Read Osborne’s comprehensive spending review and imagined myself back in my role as a trade union convenor. I just couldn't do that any more. Then I saw an article in the Guardian saying the majority of the population support the cuts. Made me feel ill. Then I read this article in the London Independent by Johann Hari and felt a lot better: Protest works. Just look at the proof.
Thanks to Phil for this.
Thanks to Phil for this.
It finishes “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” (This is by Margaret Mead. I once knew who she was but I've forgotten. See 42 other quotes here.)
Pete - doesn't surprise me that the majority "support" the cuts, it would really surprise me if they understood them and what they mean. As someone who works in the public sector I'm acutely aware that we have somehow been turned into the enemy of the people (even though we ARE a large section of The People) by skilful manipulation and misrepresentation of facts by this unholy alliance and its friends in the media. No private employer would ever announce job cuts on a massive scale in such a callous way, basically telling people "hard luck, you'll get some kind of work in the private sector". The likes of the Daily M*il and the Murdoch papers have been itching to get at the public sector for a long time, and Osborne and Cameron have managed to use "the deficit" as smoke and mirrors to carry out the hatchet work past history tells us they'd have done whatever the circumstances. As a union convener I don't know how you'd have fought this, because from the inside it really does feel like we're under siege, as pensions and redundancy agreements are torn up to the delight of the baying media, who always make sure we get the message of "serves you right" (forget the fact most of us accepted lower wages for better terms and conditions like these). The public sector didn't cause the global recession or record deficit, but we do seem to be the scapegoats while the bankers get richer and richer while sticking two fingers in the air at the taxpayers who bailed them out. Sorry for the rant.
ReplyDelete