tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991145.post6175032389419794415..comments2023-10-09T09:11:58.065+00:00Comments on Ben's Blog: Give them to the birds and beesBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02152545728675983286noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991145.post-5458635492457175312008-04-25T17:01:00.000+00:002008-04-25T17:01:00.000+00:00Ah, but where do you stand on roads used as runway...Ah, but where do you stand on roads used as runways? (Answer: not in the middle, ba-boom.)Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02152545728675983286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18991145.post-27089591873173573982008-04-25T12:39:00.000+00:002008-04-25T12:39:00.000+00:00I think it's pretty dumb of the government to try ...I think it's pretty dumb of the government to try and give public sector workers below-inflation pay rises when food, fuel and petrol prices are rising fast. It's the people on those 'just about managing to keep head above water' salaries (I'd include voluntary sector workers in this, and, unless it's got dramtically better recently, people working in publishing) who are feeling this the most. It's not even about public services for a lot of people at the moment, it's about meeting mortgage payments and paying bills. <BR/><BR/>And a lot of those people have got huge personal debts as well, as a deregulated financial services industry (we can blame Thatcher for *that*) has pushed cheap loans and credit onto them and now wants it back. Fortunately I am sufficiently anxious and sufficiently good at maths to throw all those letters straight in the bin, but I can well see why people don't. <BR/><BR/>And I can well see why they're then pissed off at getting a pay rise that is basically a pay cut. I'd be on strike too. <BR/><BR/>I find myself today in the surprising position of agreeing with the <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7366306.stm" REL="nofollow">Archbishop of Canterbury</A> on this topic. Whatever next?Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14736501243972791343noreply@blogger.com