Saving integrity
It begins. 6 billion to save. 156 billion to go.
Like the lottery, these numbers are hard to comprehend. I am lucky enough to work in government at one of the most interesting times I can remember. I am lucky enough to be involved in the savings and there are a number of very surprising things that have emerged.
1) The majority of civil servants have no idea about what is about to hit them. This is part of the problem and why we are where we are. They just don't understand.
2) The public have no idea about what is about to hit government and then them.
It seems the reaper has arrived an nobody knows they are dead. THE SALMON MOUSSE!
The politicians knew what was coming. We knew the politicians knew what coming.
But, like the car industry, if you shut a factory or a quango, then all their suppliers and their suppliers and all the staff and all the shops that sell to those people suffer. This is the same as government.
I supply government and I have just had to let 3 of my 4 staff go. They will find other work, they are the lucky ones. The company is unlikely to survive but you never know.
Taking 6 billion out of the economy overnight is going to cause a nightmare. Imagine when we try and take the remaining 156 million.
But it is not a bad thing. Despite the catastrophic losses of everything I am in some ways a happy victim. I am lucky and I was not in debt so I can just (if it comes to it) just walk away. So why am I not devastated?
Well, its simple. This was avoidable. The politicians made poor policy choices and the civil service badly implemented them. They have been trying to make savings over the last 8 years that I have been in government and the civil service has resisted and squirmed and avoided the savings in pure Sir Humphrey ways.
This was avoidable and a long time coming.
My only worry now is that a lot of innocent people will suffer and those who could have prevented this are now still in power and will not suffer as others will. Many good people will have their lives changed because of all of this.
So fingers crossed that this time the savings will do the job and transform the way government services are delivered.
I am skeptical. I hope my losses are not in vain, but somehow I doubt it.
Like the lottery, these numbers are hard to comprehend. I am lucky enough to work in government at one of the most interesting times I can remember. I am lucky enough to be involved in the savings and there are a number of very surprising things that have emerged.
1) The majority of civil servants have no idea about what is about to hit them. This is part of the problem and why we are where we are. They just don't understand.
2) The public have no idea about what is about to hit government and then them.
It seems the reaper has arrived an nobody knows they are dead. THE SALMON MOUSSE!
The politicians knew what was coming. We knew the politicians knew what coming.
But, like the car industry, if you shut a factory or a quango, then all their suppliers and their suppliers and all the staff and all the shops that sell to those people suffer. This is the same as government.
I supply government and I have just had to let 3 of my 4 staff go. They will find other work, they are the lucky ones. The company is unlikely to survive but you never know.
Taking 6 billion out of the economy overnight is going to cause a nightmare. Imagine when we try and take the remaining 156 million.
But it is not a bad thing. Despite the catastrophic losses of everything I am in some ways a happy victim. I am lucky and I was not in debt so I can just (if it comes to it) just walk away. So why am I not devastated?
Well, its simple. This was avoidable. The politicians made poor policy choices and the civil service badly implemented them. They have been trying to make savings over the last 8 years that I have been in government and the civil service has resisted and squirmed and avoided the savings in pure Sir Humphrey ways.
This was avoidable and a long time coming.
My only worry now is that a lot of innocent people will suffer and those who could have prevented this are now still in power and will not suffer as others will. Many good people will have their lives changed because of all of this.
So fingers crossed that this time the savings will do the job and transform the way government services are delivered.
I am skeptical. I hope my losses are not in vain, but somehow I doubt it.
posted by So long and thanks for all the fish at
7:54 pm
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