LATEST MOAN FROM YOU AND ME - 2022

Not always the case sadly - as you know, I work in public transport which is heavily unionised and they have recently secured a 10% rise for pretty much everyone; I am not one of those as I was promoted to a new contract starting 1st Jan and precluded from any pay awards this year, however perversely this has now led to a situation where I have staff who I am responsible for that are paid more than me.

I digress... part of the problem is actually minimum wage to be honest. When minimum wage was brought in, we were generally above it, even brand new drivers who had just passed their test. After the financial crash in 2008, a new 'new starter' rate was introduced that people would have to be on for three years before they rose to the higher rate. That was circa £10 per hour - there has been pay awards since, but in all those years since, the pay awards have been ranging from 0% to 2.5% at most. Roll forward to this year, and that new starter rate was just over £13 per hour. Lidl, in this area, pay an absolute minimum of £11.65 per hour and quite often, more. Why would you drive a bus at all hours of day and night, be abused regularly, be responsible for 80-100 lives (and more) at any point in time for £40 a week more than you'd get for stacking shelves in a supermarket? And all of that is before we get to the cost of living around here.

 

Jeremy Hunt may still have to find £40bn of cuts as chancellor, say experts

Good luck in that Jez, they've been cutting back for over a decade

 

No doubt it is having an effect. The best part of two years throwing everything but the kitchen sink at a virus whilst at the same time shutting down half the economy would be much nearer the mark. Let's not forget that 'Track & Trace' alone cost almost £37bn over those two years, with a further £4bn spaffed away on PPE that was completely unusable. "Eat out to help out".. how much did that cost?

Depending on the penalties involved, there is a really easy way to find their £40bn and more - - halt HS2. Next up, get fingers out of backsides and actually stop those dinghies arriving as the cost of dealing with all of that is running into many millions. So many things could be done to cut costs whilst barely affecting (or even improving!) public services.

One of the biggest things that would have an immediate positive effect is to build housing - lots and lots of housing and have it as a mix of housing rented from councils/housing associations at reasonable rates or with 100% mortgages payable as a rent to the state or a 50-50 with the banks. If folks could afford (and I mean properly afford) the house they were living in, including keeping it maintained and warm etc, then they would have more money to spend in the economy.

 

Eat out to help out was £840 million. Furlough cost £70bn. Vaccines cost £11.7bn. Government refuses to reveal how much covid testing cost, but the BMJ are stating the anticipated cost as being £100bn.

Now, why are we potless again?

 

HS2 is a fantastic project - - if we were in the position where we had the money for it. As it stands, it is a vanity project akin to installing solid gold sockets and switches throughout your house whilst at the same time not being able to afford to fix the roof.

 

My mate has had enough of the UK. He's secured a job in Oz and moving the family there in a few weeks. I think the latest shenanigans was the final straw

 

I'll bet in every case an MP has stuck their nose to the project!

 

Talking to family in Oz, regular Zooms, they're saying that they have lots of problems too - not least, all the floods!

 

Best of luck to him. Sadly, from what I can gather, it is a bit of a sh**show too.

 

Indecision and NIMBY-ism. Take a look at that bridge that collapsed in Italy - a couple of years later, the new one is up and in use. If that was here, there would be at least 10 years of hearings and meetings before it went to court, then another 5 years as it went through court before a brick was laid. Hell's teeth, Scotland can't even build a couple of boats on budget or schedule!

We spend an absolute fortune in this country on saying no or working out how not to do something.