X : Are you expecting a return to Austerity in UK?
Me : After the largesse, the preferred contract schemes, the eye watering contracts ... well. I'm not expecting the wealthiest to pay for this - that would be very One Nation - but I am expecting the poorest will be asked to pay.
... I would like to be pleasantly surprised, a wealth tax maybe,excess profit tax? I'm just not expecting that. I'd guess we will hear lots of stuff about responsibility, mucking in, getting the economy going and the usual victims to be landed the bill through service cuts etc.
ah ... "restraint" ... that seems to be the new choice word. It's a pity such restraint, or even some basic challenge wasn't put in place when gifting some of these generous contracts - bbc.com/news/business-…
The Conservatives (ditto new labour) have always been a bit wet on finance unless they're attacking the "undeserving" poor. Hence the whole need for some basic spend control in 2010, a bit of challenge. The largesse handed about in some of these contracts is quite exceptional.
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The most desperate thing about the US is if you talk to ordinary citzens, even those on the republican side then you quickly discover it's a socialist country in denial. US citizens actually do believe in care for others, an ethics of care, a national health service etc.
I had spent decades travelling to and visiting the US and I had always thought the society was just very right wing and transactional. It took me ages to realise that whilst the politics (both Rep and Dem) are shades of right, the people in general aren't. It's very bizarre.
X : If you travelled so much and it was quick to discover, why did you take so long?
Me : Because I didn't listen, I just assumed. Hell, I spent six years believing everyone learnt how to map at business school. I hadn't done an MBA, so I had to create my own way of mapping ...
X : Thoughts on Trump?
Me : The claims of fraud, foreign Government interference, cheating, people being lied to, law suits etc etc?
X : Yes.
Me : Heard it all before over brexit. Biden should just get on with the job, he has the mandate. The public has spoken.
X : What about the electoral college?
Me : To overturn a public decision? That's a dangerous path. That would be like a Government going "We asked you to make a choice but we've decided not to enact it" ... or "best out of three?" ... don't mess around with democracy like that.
X : You think Trump should stand down?
Me : He lost. He clearly lost. You can dress it up in "integrity" all you want but you simply undermine public trust in the system. Yes, he should stand down, he should have stood down some time ago.
"one rule for him and his friends and another rule for everyone else" - bbc.com/news/uk-politi… ... heaven help us ... Cummings, Contracts, International Law and now bullying. We do need to retain some resemblance of public trust i.e. we need to give some value to integrity ...
... I do understand that for a collective (i.e. the Conservative party) there is a real need to have some form of success / of being right in order to maintain that sense of belonging and safety within the party but there are wider issues at stake.
X : Do you not think this Gov has integrity?
Me : It doesn't matter whether it has or not, it only matters whether it is seen to have or not. At this moment in time, the political Gov, accidental or not, seems to be emphasising a message of "it's ok to be a sociopath" ...
X : What are your thoughts?
Me : Thoughts? The last people in the world I would ask advice on reducing management consultants in Government are ... management consultants. There's all the skill and capability that you could need within the civil service to answer that question ->
... the problem is that management consultants are used as a comfort blanket, a "shield" against risk i.e. someone else to blame. You'd have to change not only the attitude to risk within the Civil service but reintroduce the concept of "Good enough for Government" i.e. ...
... the idea that only the exceptional is "good enough" for Gov rather than a phrase meaning "any old tat".
Back in 2010-14, when I was involved in "Better for Less" etc then I was keen on a blanket ban on management consultants once Spend Control was up and functioning ...