Sorry - I've come late to this thread and thought it might have something to do with the current financial meltdown (the title being supposedly an indication). Instead it's descended into the usual stuff about public vs private sector pay and pensions, The Daily Wail, Council Tax etc etc ad flaming nauseam.
The current crisis was created by greedy folk lending other people's money to those who couldn't afford to repay it - simply so that they could obtain huge cash bungs for themselves. The dear Colonials may have invented these scams and perfected them, but a sweet little bunch of OK Henries in Canary Wharf soon realised what a gravy train it was so they joined in the fun.
Now the wheels have come off, they've gone bleating to the Government (i.e. you and me...) to help them out. Needless to say, HMG has obliged - largely for its own political survival - but not before the bottom-feeders have talked down share prices 40% in the meantime. Has anyone seen the sharp rise in the FTSE this morning, just after the fat cats had got their bail-out underwritten? Nice one, eh? They can now buy back at rock-bottom prices all the shares which they had previously talked down, and flog them once the price gets back to somewhere sensible............. KerCHING!
We never learn, do we?
BTW my Civil Service pension is MY money, not anyone else's. It's not some unearned, ex-gratis bung; it's MY salary which I didn't draw while I was working. Can you really imagine any government giving its own petty minions something for nothing? I decided when I started work that I would forgo a big salary for the benefits which would accrue later in life - a conscious choice on my part, not a privilege granted to some otherwise-undefinable social group. I don't recall seeing any application form which had any undue restrictions, so I assume the choice to work in the public sector was open to anyone with the relevant educational qualifications. To put it bluntly (Bluntly? Me??), you made your bed and I made mine, so live with it.
As for the Mail, I shudder when I think of the Editor of that lamentable rag, who decries all public sector workers a reasonable level of pay and pension and castigates minority groups for most of society's ills while he pulls in over £1.2M a year. If you choose to buy it and read it then you're paying him handsomely to feed your prejudices, and I feel sorry for you. IMHO the only thing missing from the Mail is a perforation every six inches and a hole in the top corner for the string.........
Off to make some more stuff for the Blackpool show. See you there?
FLJ