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So, it’s finally time I talked about politics on here. Apologies to those who don’t think a blog is the place for politics, or those who I offend with my views. I will declare that I am LEFT of centre with SOCIALIST tendencies. There I said it. I wonder how many of you are now put off?
Two things have made me think about this. Firstly I discovered a blog where it revealed to me where Governments borrow their money from. There is a lot of talk about the national debt of several countries (including the UK) and all of the ‘austerity’ measures that are ‘necessary’ to pay back this debt. No one ever seems to mention who we owe it to?
This week it was announced that UK government debt reached a TRILLION pounds. That’s £16,000 for each person in the population. This is affecting me personally. As a public servant I am subject to a pay freeze. No pay rise for me for a while. And my pension will cost more while I have to work longer to get it. I should say that compared to most, I am still doing ok, at least I have a fairly secure job (for now).
There are cuts in public services everywhere, including caps coming in welfare. Unemployment is rising sharply, particularly for young people. In contrast in the private sector, top executive pay increased by 12% in 2011.
I don’t want to seem like I am just moaning, but everyday something in the news depresses me, actually makes me feel unhappy and even angry. All of this seems to be happening because of the ‘National Debt’. So who exactly do we owe all this money to?
Well the Government issues ‘bonds’, known as ‘gilts’, and anyone can buy them and cash them in at a later date. So who buys these? It seems that the biggest investors are banks, insurance companies and pension funds. In the UK this means that the Government borrowed money from these institutions. Now here’s the fun bit. Some banks were in trouble, so the Government bailed them out with money they borrowed from the banks. Yes you did read that right. For example, the Royal Bank of Scotland buys gilts from the Government, the Government paid millions into the RBS to stop it going bust.
Is it just me or does that sound bonkers? And who is paying for all that? Seems like we are, all us ordinary folks.
The other thing I thought about was the language that is used to describe all of that mess. Firstly ‘SOCIALISM’ has become a dirty word, especially in the USA, but increasingly here too. For example Republican candidates regularly accuse President Obama of being a ‘Socialist’. I would argue there isn’t really any Socialism to be seen in the USA.
Socialism has varying degrees to it, it is not simply some failed or flawed political system from a bygone age. For example, in the UK we have the National Health Service. We all pay for it via national insurance and we all benefit from its services. We all own it, it serves us all. That is socialism. The NHS is a Socialist institution. Socialism is where the state (the taxpayer) owns institutions that work and provide services for all the citizens. What’s so wrong with that?
If we were more ‘Socialist’ we could nationalise banks like the RBS and make them work for EVERYONE, not just the rich few. The cuts and ‘austerity’ are talked about as if they are ‘inevitable’, as if we have no choice. Anyone who objects or complains is described as extreme, like Micheal Gove (UK Education Secretary) calling teachers like myself ‘Trots’ (Trotsky), as if we are somehow ‘loony left’ revolutionaries.
To cap it all we now live in a world where ‘financial analysts’ from New York (Standard and Poors) decide the credit rating of whole countries (they recently downgraded the credit rating of France for example). This affects whether banks will lend to countries or not. Which in turn affects ordinary citizens jobs and lives. My question is this; who elected them? What happened to democracy? Unelected banks, big business and financial institutions are more powerful than the ballot box. Something is wrong.
So, enough ranting, guess I just had to share it. I will freely admit that I am no financial expert, and have no doubt that some will criticise me for my simplistic analysis. BUT if there is any truth to what I say here and if you believe that Governments are there to SERVE all that elect them then it seems hard not to agree something is wrong.
Whether you agree with what I say or not, please simply think about this – the language politicians and the media use to describe things define what those things are. And they define them according to to certain agenda. What they say may not be true. What they say will NOT give a full picture of what is happening. Dig deeper, read wider, make up your own mind. Please…
As ever your comments are welcome…
If you are interested in these issues please visit SturdyBlog written by @sturdyAlex he explains in a most eloquent and witty way and I thank him for the inspiration for my thoughts…
© 2011 Simon Poore
Why is it that praise is so much harder to assimilate sometimes than criticism? This week I got some high praise form someone I greatly respect, it made me feel amazing but I couldn’t quite take it in. Couldn’t quite believe that what was said could apply to me.
Around the same time there was a bit of a spat on twitter where an author was upset by someone’s negative review of one of their books. Both of these events made me think, as usual.
We are all a product of both nature and nurture, our genetics and our socialisation. Of course deciding which bits of us is which has puzzled thinkers and scientists for decades, if not longer. But often I think our ‘self’ (whatever that means) is a product that is guided by what others think of us. Without realising it we see ourselves through the opinions of others. The problem with this seems to be our perception of how others see us. And that perception is so often defined by the negative.
I think this is because the negative sticks, it is much more powerful than the positive. I have no idea why this is, maybe as some kind of innate defence mechanism perhaps. But it is certainly true that we remember those stinging criticisms and barbed comments. Can you remember that bully from school? We remember such things above the kindnesses and compliments.
Is it just me who finds it more difficult to be positive about myself than negative? I feel naturally modest so compliments don’t always come easy.
But it is true that negativity is best ignored. Any author or creative person will get bad reviews. These are ALWAYS best ignored. They will also have some who love what they do. Seek them out…
So my feeling is that I must begin to try and assimilate the positive more often…the thought makes me smile. And give more compliments to others…
How do you feel?
© 2011 Simon Poore
Samoa lost a day the other day. A whole flipping day! They decided to cross the international dateline for economic reasons, so that their businesses can be ‘closer’ to Australia and New Zealand. This, along with the ever decreasing return that is the celebration of new years, got me thinking.
I seem to lose days sometimes. I am not sure what happens but then it is suddenly evening and almost over. It’s not like I even do anything that productive during those days. They slip by in a haze, maybe because of inertia or maybe because of a hangover or whatever. This can be so disappointing, especially for one who professes to believe that we only have one life, ‘Carpe Diem’ and all that!
This year I celebrated my fiftieth new year on this planet. Fifty years of existence and of course I wonder about my achievements. But there is a problem with measuring achievement. Many choose to measure their lives in terms of ‘things’; material things, money or how far they have gone in their careers. These are tangible and easy to measure, and this is why people choose to measure them perhaps. But of course these things don’t last and are ultimately meaningless. I feel that when we measure ourselves with such things we forget the impermanence of our existence.
Others may choose to measure things in terms of happiness, surely a more difficult thing to measure. How happy are we? How happy are our friends and families? How can we tell?
And yet people insist on periodically attempting to measure such things and the new year is one of those times.
I have always felt the new year rituals to be disappointing. It is simply another day passing and yet some people almost feel desperate to enjoy themselves. Or at least show others they are enjoying themselves. Have you ever been that single person longing for a kiss as the chimes strike midnight? Only to find you are the over-looked wallflower?
The other new year ritual that leads to disappointment is the idea of ‘resolutions’. To me it seems that often planning things or setting goals are inevitably going to lead to a sense of failure. Too many times have I made to do lists or promised myself some great achievement over the last fifty years, only to feel like a failure when I didn’t achieve it all.
So this year, no more resolutions or promises. I choose to replace them with dreams. I know this year that some of my dreams may come true but some may not, and this is ok, because they are but merely dreams after all. Big ones and small ones.
I also know that there are times when I am so busy, and perhaps tired, that I dream of losing a day, a day doing nothing. So, for me, maybe I should relish the lazy day with nothing accomplished. It wasn’t wasted, it was a dream come true…
I hope some of your dreams come true this year…
What does the Elephant dream?
© 2011 Simon Poore
