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I just can’t keep this secret any more.  I’ve kept silent about this long enough but today I’ve found another reason to finally let you know just how I feel.  I prefer to stay away from making political rants; I accept that each of us has our own perspective and that these are equally valid… however!

One more sound bite, one more quote and one more bleating individual from the Public Sector who simply thinks we can ignore the apocalyptic debt this country is in and that’s about all I can take.  So here it is; brace yourself!

A spokesperson for the Health Service (yes, another one) has declared today that he can’t possibly see how they are going to achieve efficiency targets of £20M savings over the next four years. “It’s never been done before!” – nope and now you’ve got a serious challenge to work on..!  So show us you’re worth the money you’re getting paid.  It’s not a popularity contest, it’s your job.

Let’s face facts; this country is stony broke.  The current deficit is of massive proportions and the interest alone is costing the UK over £120million a day… let’s just say that again… £120 MILLION EACH AND EVERY DAY!  We’ve never seen this sort of scale of debt before, ever.

How on earth can any sane-minded individual claim that by making cuts we’re risking a recovery to the economy when we have such a mammoth debt to repay?  What do they think the alternative is, close our eyes and it will go away?  Even if we could stimulate growth and deliver a massive up-turn in the economy where will the benefit of all this go?  On repaying the debt of course – now or in the future (when it’s even bigger and assuming we actually get there). 

Basic economics – the sort I learned and understood at school – teaches us that we need to reduce expenditure, control costs and raise production.  It’s really not rocket-science (and I promised I’d never use that in a blog..). 

So why can’t these people see it, or more to the point, why do they pretend it just doesn’t exist?

The problem, as it appears to me, is that so many people of this country really don’t seem to grasp just how bad the fiscal situation is and that without US ALL making an effort to resolve it, things will only get worse.  Sure, harsh cuts will affect many people and some of the most vulnerable in our society.

So what are WE all going to do about it.  What will YOU and I do to pick up the slack and do we really care enough?  I’m deadly serious!

I’m certain that Cameron and Co. completely failed with the Big Society campaign (I hope the marketing team responsible got the royal boot for that one).  However the sentiment was valid.  We all have a part to play in getting this country back on its feet.  Of course there will be large proportion of people who simply can’t be bothered, just like those who think it’s someone else’s job to sort out the mess.  I’m sure the Big Society failed because the nation just didn’t see the point.  The pain just isn’t big enough yet.  

We’ve created a political culture that supposed to solve all our worries, keep us fed and warm and make sure the bogey-man doesn’t get us.  For a nation with such heritage how have we receded into this adolescent and dangerous mind-set?  Where have the real leaders gone?

This form of childish and immature thinking is at the very root cause of so many of the problems we face now.  We borrowed heavily and created a boom in credit and the property market, now it’s got to be repaid we’re blaming the people who gave it to us.  The economy was built on unsustainable growth through lending and now we’ve got to fix it.  Don’t blame Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, don’t blame the Greeks, the Icelanders or the Irish. 

Gordon told us we were safe, with “the best Financial Services Market in the world” and then sold off nearly all our nation’s gold reserves for a fraction of their value.  It’s happened, accept it, move on.  Now we need to produce – that’s the best place to start.

Just because we drag ourselves off to the polling booth once in a blue moon doesn’t mean we’ve the right to abdicate all responsibility to this ‘super-class’ called politicians.  I think we can see that so many of our politicians have adopted values and ethics that fall far below the standards we should and do expect of them.  The fact remains though that it’s not reasonable or mature to expect them to wave some sort of magic wand and make the problem all go away.  It’s here and now and we all have to face facts and do something positive to change it.

Cost cutting, waste reduction and the focus on increasing productivity are all elements of real-world economics; ask any shopkeeper, business owner or Managing Director.  The Private Sector lives with this reality day in and day out and has always done so.  If you don’t manage your finances and you consume more than you produce… your company will perish, simple.  It’s exactly the same for the UK economy. 

I’ve had my fill of listening to people from Public Sector who seem to believe that they exist in some sort of parallel universe where the laws of economics simply don’t apply.  Of course I recognise that not all Public Services could or should be run with a commercial focus to make profit but they must at least be sustainable. 

They also need to accept that the Public Sector only exists because of the production and output from the Private Sector; where do they think tax revenue actually starts its life?  We have an essential need for a viable economic structure that can keep the wheels turning.

Nial Adams - PUSH Marketing Partner

Like so many others, all this concerns me deeply and I can see the serious challenges ahead.  Even the abnormal weather we’ve been enjoying in early Summer this year is potentially bad news; food prices will skyrocket later this year, that will put pressure on inflation and the Bank of England will almost surely need to increase the Interest Rate as a mechanism of control.  And that’s just it; it’s the weather, we can’t do anything about it.  We’ll all just need to eat less and pay more attention to balancing the domestic books.

Isn’t it time that we took a long hard look and decided what WE as each and every individual, can do to improve the situation and work towards getting back to where we all want to be?  The Public Sector will just need to accept the gravy train is over, that time has passed.  The Private Sector will also need to ‘buck up’ – every small business in the land will need to raise its game, sharpen up and pay more attention. 

Delivering real value and great service standards will set the best apart from the rest.  Staff, at every level, will need to be more diligent and look to deliver that little bit more.  This is in our own self-interest as well as part of our society as a whole.

I’ve visited and worked in countries where the majority of the population wake up each day and wonder where their next meal is going to come from.  They need to be effective, driven and focused.  They also need to be creative and take complete personal responsibility for their situation and what the need to think and do every day to survive.  This is the true reality of living.

Finally, I have every faith that as a nation the British people can and will respond… eventually.  The question is, how much pain will they need to suffer before finally accepting the reality we live in today and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

And breathe….