Doctors show what they really care about ... and it's not their patients!

Doctors, just like all other professions, previously opposed the Government's proposed NHS reforms outright ... but when the Government ignored them, they were quick to 'give up' and 'get on' with it.

However Doctors have voted to strike today ... about one particular aspect of the NHS reforms ... but not those parts set to decimate the NHS ... 

Doctors have instead decided to strike over proposed changes to their pensions! (which, even after the change, will see them receiving 250% more money than an average person receives when they are still working, and before any Tax/NI is taken off!)

This just goes to show how these people, who take the hippocratic oath (and who we are supposed to trust) have, for some time, not become medical doctors due any 'calling'/desire to care for people (i.e. a vocation, as it once was), but to get on a highly lucrative 'gravy train' consisting of money (NHS, private, shares/bonuses from rationing your care), self-interest and greed. 

If this were not true then they would be striking over those parts of the bill that will decimate the NHS, ration/privatize healthcare and, to put it bluntly ... 'kill people' ... shame on them ... people will soon trust them as much/little as the politicians and the banksters!

GP's 'rationing' healthcare already ... and they're not even being 'bonused' on it yet!

The number of patients being referred by their GP to see a hospital specialist has dropped by almost 5% over the past year, prompting fresh concern that access to care is being rationed as a direct result of the pressure on NHS finances.

GPs in England referred about 3.6 million patients for a first hospital consultation between April and July, according to data from the Department of Health (DoH). That was 4.7% fewer than the same period in 2010 – 3.8 million referrals.

The number of patients being seen by consultants after a GP's referral also fell during the same period, from 3.1 million last year to 2.9 million – a drop of 5.2%. The two sets of figures do not match because many patients remain on waiting lists.

The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors' trade association, said that reductions in patients' access to healthcare were happening more often.

"The NHS is under a lot of pressure to do less, for example through referral management initiatives, which seem to be on the increase. These may save money but for every lost referral there is a patient who is not getting diagnosed or treated, and a hospital that is more likely to encounter financial problems," said a BMA spokesman.

John Healey, the shadow health secretary, also warned that some patients may be missing out on drugs, surgery or other treatment because of the falling number of referrals.

"While it is important to reduce demand for hospital care, patients will want reassuring that they are not being denied necessary treatment," he said. "These figures show the huge pressure on hospital finances at a time when David Cameron is wasting millions of pounds reorganising the NHS bureaucracy."

The NHS in England is struggling as its budget increase this year is just 0.1% – after a decade of big annual rises – while it seeks to save £20bn by 2015. The efficiency drive was ordered by the NHS's chief executive, Sir David Nicholson, in 2009, intending to free resources for the growing number of patients, especially elderly people, with long-term conditions such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Nicholson has told the NHS several times not to limit services in order to meet the target.

GP's are not being 'bonused' to 'ration' healthcare yet but make no mistake ... plans for GP commissioning has this at its heart ... e.g. the less spent on patient care the more their consortium will profit ... and the more the consortium profits the more the GP's will receive in dividends (i.e. cash straight into their bank accounts) ... to compliment the multimillion pound windfall they'll also receive when they decide to sell off their 'stake' in their consortium. 

Conflict of interest? You bet! Government prepared to fix this fundamental flaw in the reforms plans? Absolutely not! The real reason for these reforms is cut the healthcare budget ... and 'rationing at source' (i.e. at the point where people might be diagnosed and/or referred) is the simplest and most effective way the Government see to do this ... but they know they'll have to 'bribe' the GP's to get them to do this!

Some GP's are clearly already 'signalling' their 'enthusiasm' and 'ability' to do this ... whilst others steadfastly refuse out of principle. What people fail to realise is that not only will they be rationing healthcare, these soon to be multi-millionaires will also be looting the NHS of the finance is desperately needs to spend on healthcare!

Hippocratic oath - or Hypocrasy ...?

When diagnosing patients in the future ... will patients believe and have trust in what their doctor says and recommends? ... or will that vital trust be broken ... with patients trusting them little more than politicians? **

Unsure ... well if you need more information in order to decide ... why don't you listen to what trustworthy and honorable GP's say ... and/or the latest news on GP's being caught charging the NHS for treating patients that don't exist ... or who died years ago!

** Age old saying: 

Question: "When do you know a politician is lying?"

Answer:   "When their lips are moving!"

"Weapons of mass destruction", "I pledge not to raise tuition fees", "I'll cut the deficit, not the NHS" ...

Politicians round on Murdoch ... and force him to drop his BSkyB bid

Cameron clings on ... by announcing more details of the judicial inquiry being planned into the scandals involving the media and police ... and by deciding to support a 'cross-party' coalition debate (though did not himself attend!) ... responding to the scandals embroiling News Corporation and pressurising News Corporation to withdraw his bid for BSkyB - which Murdoch has now done!*  

To save his own skin Cameron has had to jettison his ties to Murdoch and finally 'let Coulson go', saying ... 'if he lied to not only to himself, but select committees and judges, then he should be prosecuted'. Cameron will I hope that attention gradually moves away from the questioning of his judgement on hiring Coulson, but is probably quietly worried about what Coulson himself might say now (e.g. Coulson on being arrested commented he "has a lot he would like to say, but currently can't").

'People power', building up as a result of growing concern about the misuse of power and the growing influence of the internet (e.g. social networks), is starting to force politicians to listen, and forcing corporations to think carefully about any negative impact on their brands (which is why they were quick to withdraw their advertising from News of the World).

Cameron has reduced the proposed inquiries down to one, and some see this as a clever way of taking some of the 'heat' away from the regulation/ownership of the press and away from how politicians work together/conspire with the Media ... however a number of groups, including the 'Hacked-Off' campaign and the family of Milly Dowler, are putting pressure on the Government to ensure the inquiry is both wide-ranging and thorough (e.g. it covers the behaviour of Politicians and Government in relation to the media). After talking to all party leaders, they said that they are reassured that voice of the People is starting to be heard ... and that they will continue to challenge the actions of groups such as the Press, Police and Politicians.

Let's see ... this has a long way to go ... 

* Is Rupert Murdoch trying to save News Corporation and/or his son James, currently Chairman of News International and Non-Executive Chairman of BSkyB ... as people are starting to ask if News Corporation is 'fit and proper' to own the existing 39% of BSkyB it currently owns too! ... and US senators are also starting to ask for enquiries into the practices of News Corporation in the US!

Selfishness - a Recipe for Failure

For many years "The Apprentice" has offered UK viewers the unedifying sight of desperate contestants fighting it out to become Lord Sugar’s next business protege. However, the show’s celebration of selfishness and ruthlessness as the keys to success in the world of commerce has been debunked by one of the country’s leading businessmen.

Newly-departed Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy said getting on with others and a work ethic of giving ‘more than you take’ were far more valuable assets – and ones that schools should be instilling in children.

Sir Terry, 55, who left Tesco earlier this month after 14 years at the helm during which he took the supermarket’s annual pre-tax profits from £750million to more than £3billion, said that the show was ‘not a very accurate reflection of business - The Apprentice is good entertainment but it’s got nothing to do with business or how to be successful in business'. 

‘If you’re ruthless and selfish, you won’t do well in business’, and went on to say, ‘Everyone wants a successful society, but to have a successful society you need a successful economy and to have a successful economy you want the best and the brightest wanting to go into business, into enterprise, and seeing it as worthwhile and noble work, which it is.' 

Sir Terry believes that schools should undertake ‘social skills training’ to equip pupils for the workplace as they must be able to work with other people. He said: ‘I think that employers need to be clearer with schools and universities that they also want teaching of values, of citizenship, of how as an individual it’s important to give more than you take. That’s what makes you effective in the workplace – that people like working with you and you’re a useful member of a team and you’re keen and happy to give service.’

Sir Terry left his chief executive role at Tesco three weeks ago, having built the supermarket into the UK market leader. It now has 30 per cent of the market, nearly double that of closest rival Asda.

Sir Terry Leahy speaks a lot of common sense (see my Book, Chapter 6), but unfortunately 'common sense' is not all that 'common', particularly in larger organisations ... where most 'leaders' fail to listen to anyone and enjoy telling people what to do. Flawed HR reward systems also drive people's selfishness and short-term self-interest (partly due to outdated/flawed practices still being taught in business schools), rather than promoting teamwork, listening to customers, and ensuring that everyone's intrinsically motivated and committed to continuously improving the value provided (i.e. through its products, services and solutions) to their customers (which engenders loyalty and creates long-term, sustainable success). 

Sir Terry is also right about the importance of getting things right with regard to creating a successful economy and a successful society ... however, unfortunately for Sir Terry, and the nation, selfishness and self-interest still rule, which is why we are where we are today. Put bluntly, if the UK were already doing what Sir Terry suggests, the UK would not be in the state it's in! 

... and things will have to change rapidly (and fundamentally) if the UK's going to not only survive but prosper. The real challenge faced is all the self-interest shown by current 'leaders', including politicians, the bankers, the landowners, the media and the judiciary, as well as the vast majority of 'leaders' of public bodies and large corporations, who profit heavily from how things currently are and who'll resist any change that's not in their own self-interest.

Indeed, if we look at major changes currently occurring, things are changing ... but change is going in totally the wrong direction! For instance the Government, rather than improving 'leadership practice'*, is currently trying to bribe GP's, using lucrative personal bonuses/deals, to ration healthcare and destroy the NHS, whilst creating fundamental conflicts of interest and destroying the trust between doctor and patient ... contrary to society's best interests ... which is now dividing the GP community ... between the 'good' and the 'greedy'.

Selfishness, self-interest and greed are all around us ... and are destroying this once great nation ... a nation previous generations died in order to protect! Will we see the people of this once great nation once again stand up and be counted ... we shall see! The 'good' GP's/doctors are trying to ... and thousands more besides (sign the petition and join the protests by clicking HERE).

* NB changing 'leadership practice' is currently transforming 'leading' hospitals out of all recognition (e.g. 50%+ improvement in performance, customer satisfaction and staff morale, all in less than a year - referred to in my book too), but this is being completely ignored (because Cameron/Lansley want to ration healthcare and privatise the NHS, not improve it, and prefer to use NHS money to bribe GP's to back their reforms, instead of using it to improve the health of the nation)!

Ignorance or Apathy - Homer Simpson's view ...

Who do you know that thinks like Homer Simpson?

If most people don't understand what Homer is saying in this caption then we need to educate ... On the other hand if most people think in the same way as Homer then the future (e.g. for families and future generations) is bleak ...  as those exploiting (and stealing the future of) hard working people will continue to do so (e.g. banksters, politicians, judiciary, lawyers) ... up to the point* where all the honest, honorable and hard-working people can no longer survive (e.g. afford to eat - which will be the point when they finally decide they care) ... and riots begin! ... 

* NB Those in Power, and abusing their Power, will try to stop just before this point, but their insatiable greed will make them carry on!

What's worse - Ignorance or Apathy?

As bankers pay themselves billions in bonuses for gambling, and everyone else suffers and pays the cost of bailing the banks out ... most people are living a life of ignorance or apathy ... with hardworking people/families losing their jobs and paying higher taxes, and with future generations being burdened with debt.

Meanwhile these legalised ponzi scheme fraudsters (banksters) are carrying on regardless and getting away with it ... they are lending very little to businesses but speculating a great deal on commodities (such as oil, precious metals, cotton and grain - pushing up raw material prices and thus inflation) and the collapse of economies (e.g. that have bailed them out, such as Ireland).

At the same time the medical profession (consultants and doctors) are busy ripping off the NHS, with consultants earning £100k's (e.g. taking £100k plus extra a year by charging £1000 for just 4 hours extra work) and with doctors quietly taking home 40% more pay (and for many much more than this) for doing less work (e.g. no out of hours cover) as a result of flawed GP contracts.  I raised these issues on BBC's Question Time at the time and they reluctantly admitted it ... nb people used to go into the medical profession with a passion for helping people, not to milk the system dry and use the proceeds to fund property portfolios ... the money they have taken out could have paid for MORE doctors/nurses and much better patient care ... but they clearly decided this was not in their own best interests and decided to take the money for themselves instead (nb as a result taxpayers now pay some of the most expensive doctor/consultant fees in Europe).

Can we expect the current wave of politicians to sort these things out properly ... Well I'm afraid the answer at the moment is 'no' as the truth is they do not have the interests of ordinary hard-working people at heart ... and their own self-interest/greed stops them from challenging others playing the same 'game' too ... so it's going to take far more than this I'm afraid.

Some argue that people get what they deserve ... and if they remain ignorant/apathetic they should not be surprised (or even complain) about being exploited (i.e. 'taken for a ride') by others ... but do you agree with this?  ... and what's worse in your view ... ignorance or apathy? (why not think about it, and avoid the obvious "I don't know and I don't care" answer!)

Potential and Fairness

To release "potential" and "give everyone chance to live the life they want" ... we need to "take power away from those who hoard it, to challenge vested interests, to break down privilege, to clear out the bottlenecks that block opportunity and block progress" ... and the simple word behind all these ... "fairness", a message Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader made clear today as he launched his parties' manifesto (a plan to "hard-wire" fairness into British society) ... which includes 4 steps to a fairer Britain, including 

i) fair taxes (e.g. by introducing a £10,000 tax-free allowance)

ii) a fair future (e.g. creating jobs by making Britain greener)

iii) a fair chance for every child (e.g. by reduced class sizes)

iv) a fair deal (e.g. by cleaning up politics & introducing a fairer voting system).  

He also highlighted the need for trust, stating in detail where taxes will have to rise to pay for tax cuts (as well as to cut the deficit).   With the "Seven Principles of Public Life" in mind (which all UK Politicians are meant to sign up to  - see above picture) straight forward honesty is key. Speaking at the same event, Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the issue of the deficit had to be "confronted" ... but said Labour and the Conservatives had "banished" the subject from their manifestos. 

With trust in politicians at an all time low the Liberal Democrats were one of the few parties wanting to tackle this head on (nb they do not have disgraced MP's currently heading to Court and trying to use 'parliamentary privilege', as well as taxpayer's money to pay for their defence), with the Liberal Democrats leading the way during the expenses scandals but getting little support from the other parties (they all wanted to go off on their long summer break and/or stop it by changing the Freedom of Information Act).  

21st century leadership and management will fundamentally change how enterprises operate, how economies will prosper, and how successful democracies will work in the future ... it will also change people's lives for the better ... by challenging the misuse of Power*, releasing  'potential' and creating a "fairer" society ... are we about to see this occur at little faster in the UK ...?

We shall see in the next few weeks ...


* Poweromics = People using position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed. 

Removing the destructive target driven culture

In the blogosphere I often see posts from others which go a long way to explaining what's going on around us right now ... and what could also be done to change things for the better. Many are well worth sharing with you here too, as they chime very well with this blog; including the following one below (from a new blogger to the BBC):

At 2:32pm on 11 Dec 2009, Russell Branch posted:

"Wealth generation comes from adding value for which people are prepared to pay. At its most fundamental, this is indeed from making, growing or creating things - converting raw materials into something which has a perceived monetary value. This value can be found in intellect, objects and "things", or indeed services such as provision of health, safety or protection. It depends upon the kind of society we want to live in as to how we rate and value these various things.

However, the current society we live in is governed by a ruling class who have taken central control over so much of our life through a target driven culture that the values are being skewed, or lost, in the name of political dogma. In our working lives, it is a truism that "what gets measured, gets done" but this simple fact belies the cost of the measuring! As one example of this out of thousands, and its repercussions: -

(Note, I came to know know about this following a conversation down the pub :-) , and I am making no statement whatsoever about the validity or not of this particular target)

There are new minority recruitment targets for the fire and safety services (document is here). In itself, this is not necessarily a bad thing. But just think what this implies.

At some high level, this has been decided as a "target". It has necessitated the compilation of the figures as a first cost. But take this down to a local recruitment level. It is now necessary for someone to collect, collate and report on the outcome of every recruitment interview, and someone else to help make a decision on recruitment based not only on "the best person for the job" but also on their race, creed, colour or sexuality. This will also probably add in extra time in legal consultations to protect the service from accusations of bias from both the majority population and the minorities, plus additional training for the interviewer in removal of bias. Thus, two or three extra people are needed, all of who are taking away money from the ability to pay for front line service professionals.

As another example: my ex wife was an admin manager in a health trust. For every target handed down from a centralised decision making process, it was necessary to employ administrators just to prove that the targets were being met. In the NHS, there are hundreds of targets. For every three lower grade administrative assistants on £15K per year, count this as two young nurses on £22.5K per year, and just think a) how many more front line service providers could be employed or b) how much money could be saved, if the target culture was severely dismantled and local accountability handed back to local NHS services - plus all of the civil servants who collect all of these reports and collate them back into statistics for politicians to selectively quote as proof of their prowess.

Major savings are possible at the stroke of a pen ..."

And my comments to the above - "absolutely - I couldn't agree more ... what we need is 21st century management practice which would introduce "systematic & effective bureaucracy stripping" ... replacing league tables/targets, removing all the non-value added activities currently destroying the effectiveness of front line services, and redeploying resources to provide more front line services, as well as to supporting front line staff to systematically improve the level (and types) of services provided ... e.g. take a look my recent post here, as well as my book all about this too.

'Wealth creation' - Really ?

I have included below a great comment made by a fellow blogger (writingsonthewall) in response to another post on one of Stephanie Flanders' blogs:

"... I would add to that and point out that the media's insistence on portraying lenders and investors as wealth creators is in fact a lie ....

... Can anyone explain how witholding resources (money) in order to engineer a situation that you can overcharge for the loan of capital and make profit is generating anything? In any other walk of life this would be described as blackmail - in business it's called 'wealth creation' ...

... Does that mean if I freeze frogspawn until I'm ready to defrost it that I have in fact become 'the creator' - i.e. God of the expected tadpoles? ... Surely, as the person who 'allowed the birth' of the tadpole I am creating life? ...

.... What do you mean I have only interupted it's natural progression? ... Oh dear, the idea that the wealth is created by any other means than applied labour to a commodity is laughable ... Manipulating scarcity is not creation of wealth, profiting from allowing progress and development to continue is not creating wealth ...

... That is why the system collapses, the monetary value placed on all the goods and services is actually far in excess of the actual value of those goods and services ... When the world works this out we get recession as we have to 'mark to market' our values and retract our growth expectations - the capital has to be destroyed - it happens unevenly so you get failures in sectors and particular businesses - i.e. Northern Rock ...

... Until the country accepts this is a lie then it will forever be bouncing from boom to bust ...

... Don't take my word for it - look at the Economy. Look at your lying politicans, your lying Economists, your lying bankers - they led you here and not one of them knows how to get you out. The only thing they can do is ask you to save their skins - by commiting yourselves to working longer and harder than you already do ...

... Not one of them will agree with me - which is a sure fire way of proving I'm right! ... Who's up for a debate about what wealth creation actually means? ...

... If the high net worth people are truly wealth creators - then why are they not creating some now? It's not like we couldn't do with some is it? ...

... Ah - because just as Gordon Brown took credit for the boom - when he actually had no control over it at all, the wealth creators can only take credit for their talents when the Economy is on the up ...

Coincidence? - or are they simply lying...."

-----------

Wise words indeed, and as far as ideas/debates about wealth creation go, I'm with them (e.g. see my previous post 'wealth creation vs wealth manipulation'.

Challenging Poweromics ... and looking for Recovery

Insightful words were this week articulated by the head of Britain's trade union movement, Brendan Barber, as he pointed out the fundamental flaws in Politicians' actions over the last ten years ... as well as the fallacy in promoting the 'green shoots of recovery' ...

"Politicians bought the line that 'Finance' should be 'King' and deregulation the answer to every problem ... activities so well described by Adair Turner as 'socially useless' were seen as 'economically essential' ...

... set finance free we were told, have a bonfire of regulations, let the super rich get even richer ... it will somehow trickle down to the rest of us ... 'manufacturing is old fashioned', 'let the city rule', 'greed is good' ... these were the 'watch words' ... and those whose still preach that greed want us to forget the crash and tell us the economy is now in recovery ...

... but the economy has fallen off a cliff and the green shoots mean little ... when 1000's of people a day are joining the dole queue ... and rising share prices count for little when a million and more young people can't find work ...

and bumper bonuses ... an obscene joke, when it was our money that rescued to banks, and its our public services that are now being told they will have to face the consequences ...

... it's only when unemployment starts coming down, only when we create decent jobs that pay decent wages, and only when vital public services are safe from cuts, that we will be able to talk about a real recovery ..."

Wise words, well spoken, from a leader who can clearly see the wood from the trees ... but what's arguably most shocking & surprising of all is that he's describing the behaviour & actions of a supposed Labour Government (led by 'leaders' supposedly also brought up in the church!) who were once thought of as the voice of communities and hard-working people ... how things have changed ... and how things will have to change for us to get back on course ...

... but unfortunately none of the current politicians & bankers will do this for us ... it will require brand new leadership, new people who truly represent the voice of the people, to take responsibility and turn around our failing economy, and society ... we face a huge battle, a battle of values, one that needs to challenge Poweromics and the basic premise that 'greed is good' ... we need to quickly introduce Leanomics (and leanomics indicators such as the 'BUTS' test - where U refers to unemployment/untapped talent as mentioned above), else we will resign our economy/society to history ...

'For evil to flourish, all it needs is for good men to do nothing' [Edmund Burke]

Power to the People - or more Power to Politicians?

The Conservatives are standing up & saying they want to give power to the people ... 

and suggest a number of ways this could be done ... e.g. fixed term parliaments, more free votes in Parliament, more robust committee structures ... all arguably good ideas in their own right ... but why not a little more proportional representation and referendums etc too ... is this because they, just like the Labour party, benefit so greatly from the current system* ?  

... is this really "Power to the People" or just "Power to Politicians", as the suggestions made don't really give people more say, just more/different politicians more of a say.

If Poweromics** is going to be addressed, Politicians will need to go much further than this. 

"Democracy should happen every day, not just on election day"

*  We only get a say/vote once every five years in a general election, and even then only a small minority of votes actually make a difference as to which of the two main parties gets in Government ... the only votes that effectively 'count' are fringe votes in marginal constituencies (2-3% of the total) - and that's why the two main parties keep changing the voting boundaries too! 21st Century democracy? ... and yet we often hear politicians quote our 'democracy' as an example for others to follow!

** Poweromics = People using position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed. 

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Posted on Have your Say - Tuesday, 26 May, 2009

Democracy should happen 'every day', not just on 'election day'. 

The proposals are a start but do not go far enough. They do not give more 'power to the people', just more 'power to politicians'.

The internet is creating a new platform for democracy – where everyone can communicate/see what is happening, express their views/concerns, suggest ideas for improvement and have their say on the priorities/changes needed. 

The nations already doing this are gaining trust (and ideas!) as a result.

David Clift, Ipswich

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Pay back time - challenging Poweromics

From Unthinkable to Unavoidable ...

All parties are rushing to introduce checks on expenses and paying some of it back.  But does this solve the problem?  Does a Chameleon change it's DNA when it changes colour?

Poweromics needs to continue to be addressed ... e.g. the Poweromics stopping us from having proper 21st Century democracy (take a look here, at Nick Robinson's blog, and comments made below) ...

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Comment 135 (Leanomist)

From unthinkable to unavoidable - continued ...

It doesn't stop here - how about giving us proper democracy - e.g. making sure every vote counts would be a good start (e.g. proportional representation) ... or will Poweromics*, applied by the two main parties, keep stopping us from having a proper democracy fit for the 21st century?

We only get a vote in a general election once every five years, and only a very small minority of votes (in MARGINAL CONSTITUENCIES) actually make a difference to who gets in Government anyway (which is why they keep changing the boundaries)! 

Poweromics* is everywhere and must be replaced (see Poweromics blog at http://poweromics.blogspot.com). This problem is just starting to be exposed - and has not been addressed yet.

(e.g. Do Chameleons change their DNA when they change color)?


David Clift, a Future 500 Leader


* Poweromics = People use position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed.

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Politicians - honorable no more?

As Nick Robinson points out in his blog, Politicians from every 'colour' are now apologizing for all politicians and vowing to change the system people so hate. 

But does this address the root cause of the problem?  

I'm afraid there's more to it than that, people are still angry and there are more questions we need answering ...

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Comment 81 (Leanomist)

The Key Question: How many politicians complained about it before the system they created/profited from was exposed? ... The next Key Question: How many politicians tried to stop it being exposed?

With regard to honor, a phrase used by Chaucer to Adhemar (in the film a Knight's Tale) comes to mind and can be used for any politicians who did not complain about it earlier ...

"You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting".

A new breed of politician is now needed - where values are demonstrated and not simply espoused. A new form of 'economics' is also required - one not based on "Poweromics" *

Let's hope we have not long to wait before hard-working people wish it so and are given more meaningful forms of democracy to make it so. One vote every 5 years hardly does this, especially as most votes count for very little as it's only marginal constituencies that normally determines who Governs - proportional representation would arguably be a start - but we don't even have that ... more Poweromics I'm afraid!


David Clift, a Future 500 leader, founder of Leanomics** and a Poweromics* blogger



* Poweromics = People use position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed. 

** Leanomics = People take responsibility for adding value and continuously improving the situation for others (e.g. customers, communities, overall environment), based upon fundamental values such as trust, honor, responsibility and respect.

The internet has changed the rules and will transform everything, including 'politics' and 'economics'. Google's mantra is "Do no harm". The Leanomics mantra is "Do good".

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Comment 117 (Leanomist)

Poweromics = People use position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed.

Poweromics is running rife all around us, with most people in positions of 'power' feeding from the 'trough'. If you want to to see more examples of it, and expose others so the problem will get solved, then take a look at this blog too ...

http://poweromics.blogspot.com/search?q=poweromics

Traditional 'media' is not going to do it for us (due to more Poweromics!), so we need to take responsibility and do it for ourselves.

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Comment 298 (DialSquareDomination)

The farce that is our Parliament is laid bare today with the Speaker giving a statement about how "honourable" members should adhere to the spirit, not the letter of the law.

1) Michael Martin is one of the worst offenders, and has no right to lecture the house on these matters. In fact, he should stand down for bringing the office into disrepute.

2) MPs make the law, so if there is a difference between the "spirit" and "letter" of this law, it is they who are to be held accountable.

3) Bringing the police in on this matter was unwise. It does not play well to the public, and what are the chances of anyone being prosecuted, given that the High Court ruled this information was in the public interest, and should have been released. This ruling was made in October 2008. Since that time, MPs, with the full support and backing of the Speaker, have done their utmost to prevent that happening, wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer pounds trying to mount a legal defence against it, and after that failed, trying to alter the FoI laws so that they did not apply to them.

The fact that we can have such a poor Speaker who is patently not fit-for-purpose, only serves to highlight the dysfunctionality of our parliament.

And the fact we have to rely on independent bloggers, campaigners and whistleblowers to get this information into the mainstream media only serves to highlight how the relationship between the "indepedent" press and the government. The government says "Jump", and the press says "How high?".

Disgraceful - politicians and political journalists everywhere should at least hold their heads in shame, if they have neither the morality nor the courage to do the decent thing and resign.

A sad day for this country - there have been quite a few over the last twelve years. We sorely need a change in government, a change in representation (voting system), and a written constitution.

Don't delay it further by voting for either of the two big parties ever again.

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Comment 350 (Leanomist)

As posts 342/346 point out ... 

"Oh for a Jeremy Paxman. If he was still doing Newsnight there would not be enough room in the studio for all the bones of the MP's he had savaged ... but ... he still does Newsnight*! 

I have added a comment below from the papers way back in 2006. Jeremy was arguably one of the better and more capable journalists in the BBC then too (he was capable of doing the right thing - but perhaps he has be curtailed/bribed too). 

"Jeremy Paxman has become the latest BBC star to fall victim to the mole who is leaking corporation staff salaries to the tabloid newspapers. Paxman's pay packet for hosting BBC2's University Challenge quiz is £240,000, the equivalent of £7,741 a show, according to a leak published in the Sun today. The University Challenge wage is on top of the £800,000 Paxman is believed to earn for presenting Newsnight, bringing his annual BBC salary to more than £1m, if the figures are to be believed".

We have to remember Poweromics* is happily at work within the BBC too** as the blog http://poweromics.blogspot.com readily points out ...

To show the honesty, independence and integrity of the BBC, can we have an update on BBC pay/expenses/perks once the Politicians pay/expenses has been sufficiently covered? 

Perhaps you could lead the way on this Nick?


David Clift, a Future 500 Leader

* POWEROMICS = People use position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed. 

** Let's see if the BBC remove this post because of this point. I'll tell you if they do.

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Comment 351 (Leanomist) - after 350 was removed by the BBC !

Honorable no more - are we referring to politicians, the media or both?

Poweromics* is at work everywhere - as the blog http://poweromics.blogspot.com readily points out ...

And it's up to us to change it ...

David Clift, a Future 500 Leader

* POWEROMICS = People use position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed. 

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