11 minutes of New Year London fireworks cost £1.9 million - the start of a year of huge expenditure on the Olympics & the Queens Diamond Jubilee. I don't understand where the money is coming from. Nor do I understand how the figures purporting to show how much income will be generated for the country from these events are arrived at. Is it a true rigorous science, or is it a figure plucked out of the air by PR Guru's? I do understand the maxim that you have to speculate to accumulate, but who does the cost benefit analysis & how accurate do they turn out to be after the event?
If we the people have to genuinely suffer privation & austerity, thinking about how we spend our dwindling incomes on the necessities of our lives, because of Government policy, how are we to understand the fact that such huge sums of money are available for events which cannot be said to be necessities. If we are to tolerate real cutbacks in health, education & social services, & people of all ages, skills, expertise & experience are to lose their jobs, we have a right to know that Government spending is sensible and proportionate.
In my view our political leaders think they are playing Monopoly & are about as accountable as the Monopoly banker. It used to be that hunderds of thousands of pounds was a lot of money, then we talked in millions, now even billions are not enough. They are such vast sums that we simply cannot comprehend them.
Why does the host country alone pay for the Olympics & why does it have to be such a mega event? Why couldn't the participating countries have a sort of "pot luck supper" with everyone contributing something to the event? Its become like the dinner parties of my 20's & 30's when each hostess tried to outdo everyone else with 3 starters, 2 mains & 3 puddings! None of us could keep up the pace & now we are much more sensible & the meals are much more relaxed & enjoyable.
The Queen has done a pretty good job & I wouldn't want to have been her despite all her wealth & privilege. We should mark the remarkable achievements of her reign. But let's not forget that her life bears no resemblance whatsoever to that of her subjects. I have no idea what the shindig celebrating her jubilee will cost, but I doubt if it will be a sum most of her subjects can relate to, other than in the context of winning the Euromillions.
As for procurement for the forces - don't get me started!
Get a grip Cameron - prioritise, & if you are going to be stringent be fair about it.
If we the people have to genuinely suffer privation & austerity, thinking about how we spend our dwindling incomes on the necessities of our lives, because of Government policy, how are we to understand the fact that such huge sums of money are available for events which cannot be said to be necessities. If we are to tolerate real cutbacks in health, education & social services, & people of all ages, skills, expertise & experience are to lose their jobs, we have a right to know that Government spending is sensible and proportionate.
In my view our political leaders think they are playing Monopoly & are about as accountable as the Monopoly banker. It used to be that hunderds of thousands of pounds was a lot of money, then we talked in millions, now even billions are not enough. They are such vast sums that we simply cannot comprehend them.
Why does the host country alone pay for the Olympics & why does it have to be such a mega event? Why couldn't the participating countries have a sort of "pot luck supper" with everyone contributing something to the event? Its become like the dinner parties of my 20's & 30's when each hostess tried to outdo everyone else with 3 starters, 2 mains & 3 puddings! None of us could keep up the pace & now we are much more sensible & the meals are much more relaxed & enjoyable.
The Queen has done a pretty good job & I wouldn't want to have been her despite all her wealth & privilege. We should mark the remarkable achievements of her reign. But let's not forget that her life bears no resemblance whatsoever to that of her subjects. I have no idea what the shindig celebrating her jubilee will cost, but I doubt if it will be a sum most of her subjects can relate to, other than in the context of winning the Euromillions.
As for procurement for the forces - don't get me started!
Get a grip Cameron - prioritise, & if you are going to be stringent be fair about it.
This all makes mw angry too !!!!!
ReplyDeleteGood to know there are at least 2 of us!
ReplyDeleteVal