the moment comes when it is not possible to borrow any more?
With great difficulty and local violence-- is the prediction of this blog--- or civil unrest on a scale not seen since the Iraq war march or the poll tax riots of 1988-9-- or worse.
It is sad that this generation have so dismally failed to manage the public funding and functioning of the country at a time when there was little external pressure in the world which might have made the job hard. Unlike previous genrations of the 20th century, for sixty years in our country we have had neither war nor serious depresssion. What we have seen in the recent past is a terrible waste of opportunity. It is very sad and a great shame and will leave a sorry, poor and uncultured legacy.
Posted by Perkins at February 14, 2008 3:21 PM