Letter From Abergele
July 11 2010
I was right about Nick Servini
Well first of all my apologies for not writing but I have been wondering when the public will see what we have been saying and that is starting to happen. One of the problems in being an academic is that you can be too far ahead of the curve and we probably were on this one.
Thankfully the world cup has been a distraction but the last time I was on Radio Wales with Jamie and Lou I made the point that Nick Servini will be coming on our tellies and radio in Wales to announce job losses and it has started to happen. ( If you are not in Wales Nick Serrvini is the business correspondent for the BBC in Wales).
The answer has to be a long term strategy to educate the population to do higher level 'value added work'. Why do I argue this? A factory has just closed in South Wales, the factory is relocating to Mexico because the labour costs are cheaper. The Welsh labour force did nothing wrong, they worked well, they produced good quality products but the fact is that in Mexico they can be made cheaper and therefore the company gets more profit. Whilst this may appear to be greedy and it is, it is also a fact of life that sadly we have to get used to. Yet in Wales there are a small number of high tech companies that are at the cutting edge in bio technology. My own publishing company is selling books around the world. What is common between these two different sectors is the difficulty in finding people qualified to a high enough level in mathematics and science.
Yet the fact is the UK government is cutting back on the new school build, this is utter madness, short term thinking and is detrimental to ordinary people in Wales and across the UK as a whole. We need to spend more money on our young people not less. The idea that we can educate people for 21 st century jobs and motivate them when they are in nissen huts that are literally falling apart is hysterical.
How many Tories will send their children to the type of school where the woodwork on the windows is rotten? We have to invest, and to cut back this programme is naiive. Schools last for 100 years +, it is something that is done once every four or five generations. The Labour government were right to introduce this policy to educate our young people, this government is wrong yet again.
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Letter From Abergele April 17 2010 The cuts are coming
April 17 2010 The cuts are coming
I have been saying this till I am blue in the face, after the election we are due for cuts in public services. The news is littered with details of possible cuts. Mr Brown has said there will be cuts but not yet, Mr Cameron has said he will cut immediately. Yet, and this is what amazes me, some people are still living in dreamsville. Some trade unionists are 'determined to protect members living standards and resist all cuts to pay and changes to working conditions.'
Guys the cupboard is bare, get real! When the economic crisis hit, we were hours away from total meltdown. We were hours away from cashpoints closing down, hours azway from trains and buses stopping running. Whatever you think of Gordon Brown, on the economy he got it right and this election is all about the economy. This is where the pain is felt and will be felt for a long time. This is why the Back to the Black programme ( www.backtotheblack.co.uk) is so important. There has never been a more important time to clear debt and create wealth.
I was in a meeting yesterday in Wrexham where I heard of one poor chap here in North Wales who is soon to lose his home. The idea that there can be sections of the community that are immune from cuts in services ( and that means less teachers, less nurses and so on) is nonsense. We will all feel the pain, there does have to be cuts and rises in taxation but not yet.
A lot of politicians are now bemoaning the fact that many public services now have an increase in managers. Hang on, this means that doctors spend their time treating patients, teachers spend their time teaching children, not dealing with admin. Cutting managers is not the only answer. The answer has to be to sustain the economic recovery by avoiding cutting this year. That keeps people in work, that keeps taxes flowing into the treasury and keeps public services going. Then when the economy, which has had the economic equivalent of a heart attack, will be given chance to recover. Then when the economy is stronger we can make the cuts that are needed.
This will keep people in work, it will keep people in their homes and it will help generate wealth that will make the economy grow. Then when we have generated some more cash, and we will, then we can start paying off the debts and that is the sensible way to move forward. Making cuts now will risk giving the patient another heart attack and this could be fatal.
So you have to make a decision, do you carry on as if nothing has happened? Do you blame the current government? ( Don't, it wasn't their fault), or do you hunker down, clear any personal debt and then invest for your future?
It is your vote on May 6th, use it wisely.
I have been saying this till I am blue in the face, after the election we are due for cuts in public services. The news is littered with details of possible cuts. Mr Brown has said there will be cuts but not yet, Mr Cameron has said he will cut immediately. Yet, and this is what amazes me, some people are still living in dreamsville. Some trade unionists are 'determined to protect members living standards and resist all cuts to pay and changes to working conditions.'
Guys the cupboard is bare, get real! When the economic crisis hit, we were hours away from total meltdown. We were hours away from cashpoints closing down, hours azway from trains and buses stopping running. Whatever you think of Gordon Brown, on the economy he got it right and this election is all about the economy. This is where the pain is felt and will be felt for a long time. This is why the Back to the Black programme ( www.backtotheblack.co.uk) is so important. There has never been a more important time to clear debt and create wealth.
I was in a meeting yesterday in Wrexham where I heard of one poor chap here in North Wales who is soon to lose his home. The idea that there can be sections of the community that are immune from cuts in services ( and that means less teachers, less nurses and so on) is nonsense. We will all feel the pain, there does have to be cuts and rises in taxation but not yet.
A lot of politicians are now bemoaning the fact that many public services now have an increase in managers. Hang on, this means that doctors spend their time treating patients, teachers spend their time teaching children, not dealing with admin. Cutting managers is not the only answer. The answer has to be to sustain the economic recovery by avoiding cutting this year. That keeps people in work, that keeps taxes flowing into the treasury and keeps public services going. Then when the economy, which has had the economic equivalent of a heart attack, will be given chance to recover. Then when the economy is stronger we can make the cuts that are needed.
This will keep people in work, it will keep people in their homes and it will help generate wealth that will make the economy grow. Then when we have generated some more cash, and we will, then we can start paying off the debts and that is the sensible way to move forward. Making cuts now will risk giving the patient another heart attack and this could be fatal.
So you have to make a decision, do you carry on as if nothing has happened? Do you blame the current government? ( Don't, it wasn't their fault), or do you hunker down, clear any personal debt and then invest for your future?
It is your vote on May 6th, use it wisely.
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