Bankers bonuses

This week we have had two privatised banks, that is banks that are owned by the British tax payers, report massive losses while still paying out massive bonuses to top executives and senior employees. In the same week local government employees have been told that for the fifth year in a row there will be no cost of living pay increases. The government (all parties because this started under Labour and is continuing under the coalition) seem to think that this approach is justified because “we need to rebuild the economy”. We it won’t get rebuilt if the local government employees don’t have money to spend because it is money circulating in the economy that stimulates growth. The bankers are not doing their bit on two accounts. First they are not lending to small businesses and more are going to the wall daily as they struggle to find investment funds, and secondly, the bankers bonuses are not being spent so there is no resulting stimulation of the economy from that angle either.

If the UK is going to get out of recession then all the bonuses that the banks want to pay out to their staff should be put into a pot to fund pay increases for local government workers, NHS nursing and care staff and lower ranks of our armed forces. If the bankers want to receive their payouts then they should be made to do a regular tour of duty in Afghanistan to qualify.

But the banking chiefs say that they need world class talent to rebuild the banking system so they have to pay these ludicrous salaries and bonuses, forgetting that it was those same “world class” bankers that got us into this recession in the first place. The government needs to have the balls to stand up to the bankers for one simple reason – those bankers are actually government paid officials which places them alongside all those that have just been told that they are subject to a continued pay freeze. NHS staff don’t get bonuses for saving lives, returning people to “good health” or caring for the elderly, sick and infirm yet bankers get bonuses for gambling with money that isn’t theirs. If bankers are going to be paid bonuses then there must be a criteria that says that after those bonuses have been paid out the bank must be in both pre and post tax profit. No profit, then no bonus payout.

£2m to assylum seeking "kids"

In the news at the weekend, missed by most of the news media, an announcement that £2m has been paid out over child asylum seekers illegally detained as adults. The legal case involved 40 youngsters who were locked up in adult units under Home Office policy that was deemed to be unlawful, read about it here in the Guardian

Now most "kids" between the age of 14 - 16 seeking assylum are regarded as adults in their home country, so why the hell are we paying these "kids" big payouts because of a slight cock-up? Are they worth thousands of GDP? (£2m divided by 40 is £50,000 each) Yet the government of this coutry sees fit to award them big payouts. In my book charity begins at home, so why are we spending £2m on somebody elses problem kids and not taking care of our own impoverished and under priviledeged kids.

No wonder this country is in such a financial mess - £2m given away to "kids" who are in no position to understand how to make the best use of the money and will probably waste it and return to poverty, where they (most likely) will be eternally happy. Makes me seeth.

Satnavs blamed

I read an article in yesterday’s Metro that claims these motoring aids are now being blamed for £203million in damage to vehicles as drivers blindly follow their instructions. Examples quoted are driving into a wall in Edinburgh, being sent over a non-existent bridge across the river Severn and across a golf course in Kingsdown (Kent). “Such is the concern that the Department of Transport is holding its first ever satnav summit next month”

Now there’s a waste of rate/tax payers money. The solution is simple – pass legislation that puts a legal obligation on the satnav manufacturers and their map suppliers to ensure that the software is current and up to date. They are making an absolute packet in selling these gadgets and map updates which are usually 2 years out of date. Make the obligation one to ensure that every detail is up to date and no more than 3 months old and that if any damage to property results from an a driver blindly following incorrect directions the insurance company or involved parties can claim back out of pocket expenses for any resulting loss. Then allow insurance companies to reject claims where the driver/satnav user has not kept the software in their gadget up to date.

Of course the satnav manufacturers will be up in arms, but, not only will they make their products better and fit for purpose, the consumer will get a better product and there will be fewer accidents where the incompetent numpties behind the wheel can blame the gadget in the dashboard / on the windscreen.

Commuting

Returning to this topic, Wikipedia defines it as follows:-
“Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.”

Now to me that means using the most effective method of travel both in terms of money and time. High cost commuting impacts the individuals wallet and reduces the money available for living expenses and recreation even if it is subsidised (unless fully expensed). Too long spent commuting reduces the commuter’s personal time for those general day to day tasks and recreation time that is part of life.

Because of the time aspect I have rarely relied on trains in the UK for my commuting, and on those occasions that I have the experience has not been pleasant / enjoyable. Crowded trains mean that the amount of work that can be done during the journey is limited, sometimes impossible. Linking to other forms of public transport is stressful with unreliable services either being missed or running late. Which means I prefer to use the UK road network.

Moving onto the roads means 3 options, bicycle, motorbike and car. I find the speed of other traffic intimidating and makes using a bicycle too dangerous for me to consider further. My preference is to use the motorbike but there are occasions when the weather conspires to make this much less attractive (frost, fog, heavy rain / sleet / snow). The result is that I split my commuting between motorbike and car. I am fortunate that I can do this, not everyone has the options I have. But why, oh why, do those that commute by car appear to be in a race? Maximising economy to keep costs down cannot be achieved by fast aggressive driving, but it is a feature of the daily commute, and if you do the same route day in, day out, it is the same people driving fast and aggressively. Is it just in their nature to always drive like that or do they not understand the costs quotient?

The UK government has spend millions of pounds on “safety campaigns” in an attempt to reduce accident figures and casualty rates. None of those campaigns have focused on why people are driving in the manner they do. Yes, I know that many will ignore any message and think it doesn’t apply to them (witness the number of people driving and using hand held devices). But the government claims that every “safety campaign” has some affect on behaviour, so isn’t it time they addressed the commuting driver and their bad driving habits?

Environmental resource planning

I used to think nothing of doing 100 - 200 miles before breakfast to be on site for a working day before heading home (or off to a hotel) for the night, only to repeat the next day. Now-a-days it just gets me dowm. Currently I'm doing a 45 mile each way trip into Birmingham 4 or 5 days a week and I find it tiring and depressing. With all the technology we have at our fingertips this travel shouldn't be necessary. I work for an IT Services company so it should be even less necessary than for workers in other industries, but it seems that rather than doing REAL resource planning it is simply a case of bums on seats, so I go to Birmingham while a colleague goes from Brum to Derby. What is the sense in that? Environment? No, just MENTAL!

Driving standards

If, like me, you've spent decades "on the road" commuting to different places of work it can't have escaped your notice that driving standards in the UK have declined. Correction, nose dived. This weekend we've had snow, disruptive snow according to official classifications, but it need not be if only drivers had 2 things:-
1. Some driving skills
2. Patience behind the wheel.

Driving skills - these are not there simply because new drivers are taught how to pass the driving test, not how to control the car, and as soon as they pass the test they assume that they are experts and know it all when it is only the driving aids that keep them alive.

Patience behind the wheel - coupled with looking ahead and reading the roads / situation. With snow on the road many drivers were quite simply and very obviously out of their depth. No idea how to control their car, what it or they are capable of.

Ambitious and impatient beyond their skills the inevitable result is always an "accident". The best ones are those with wallets and egos way bigger than their abilities driving AMG Mercedes, BMW M-Sports and Audi RS cars - which quickly become immobile road blocks to us lesser mortals. Will anybody learn anything from this dose of winter? Or course not, why should they, they are insured and will only be slightly inconvenienced for their display of stupidity and ignorance.

New year, new cat

Jasper has gone and Alfie has arrived and is settling in nicely. Looks so much like Charlie it's unreal - very hard to tell them instantly apart. This week he gets his 2nd set of jabs and chipped. Next is to have him neutered and introduce him to the great outdoors.

So now we have 2 cats again, 2 years between them and only details set them apart. Importantly, Suzie is happy because Alfie is a real lap cat.