More self interest and greed ... from the Public this time!

As the scandals surrounding the News of the World continue to grow, and the nation's anger at the lack of adherence to any moral/ethical standards and codes becomes visible to all, the nation may have just inadvertently shown Cameron et al that they might be able to 'get off the hook' ... 

So how have they done this ... well by rushing out to buy 5 million copies of its final edition for a start! 

Rather than boycotting the paper, their own personal self-interest and greed has stepped to the fore ... with printing presses having to work overtime to print double the normal number of newspapers ... 

Greedy people are hoping to 'cash in on it' as it becomes a collectors item in the future ... and Cameron et al will be pleased to see this as it gives him a 'rock' to hide behind (i.e. everyone else is acting in their own self-interest)! 

Murdoch will also take heart from this greed and the lack of a boycott ... and take comfort from the fact that the vast majority of advertisers have only sought to switch their advertising to one of his other papers.

If people really want to show their anger then they needed to boycott all News International Papers (e.g. Sun, The Times and Sunday Times) for good, and boycott the advertisers who fund his papers! 

Unfortunately, in the circles of power, 'Money Talks' and it is only by the public boycotting them that the message will be listened to, and those currently in power (and misusing power) stopped from doing so.

This is where Cameron and Murdoch are watching closely now ... as unfortunately within the UK, whether in business or politics, it is still money that talks! 

And to all those rushing out to buy the last edition of "News of the World" ... all moral, decent and honorable people should be saying ... "shame on you - as you have shown yourselves to be living in the same sewer as the people you look to condemn" and "by going out and buying it you are probably allowing the morally corrupt to 'get off the hook' and carry on doing it again"!

Reality check - public says we're still in recession!

According to the latest Consumer Confidence Survey by the Nielsen Company and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), one in three people do not have any spare money to spend ... and yet the Government's austerity measures have only just begun!

Yet the most startling revelation in this report was not this, but the fact that their study also found that 82pc of consumers still believed Britain was in recession!  

It also revealed that only 14pc of consumers believed the country would be out of recession in 12 months time!

Stephen Robertson, the BRC's director general, said: “The survey shows mounting worries about household costs, an unshakeable belief that we are still in recession and record numbers with no spare cash. A significant and permanent strengthening of consumer confidence is clearly some way off.”

You can say that again ... as this is yet another reality check from the consumer questioning the reality of the supposed 'recovery' ... will this lead to a self-feeding negative downward spiral ? ... no wonder the Government's looking elsewhere for someone to bail this broken economy out (e.g. business investment, exports) ...

And according to the IMF, they should not be pushing the myth of 'trickle-down' economics and proposing tax cuts for the rich! 

NB Watch out because politicians are experts in spin ... and the Government are lining up to tell us that tax cuts for the rich are essential for creating growth and tackling 'the forces of stagnation' ... what rubbish ... as the rich aren't going to spend it and put it back into the economy, they'll just save it so they can become more rich!

Public confidence collapsing ... a self-feeding downward spiral ?

A ComRes poll for ITV News shows that half the country thinks the Government has lost control of the economy and fear a double dip.

The sixth installment of the Cuts Index, conducted by ComRes, shows that almost half the country (48%) believes that the Government has lost control of the economy. This compares to 29% who believe that the Government is in control of the economy.

Polled after last week's drop in GDP, 52% of the public believe that the UK is on course for another wave of recession, up from 38% when asked the same question in October. In contrast, 17% of country doesn't believe there will be a double dip - compared to 24% in October.

Asked whether they think things are generally heading in the right direction, 48% said no, up from 32% when asked in October. This compares to 28% saying they think things are heading in the right direction, down from 41% in October.

Asked about who they trust to see the UK through the current economic situation, 22% of the public say they trust George Osborne, 33% trust David Cameron and 22% trust Nick Clegg (nb the trust in all three men has fallen by 10-12%).

With so little faith in the Coalition, and even less in the Opposition (they polled only 15%!), it doesn't bode well for the future of Britain ... as a mixture of ignorance and apathy will continue to prevail ... 

for a while longer at least. This won't last forever however ... as a self-feeding negative downward spiral has started, with household incomes dropping (except for the very rich) and unemployment rising (nb we have also learnt this week that a staggering 97% of all new jobs have only been for part-time work) ... and hard-pressed people will start to take more notice, and demand very different things ... 

NB Politicians need to take a look at the recent IMF report, and on the risks of civil war (due to imbalances of Power).

Raising it with the Prime Minister III

Here in the UK we desperately need to improve public services and to reduce stress, improve well-being, increase capability and create a successful & sustainable future ... traditional thinking/approaches have failed completely, and many 'leaders' (including the PM) are failing to 'lead' or improve the situation too ...

John Seddon has, for as long as I can remember, been a huge outspoken advocate of change, and has been successfully applying alternative ways of thinking [based on Dr. W. Edwards Deming's pioneering work] which have pushed the boundaries of Lean and Systems Thinking ... [NB John has been doing a lot of great work in the Public Services sector too]. John does not suffer fools gladly, and stands up for what is right, rather than what's counted ... [or popular at the time]! Ever since I've known John he has strongly condemned the use of targets and 'command & control' management practices, which this present Government have unfortunately introduced in droves over the last 10 years  ... but are now slowly being unpicked (e.g. see one of my previous posts)!  

I have often made reference to John's work (e.g. in my book!) and a number of people have signed a petition asking for John Seddon to be appointed as a Public Services Tzar - a role we desperately need, and one which would serve to bring 'fresh thinking' into Government & Public Services too ... I've signed it, and you can click here to sign it today too !

You can also sign the "People Democracy" and "Ask the PM to resign" petitions there too!

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We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to appoint John Seddon 'Public Services Tzar'

Submitted by Charlotte Pell – Deadline to sign up by: 8 June 2010

Category: Government, politics and public administration

More details:

The public sector is in crisis. We've had enough of the paperwork. We know targets are a problem. The bureaucracy is stopping us from doing our jobs. John Seddon understands why the system isn't working and he knows how to fix it. Support the expert to show the Government a better way.