It seems that the jet-lag has worn off quickly this time. I’m not feeling tired in the evenings and pretty wide awake in the mornings, so much so that I'm getting up before my alarm clock, which only serves to give me some time in the mornings to watch England's continuing humiliation in the Ashes. With such a awful series of performances, it makes the Queen's decision to award MBE's and OBE's to the team last year a bit of a farce. It seems mediocrity reaps many rewards in British sport.
Pretty much every newstory seems to about money and how everyone is running out of it. The government, the NHS, the army, transport for London, the prison service and local councils. As various taxes and charges continue to rise and the interest rate increases, I have to ask one simple question: where is all the money going?
The start of 2007 saw transport charges in London increase. In Zone 1, a bus now costs £2, it was 70p in 2003. An underground train in Zone 1, now costs £4; it used to be £5 to use upto Zone 6. Although Oyster card fares are remaining the same, the cost of an Oyster card has also gone up. After increasing the Congestion Charge to £8 last year (and a proposed further increase to £10 by 2010) and expanding the charge area later this year, it should mean more and more money for London transport. So instead of an improvement to public transport and decreasing costs, we get the exact opposite, where is the money going?
Another story focusing on money was the state of the living quarters for the armed forces. Many hostels are ridden with fungus and rats and are worse then the quality of housing provided to prisoners. These same people are being sent to their deaths in Iraq and they don't even have decent accommodation at home. Whilst billions are being wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan, there isn't any money to help the armed forces in the UK, a diabolical state of affairs.
Then we have the NHS. A service that seems to just swallow money for fun. You can spend all the money you want, but when it’s poorly managed, it’s only going to be a lost cause. It seems not a day passes without some announcement of money being lost, overspent or treatments being cancelled or delayed due to a lack of funds. Today a report stated that further jobs cuts will lead to shortages of doctors and nurses in the next 4yrs, due to (surprise, surprise) a lack of funds.
Obviously the NHS is a personal pet-peeve of mine. No doctors or nurses are ever consulted when it comes to making decisions on running hospital and primary care services. Overpaid business staff are instead making decisions which is causing a severe decline in the quality of healthcare. Once I qualify as a GP in 2008, I hope to do some sort of business course/diploma and attempt to move into NHS management or at least provide some help, but who knows what the state of the NHS will be by then.
Moving on to global warming and there has been more talk of increasing the cost of flights, cost of waste disposal and cost of gas & electricity, all in an attempt to curb our supposed contribution to global warming. I agree that something needs to be done, as mentioned in a previous blog, as countries such as China and India continue to develop and cause more damage, the Western world needs to make changes to offset and improve the situation.
However, yet again, where as all the money gone? We pay increased council taxes and pollution taxes and what changes are evident? Airline companies are not running more efficiently, local councils are still increasing charges for waste reduction and car companies are still producing gas-guzzling, CO2 producing cars.
Instead of continuing to tax the consumer for the failings of the provider, why aren't the providers being charged? We don't seem to see any results of the increased revenue in all sorts of fields, just continually hear of further decline and the need to increase spending. I continue to complain about it, but realistically what can be done? We have the power to vote, but the choices remain the same, if it's not a Labour government implementing these taxes and charges, then it'll be a Tory government.
Apologies about the continuing bleak nature at the start of the year, but there's very little to be positive about in this field. Alternatively, I could just leave the country and live somewhere else, but now I'm too settled! Next week I'll have a more positive blog to remind us of what to be happy about!
Before I finish and as a complete sidenote, it was surprising to see Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother - times must be desperate! An actress without a hit-film to her name, probably thought it was a good idea and I'm sure she will draw a large Indian audience, but does she have any idea as to what she has let herself in for? It will be interesting to watch!
Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?
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2 comments:
Watford Man says:
1) One of the major reasons why the NHS 'lacks' money despite the record levels of cash pumped into it by this government is down to the spiralling wage bills - and you doctors are partly to blame here. Consultants especially, but GPs too, get massive and unwarranted pay rises - so don't complain too much.
2) I must protest your implied assertion that developing countries like China and India are damaging the world vis a vis climate change - actually, as a recent World Development Movement report illustrated, the developing world suffers at the hands of our pollution. The West generates 50% of the world's CO2 emissions despite making up less than a quarter of the world's population. America generates 25% of the world's CO2 emissions despite constituting 5% of the world's population. Scotland, for example, produces more CO2 emissions in 3 days than Malawi does in a year. And the existing global warming catastrophe that we are on the brink of has been caused by a century of pollution from the West - and not from the much more recent jump in emissions from the developing countries.
3) Given the nature of modern "celebrity", Shilpa Shetty will do very well off the back of Celebrity BB - no matter how badly she is humiliated, embarrassed, etc. In fact, forget India - she obviously has her eye on 'breaking' Britain.
1) Admittedly money has gone into pay rises for Dr's, but that is in keeping with the service they provide.
Regardless of the payrises, money is still being wasted in management and burecratic issues.
2)I agree with the statement and I think I was a bit premature, what I meant to argue was that India and China should be entitled to use every resource available to modernise and develop just as the Western world has in the past
While they do so, we have to cut back so that they can flourish.
3)It all seems to be going pear-shaped for poor Shilpa!
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