Guest Blog: Mrs Grumpy isn’t happy!

Houses of Parliament

Yesterday evening my wife was watching the news, she heard an item where President Obama was insisting that the ‘minimum wage‘ had to increase to help kick-start the USA economy.

“That’s not such a bad idea, it’s fairly simple” says she and then went off on one questioning why politicians always had to bloody complicate things? In many ways I would have to agree with her, so I suggested she write a few words for the blog explaining how she saw things – here it is…

The state of the Country as I see it… We have a deficit – this I understand and it has to be addressed but why do they have to go about it in such a bloody complicated way? I don’t understand.

It would be easier to kick-start the economy if the average person, the worker on the ground at the bottom of the pile (like me) had more money. I don’t have savings yet have worked in the public sector (mostly policing) nearly all of my working life, I have worked my little arse off to serve and protect others!

The minimum wage for starters is a joke! How can a family be expected to live on it? The minimum wage should be at least £10 per hour for a start. The people targeted to make savings should be the people at the top of the scale. The heads of Council, the Bankers etc. Why should they be on salaries so far above what they need to be comfortable? Their salaries should be capped not the workers on the ground. Without the actual workers they would have nothing to take the credit for in the first place!

Why should bankers get more money for doing their jobs? I don’t! I regularly go above and beyond the call of duty for no extra remuneration, no financial incentive? So how is that fair?

I appreciate it is difficult to control salaries in the private sector but in the public sector it should be possible? Why for example can’t there be a system where no job pays more than say £80,000? Across the entire country that is fairer for all. Fair, across the entire Country, if you have a minimum wage you should also have a maximum one. No MP should be paid above that either perhaps the Prime Minister can have £100,000 for their extra responsibilities?

Everything seems to be so over complicated when it doesn’t need to be. With all the cuts the only people affected are the people at the bottom. The working class, who work hard and long hours, for very little money, are suffering. There are more and more in danger of loosing their homes or unable to afford a home.

The people at the top of the scale are not affected at all due to the fact they have more than enough money to live on, savings, holidays and so forth. Give them a cap on their earnings and all that would happen is that they can only have 3 holidays instead of 4! They would not starve or have their homes re-possessed. I suppose they may have to sell one!

Putting this Country back on its feet would be simple if not for greed…

We need the workers on the ground. The nurses, the Police officers, our military why reduce them in numbers? There is no need! There was no need for all the redundancies! The misery and heartbreak not to mention financial stress and strain that caused! I should know I was one of them! They are a necessity! Keep them and put them on a bigger salary. Up the minimum wage and start at the top not the bottom with the savings.

If the little people at the bottom had more money it would go back into the economy and kick-start it. People may have a chance of saving for deposits for homes. They may have a chance of having one holiday a year and some standard of living instead of being totally demoralised.

Too many people are involved in the running of the country and we all know “too many cooks spoil the broth”! It is all far too over complicated when the solution is simple! It should be kept simple and the little people who work hard for a living should be paid appropriately for their hard work instead of working for peanuts.

Would David Cameron work for the minimum wage I wonder?

Had the Government increased the minimum wage by pounds and not pence we would not be here now! I would imagine they got more than pence in their pay rises? And why should those below say £30,000 be refused pay increments? No matter what profession the cuts should have hit the people at the top of the pay scales and not the bottom. Top of scale earners do not notice! Working class where every penny counts do! It’s not rocket science but an overly complicated antiquated system that protects the rich and demoralise the poor.

I have worked my whole life and been self-sufficient throughout but I am now at a stage where it feels I have worked my entire life for nothing. Nothing to show for it and struggling to make ends meet due to low salaries brought about by the introduction of such a ridiculously low minimum wages. If there can be a minimum wage then why not a maximum? Funny I have never heard of the maximum wage!

The way the Country is run should be transparent. It should make sense in every way. It should not protect the rich! Hit them with higher taxes but cap the capacity of earnings in the public sector to make the savings. Big mistake to cut the “Indians” who do all the actual work and know how to do the job and what is required. We have lost so much experience with redundancy at what cost I ask myself?

If you asked a housewife to make cuts to her budget would she cut out the food, the heating and the lighting first? No, these are the basics required to sustain her family. She would cut back on the non essentials like holidays, new cars and new designer clothes. She would start at the top looking at the non essentials – Not at the bottom!

I don’t see any change to our country and it’s all up side down? I see those that are already suffering seeing things actually getting even worse for them every day! But who would listen to someone like me?

Despite it being so bloody cold and barren perhaps a move north would be a good idea? After all, the Icelandic people seem to have had some success in sorting many of these problems out…