I have been lucky. I left college at 17 armed with more than a few O Levels and found a job in the Civil Service. Fair enough, I only intended to stay there a while until something better cropped up, but nothing ever did. As a result I've now got 26 years service to my name. One of the things I vividly remember was my grandfather telling me that I would get a decent pension, I was working for a decent employer and that civil servants were respected by all. He'd be spinning in his grave if he knew what had happened since.
Something else I was also brought up with was a strong work ethic. A fair day's pay for a fair day's work - and never rely on handouts or the generosity of everyone. That said, I recognise how lucky I've been to avoid the dole queue, the labour market and the job centre. I do however fear for my two children as they will be leaving school (because I can't afford to send them to Uni) during the end of this Cameron Government.
Now never having to need the services of what we now call the DWP, I look in despair at my autumn years. The Government will be raising my pension contribution by £68 a month. I've done the maths, and if I am honest, I am not sure how I am going to meet my out-goings, pay my bills, pay my mortgage and put food on the table. Somewhere, something is going to have to give. The only option I appear to have is to sacrifice my future pension contributions. I know this is wrong, I know this is socially irresponsible, I know that my plans for my retirement will need to change drastically and I know that come the time I am finally pensioned off (and when is pretty much anyone's guess) I will need to rely on state pension subsidies.
So, come my retirement I become dependent on the state. I become a drain on the resources of the next generatons.
And I am not alone. Across the public sector people are starting to do the maths. People are starting to panic about how their contribution rises will effect their households. All this against a backdrop of 5% inflation, a maximum of 1% pay rise over a five year period and spiralling energy costs. Many are coming to the same conclusion as me - give up your future pension in order to survive today. Its a terrible dilemma. And its a scenario the Government haven't considered. A recent survey suggested 33% of public servants will pull out of their pension scheme when the changes come in. That somewhat defeats all the mathematics and forecasts currently on the table. No one has thought about how to deal with mass resignations from the pension scheme. With no contributions, the pensions funds can't grow without state assistance; but accrued pensions will still need to be paid come the time. Its possibly the worse bit of financial planning I've seen since the day of Norman Lamont.
On a more personal and scarier note, the only way I am likely to avoid being a state dependent is not to make it to retirement. I don't consider myself particularly unhealthy now, but as a smoker with a fairly poor diet, I suppose that at some point chickens (southern fried, of course) will come home to roost. Currently I can retire at 57 (40 years service), but under the new "and improved" scheme, I am now looking at working until I am 67 or 68. I'm not backing myself to make it that far. Even if I do, I've little to look forward to.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Thursday, 1 December 2011
HYPOCRISY RULES, OK
Hypocrisy is the pretence of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess. It is somewhat different to lying, which is the telling of untruthful statements. Lying is often applied to politicians, albeit in more Parliamentary language. Hypocrisy, however, is not so readily applied, so lets have a go.
David Cameron. You may have heard of him. He is the shiny faced smug twat that runs the Conservative Party and is currently leader of the coalition government. He is quite quick to condemn others for their behaviour. About a year ago, you will recall, students marched through London. A small number of them caused a bit of bother in central London. His immediate knee jerk reaction was to state that those that caused trouble should face the full force of the Law. On the face of it that seems a perfectly reasonable response for a Tory. However, Mr Cameron had previously come out with the following – “we smashed the place up a bit and Boris set fire to the toilets”. Boris, of course, is Boris Johnson the current Mayor of London. This quote was said after a particularly boisterous night out with the Bullingdon Club – an Oxford University club famed for the wealth of its members and its destructive binges. So, Cameron freely admits to smashing places up when he was a student. Did he face the full force of the Law? I think you know the answer.
Now, step forward the Rt Hon Member for Horsham. The one and only Francis Maude. Francis is currently not negotiating with the unions over public sector pensions. I would put a definition for “negotiation” but it seems there is somewhat of a difference of opinion between the standard English Dictionary and the Tory version of the word. The latter pretty much defining it as “telling you how it is with no room for manoeuvre”. Anyhow, Maude will tell anyone who listens that public sector pensions are unaffordable and unattainable (and this falls into the “politicians lying” category). What he doesn’t confess to is his own public service pension. A pension that will see him get a lump sum of £731000 and a yearly payment of £43000. He is happy to take and steal from those that can’t afford, but his own pension pot is secure and not faced with a cut. Francis, not only do you lie, you a hypocrite of the highest order.
And finally, Michael Gove, the floppy faced Education Minister. Recently on SKY news he described my union (PCS) as a bunch of Trotskyites. He preferred to sling names at trade unionists rather than negotiate with us. He also debunked unions and those that take action. Back in the 1970s Gove was a journalist, not only that, he stood on picket lines during times of Industrial Action. So, when it is good enough for Gove to stand in the howling wind and slashing rain to defend his terms and conditions that’s fine. When it is someone else doing it, we are demonised as Trotskyites. Gove, I am embarrassed that you were ever a member of a Trade Union.
Of course the biggest line in hypocrisy belongs once again to the Shiney Faced Smug Twat. He says “we are all in this together”. What a crock of shite, clearly some of us are all in it together. The "it” is brown, smelly and sticky and the “some of us” are those of us unfortunate not to be independently wealthy, taxing off shore or running the Government. What he should have said is “you lot are all in it together, whilst I and my kind will continue to have our noses in the trough”.
David Cameron. You may have heard of him. He is the shiny faced smug twat that runs the Conservative Party and is currently leader of the coalition government. He is quite quick to condemn others for their behaviour. About a year ago, you will recall, students marched through London. A small number of them caused a bit of bother in central London. His immediate knee jerk reaction was to state that those that caused trouble should face the full force of the Law. On the face of it that seems a perfectly reasonable response for a Tory. However, Mr Cameron had previously come out with the following – “we smashed the place up a bit and Boris set fire to the toilets”. Boris, of course, is Boris Johnson the current Mayor of London. This quote was said after a particularly boisterous night out with the Bullingdon Club – an Oxford University club famed for the wealth of its members and its destructive binges. So, Cameron freely admits to smashing places up when he was a student. Did he face the full force of the Law? I think you know the answer.
Now, step forward the Rt Hon Member for Horsham. The one and only Francis Maude. Francis is currently not negotiating with the unions over public sector pensions. I would put a definition for “negotiation” but it seems there is somewhat of a difference of opinion between the standard English Dictionary and the Tory version of the word. The latter pretty much defining it as “telling you how it is with no room for manoeuvre”. Anyhow, Maude will tell anyone who listens that public sector pensions are unaffordable and unattainable (and this falls into the “politicians lying” category). What he doesn’t confess to is his own public service pension. A pension that will see him get a lump sum of £731000 and a yearly payment of £43000. He is happy to take and steal from those that can’t afford, but his own pension pot is secure and not faced with a cut. Francis, not only do you lie, you a hypocrite of the highest order.
And finally, Michael Gove, the floppy faced Education Minister. Recently on SKY news he described my union (PCS) as a bunch of Trotskyites. He preferred to sling names at trade unionists rather than negotiate with us. He also debunked unions and those that take action. Back in the 1970s Gove was a journalist, not only that, he stood on picket lines during times of Industrial Action. So, when it is good enough for Gove to stand in the howling wind and slashing rain to defend his terms and conditions that’s fine. When it is someone else doing it, we are demonised as Trotskyites. Gove, I am embarrassed that you were ever a member of a Trade Union.
Of course the biggest line in hypocrisy belongs once again to the Shiney Faced Smug Twat. He says “we are all in this together”. What a crock of shite, clearly some of us are all in it together. The "it” is brown, smelly and sticky and the “some of us” are those of us unfortunate not to be independently wealthy, taxing off shore or running the Government. What he should have said is “you lot are all in it together, whilst I and my kind will continue to have our noses in the trough”.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)