Thursday - February 10, 2011

cities cut services to save money in hard times while top dogs keep their high salaries and perks.

The economy is a mess all agree. What isn’t agreed is how to cure it but the coalition govt. is in charge and so they set the agenda. 

There are serious and deep cuts being made in many social services, some which are actually not wasteful or bloated. Of course, as you’d imagine, many are.

Local councils are also cutting back on services and finding ways of saving BUT,
hands off our salaries.  The Prime Minister says “We’re all in this together.” What we all know is, that’s bullshit.  Only in his dreams and maybe not even then, are we all in this together.

For example, the head of the Manchester city council, the countries third largest city, is a Labour Party member, as are ALL members of that city council.  His basic salary is £233,000 per annum. That’s even more then the Prime Minister gets. None of the council salaries or perks have been cut. But they are proposing to close city libraries and the public swimming pools among other front line services.
They are politically targeting the front line services to make sure when the next election rolls around, that the Tory Party, that is the conservatives, get the blame.
But their fat cat life style continues.

Well, among the things the city apparently can afford is the following.
You could not make this up. And it’s only the tip of the dung heap. I wouldn’t bet against cons playing the very same game.

· Translating a guide to pigeon-feeding into Urdu – just one of the documents which contributed to a bill of thousands for translation services last year.

· Spending £2,000 giving 16 residents the chance to try stand-up comedy last year, in order to help them develop their confidence and make friends.

· Pumping £120,000 into B of the Bang, Britain’s tallest public sculpture, later nicknamed ‘Kerplunk’ after its giant metal spikes began falling off. The architect and contractors paid the council £1.7million in an out-of-court settlement over safety problems which led to it being scrapped in 2009.

· Spending £8,000 on a sex guide for the over-50s, featuring advice including watching a ‘sexy movie’. Around 5,000 free copies of what campaigners branded ‘an extraordinary and misguided pamphlet’ were sent to men and women across the city in 2009.

· Advertising three communications posts on salaries of up to £39,000 in October despite a recruitment freeze, including a social media manager described by critics as a ‘Twitter tsar’.

Just another example of politicians at work play.  No wonder so many have so little faith in govt. of any party these days.  How do you justify spending even one lonely penny on a translation service for feeding pigeons?  And get this. The city will close all but one of it’s public restrooms.  But the council chief gives up what?  Right.

Meanwhile, back at the treasury, millions are still being given away to foreign countries as aid. Millions and millions. While Brits are being told to tighten their belts.

It’s really discouraging.

Posted by peiper     on 02/10/2011 at 11:33 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics • Editorials • UK •  
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