Quick round up from the Land of Crazy:
1. The NHS got privatised, apparently without anyone noticing and certainly without any of the major news organisations *cough BBC cough* bothering to report it. This is a huge, huge deal and it means that something has gone incredibly, unbelievably wrong right at the centre of government. I can’t even blame only the Tories, it’s a cross-party fail of such epic proportions that I literally don’t even know where to begin. How did this happen? How? It is such a sickening piece of work that I’d have to invent an entire new vocabulary before I could find sufficient terms of vilification for those responsible.
2. The budget dropped the 50p tax rate for the nauseatingly wealthy. The rich playing nice with the rich, no surprise there. On the same day as the budget was announced, and allegedly as a direct result, Smith Glaxo Kline announced new investment in the UK. Yeah, because international corporations make quick decisions like that without months of negotiation direct with government and generous back handers being paid. And if you believe that, I have this really big clock I can sell you.
3. The government warned of possible fuel shortages if there’s a hauliers’ strike. Which there isn’t, but there might be. This led directly to panic buying and so became a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is now a fuel shortage.
4. George Galloways romps home as in independent candidate in the Bradford West by-election, stealing a safe Labour seat by some 10,000 votes. You know why? Because Tory and Labour parties are both failing. Because the Lib Dems are a voiceless spent force. Because, despite the fact that the country cannot, simply cannot be left in the hands of the people currently in charge, there is no viable alternative. None.
5. And with all this going, major news outlets *cough BBC cough* are concentrating on reporting on the increased price of a pasty.
We get the government we deserve, we get the media we deserve, and if the two are hand in glove, it’s because no one is paying enough attention. Is anyone else feeling guilty round about now? Because I am. Guilty for not being interested; guilty for thinking that the grown ups would fix things. Guilty (and stupid) for thinking that elected MPs might know what the fuck they’re on about and make informed decisions.
In the areas of my life where I directly encounter layers of management inhabited by people who are supposed to know more than I do, I wait for them to walk the walk before giving them any respect. The result is that I don’t have a lot of respect for anyone in management. I should have extended that lesson years ago, but I wasn’t paying attention. I got the government I deserved.