It is budget week in the UK and Rishi Sunak can hardly be described as a hardman or dictator. But the challenges facing the UK now are very hard to answer by democratic political targeting. No amount of money can fix the NHS, the concept is not right for modern medicinal costs. The hardest up in society will always want more, the cost of fixing the economy to net zero is incredible. Minor tax rises wont be the answer.
If Government could look to the long-term there maybe a way forward that involve some very hard choices and some real ones - guns or butter - nuclear power stations or nuclear missiles? The lights going out or more tax breaks for relatively less polluting gas. These don't seem insurmountable even in a democracy, but the way that say Singapore or Dubai are able to take steps forward seems much clearer to making hard choices - there is a ruler and that it that, no pesky polls or the Guardian to assuage.
Within the ruling Conservative party what is clearly missing now is any political guidance, we are left with post-Blair focus group leadership - what is right is what is popular. The media have undue influence, but worse, the policies of today can be changed tomorrow. Even worse still, the policies of today make no sense for tomorrow but have the votes and popularity today. It is a rum state of affairs, literally.
Things therefore are a very bad short-term mess and the Chancellor has a dud hand to play with. All the more reason to start taking some serious long-term positions. Look how well George Osbourne did with his 'long-term economic plan', such that it was. When all around are driven mad, some clear sightedness will come in handy - which is why Rishi has to grab the chance that Boris is not capable of and make some hard nosed decisions this week. I am hoping they will be of a capitalist bent and not socialist dreaming.
24 comments:
"I am hoping they will be of a capitalist bent and not socialist dreaming"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
CU - I would posit that within the ruling Conservative party what is clearly missing not political guidance, but conservatism, morals, principles and competence.
To be fair there is none of that anywhere in the hollow shell of the institutions that sit in the Palace of Westminster on any of the benches.
Welcome to our post democratic, stakehodler capitalist future(tm).
Conservatives are the party of Tax and Spend now. Heir to Blair and "there is no money left".
To be fair, it is not the Party but the Executive as the party has been neutered by MSM.
Boris is gearing up for an early election before the shit hits the water (oh' wait.
I reckon it is not even possible to produce a budget that would achieve much - fiddling around he edges.
Re the NHS, we are only just coming up to EU levels of spending. We ran it on the cheap and the Covid experience showed how under resourced it was. Wasting money on plastic macs was a knee jerk to poor planning.
But you do hint at a way forward with Singapore and Dubai. May I suggest a big push for public housing, a kind of easy starter for some and a permanent way for many. But well ordered with some rather nasty places well out the way for those who are idle or a nuisance. You work and you go to school - end of. Sufficient housing to drive most of the BTL market downwards.
Obviously nuclear power and don't care if it is Chinese or American or whatever. If they want to stay in the business they will behave or have no future.
Reform Parliament, cut out all that opposition benches, reconfigure in a horseshoe shape. Require all speeches and discussion to be online with spreadsheets and sources. Duff data users to be demoted.
But happy is he who expects little....
>Reform Parliament, ... reconfigure in a horseshoe shape
Jim: You might take a look at how well (not!) that has worked in the Scottish Parliament.
Yes. He does have the grit for the job.
(Turning our country into a socialist state.)
Nobody can touch the NHS now, after the seal clapping and the ridiculous medal, although it is just an inept, huge, bottomless pit that needs to be put out of its misery - or rather, out of OUR misery. Don't even get me started on the insane fiction of "net zero" and its pie in the sky wish list of technology not in existence.
Agree with djm - it's fantasy world stuff to imagine the Tory party or their chancellor of the exchequer will do anything even remotely close to being sensible.
@ jim
So, the solution to the NHS problem is to give it more money to spunk away to reach the same level as the EU. Let me suggest you fuck-the-fuck-off with your suggestion.
Funny how all those advocating spending at European average levels for the Wah!NHS never acknowledge the other side of the coin.
That spending is on a functional responsive non- stalinist 1st world system.
"Funny how all those advocating spending at European average levels for the Wah!NHS never acknowledge the other side of the coin."
Also that all those who have spent the last 5 years fighting Brexit are pretty much the same people who want us not to have a European style healthcare system........apparently English exceptionalism is a bad thing if you're a Brexiteer, but absolutely fine if you are an NHS supporter.
Sobers, indeed.
We are not allowed to have a 1st world healthcare system like Germany, Austria Switzerland Holland Japan Singapore etc etc as the Wah!NHS mob think the primary role of healthcare is to provide jobs for their crowd, not to provide healthcare that people choose
jim said...
I reckon it is not even possible to produce a budget that would achieve much - fiddling around he edges.
Re the NHS, we are only just coming up to EU levels of spending. We ran it on the cheap and the Covid experience showed how under resourced it was. Wasting money on plastic macs was a knee jerk to poor planning.
7:41 am
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Uh? So when did pouring money into the NHS improve it? It's not lack of money, its a statist, mega-bureaucracy that long ago stopped serving us schmucks who fund it? £70k diversity assistant "managers" whose contribution to the economy is nil, whilst we won't fund the training of HGV drivers whose contribution to the economy is clear an quantifiable. It's the structure is the problem, not money, and with many of the many manifest problems in the self-serving public sector, they date back to the bloody buggering bastard Blair. The MHS gone. It's a complete bloody shambles and collapsing in front of out eyes, and all you can suggest is ... give it more money. Jesus.
The NHS long ago lost any raison d'etre. As with all bureaucracies, it long ago lost its mission to serve those who fund it. It now serves to protect itself.
Fantastic we saved it, so that nobody can get to se a doctor? Fantastic we saved it so GPs won't see us face it face.
Senior nurse, 20 years on the shop floor, who looked after my wife after appalling treatment of post Cancer op sepsis left my wife sick as sick can be, when I asked her abut management....
"Dickheads, who stop us working".
The MHS is fucked. The model long ago collapsed.
So lets just keep throwing more and more money we haven't got to save it. It long ago gave up saving those who fund it.
Do keep up. Worship of bloated state institutions is so very Soviet style. Might as well have Corbyn in charge as these corrupt and derelict self-servers.
Sorry to hear that about Lils. Did pick up the odd comment from Calfy but did not want to pry.
Regarding the European levels of spending, remember they are iirc, in the main state insurance schemes ~ Bismarck had it right, Bevan didn't, (and neiother does the modern US).
We on the other hand have an open end commitment to fund a large pension fund with a small health service attached. The rest of the money goes on what is a sewer of corruption, PFI boondoggles, political campaigning and butchery and poor outcomes by the medical establishment.
Oh sorry I mean an organisation of heroes and heroines and the envy of the world.
Our political leadership is lying, obfuscating and can kicking. No-one believes Johnson's Net Zero non plan. We will still be debating the same issues in a decade, except we might just have one extra nuke online or not.
Whichever way you cut the cookie, healthcare costs. Realistically we can spend like the French and Germans or we can be like Spain and Slovakia. Sure our NHS is an inefficient mess but you can't change it without a lot of extra cash.
The problem is incentives - both Tory and Labour administrations incentivise NHS management to keep apparent costs down and conceal all problems and don't ask for money. That makes for a kick down/kiss up politicised management structure. Only lying crawlers who satisfy central government survive. Just look at Test n Trace and the folk hired to head up that! Overall our resources are spread too thinly, we cannot make a good job of anything much, time to abandon the inessentials.
IT consultants, surgeons doctors and even managers have to be found and paid. There is no way round that, the basic problem is that politicians are very poor at management. The power structure needs reversing, politicians get slapped around to find the money or slung on the scrapheap. Instead they provide a parasitical layer bleeding the life out of UK plc.
Richard Cree's blog tells you what is actually happening in a hospital during this pandemic.
https://www.nomoresurgeons.com/post/plan-a
Don Cox
There seem to be an awful lot of administrators in the NHS compared with the number of frontline staff.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to a shambolic COP26 as the Chinese continue to burn coal (now 54% of world usage) in order to corner the market in solar panels and wind turbine bases, which they'll sell to us.
A load of greenies are planning a mass cycle to COP26, they were then hoping to return by train. But Scotrail will all be on strike!
Richard Cree's blog tells you what is actually happening in a hospital during this pandemic.
https://www.nomoresurgeons.com/post/plan-a
Don Cox
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Thanks. What is clear from all this is
Lockdown doesn't work. So let's keep doing it.
The jabs, whilst saving some lives and lessening some symptoms, don't work - indeed, you can not only get Covid again, you can pass it on. And not know you're sick. They are finding that a significant percentage of these "breakthrough" cases are asymptomatic.
I've not had and will not have the jab. I'll know if I have Covid and will stay at home.
But here's the elephant in the room - this means that the jabbed are MORE dangerous than such as I. Even that evil bastard Fauci stated that respiratory viruses are NOT driven by the asymptomatic.
So the vaccine passports are openly discriminatory.
Did you see the Wicked Witch of the Kiwis and the utter glee with which she announced the NZ Yellow Star scheme.
The horror, the horror...
Ditto Elby.
Don's doctor seems unaware of ADE, Mareks disease and original antigenic sin.
https://eugyppius.substack.com/p/more-on-original-antigenic-sin-and
M.
OK, it's over and Rishi has just announced the highest tax burden since the 50's .... but he is very, very unhappy about it.
Poor Rishi
Lovely Spaff! Wonderful Spaff!
Lovely Spaff! Wonderful Spaff
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-aff
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-aff
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-aff
Spa-a-a-a-a-a-a-aff
Lovely Spaff! (Lovely Spaff!)
Lovely Spaff! (Lovely Spaff!)
Lovely Spaff!
Spaff, Spaff, Spaff, Spaff!
Betteridge's law of headlines has been proven correct:
The answer is no.
A nice crack in yesterday's Telegraph:
The NHS - envy of the Third World.
We enter the age of Climate Coercion.
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