Work Related Pensions

Public Service Unions have called for and a majority of their members have voted to strike on the 30th of November 2011.  This is in response to the UK government's plan to increase public sector workers contributions towards their employment pensions,  the age at which they can retire and reduce the value of their pensions.  The government argues that this is already the case in the private sector and they are creating a level playing field.

This is true to a certain extent but is this right?  There is already a discrepancy between employees pensions in both the public and private sectors.  Management staff have better pension arrangements in both sectors, as well as, having bigger pay packets and higher annual pay increases.  They can also retire earlier.  In the private sector the gap between management pensions and employees pensions is even more pronounced.

In my opinion, all employees have a right to decent employment pension.  They should not rely on or expect the state to subsidise their pensions through "old age pensions".  They should also not have to wait to receive their pensions until they are to old to enjoy the fruit of their labour.  Otherwise, any pension they receive will only go towards paying their "care home bills".

Employment pensions, particularly in the private sector, have in the main failed because of abuse of pension funds by some private sector companies and pension fund managers.  During the 1980s and 1990s many private companies misused pension funds as capital investments or used it as loans to bail themselves out during financial difficulties.  Very often they were not able to put the funds and interests back in the pension pot.  Even now, pension fund managers are not only earning extremely large sums but also taking increasingly larger sums in bonuses regardless of the performance of pension funds being managed.  [One such person appearing on UK television, this week, claimed she is worth more than the pension fund contributors.]  They are, therefore, receiving proportionally higher returns on the investments than the people contributing toward their pensions.  Pension contributors have lost out in the past and they are still losing out; and this, particularly, include public sector workers and lower to middle earners in the private sector.  They are subsidising the state through taxes, subsidising pension fund managers luxurious lifestyles and disproportionately boosting private sector profits and entrepreneurs and shareholders dividends. 

The current proposed system of employment pensions, whether in the private or public sector is both unjust and highly regressive.  There is a rational solution, but it is unlikely to be adopted as most governments have and share monetarist views and are supported in their position of power by capitalist funds.  The solution is simple.  Employment pensions and pension funds for both the private and the public sectors should be managed and regulated by the state. There should also be a truly independent audit system in place.  It should not be abused or misused and fund managers should only receive adequate, not exorbitant, remunerations.  Employees should contribute an agreed percentage of their salaries, with a similar arrangement for employers.  The retirement age should be the same for managers and other employees.  The pension to salary ratio should also be comparable.

To put it simply, there should be a universal employment pension system for all.  It should be a right and enshrined in law. And similarly everyone should have a right to employment.  However, this is unlikely to happen in the UK.  The UK government is hell bent on punishing public sector workers for the financial problem created by greedy bankers who are going scot free and still enjoying huge wages and bonuses.  This is lunacy. Is it because senior politicians in the UK government come from banking and financial institution background?  Readers you can be the judge.

Good luck and good bye until the next time.

Knight Owl

Eurozone Crisis; What Crisis?

The so called economic and financial demise of several European countries continues on a downhill trend like a motorcars with faulty brakes.  It started with the Republic of Ireland, then Spain and Portugal were threatened.  However, Greece and Italy seems to have slipped even further.  Quantitative easing and bale-outs are being pledged by the governments but the economy is slip sliding regardless.

However, in the UK it is difficult to accept that their is an economic downturn especially if you live in London or the South-East.  Some Londoners are still buying second home as the two home lifestyle continues to grow.  Luxury goods traders, such as Burberry, are also seeing increasing profits as the sales in luxury goods is increasing.  I am sure the same applies in other European countries and the USA and the rest of the world that has been affected by the economic crisis.  This suggests that the wealth is there but it is not being distributed in a fair and equitable manner.  Some have most of the world resources and riches and most have very little.  Even the bankers who contributed to the economic disaster are still enjoying a lucrative lifestyle and huge bonuses.

The austerity measures that are being legislated by the governments are in the main hitting the less well off and reducing their meagre income.  The greedy rich however, continue to amass wealth by raising commodity prices and playing monopoly with the world's economy.  Will the governments even dare take a penny off them?  Wait and see!  The governments have not legislated to regulate the banks or reform the banking system as proposed at the height of the banking crisis and that was over 3 years ago.  Many wealthy people continue to avoid paying taxes and they are legally allowed and encouraged to do so.  At the time of writing our British Chancellor of the Exchequer is reported to be contemplating cutting the top rate of tax.  Therefore those who even feel guilty enough to pay their taxes will be helped to pay even less.

It is difficult to judge whether we are having an economic crisis or not.  The wealth is still there; few have most of it, some have have just enough, the majority have very little or nothing.  So what is this crisis about?  What are the austerity measures about?  Upon the requirement of the International Monetary Fund (the wealthy), the governments (the instruments of the wealthy) are directed to pawn off or hand over public services (public sector industries) to the wealthy.  To what effect?  To reduce public funding of these services or increase private profiteering?  I'll let the readers be the judge of that.

Good luck and good bye until the next time.

Knight Owl

Rights and Responsibilities

Do people have a right to protest and are they responsible enough to do so.  In Europe and the USA this does not seem to be the case, although some protest is tolerated.  However, Europe and the USA not only condone this form of action in the Middle East but overtly support it.  Why is there one right for the Middle East and another for Europe and the USA.  In Europe and the USA, the governments are taking forceful action to stop and discourage any such expression of  dissatisfaction with the state or the creators of the economic doom.

Is this because in Europe and the USA, the governments legislate in favour of the rich against the "plebeians"?  Of course, the rich fund their election campaigns and gets them the seats in parliament and the senates and the voters do not matter.  May be that is a way of repaying their dues. Let the Masters rule the governments.  The "plebeians" are no more than slaves to the demands of the Masters.  The governments are instruments used by the Masters to control the "plebeians" and keep them in check.  In the UK, the government is even considering legislations against the right of workers to strike.  Soon workers will have no rights at all, "and they will be no better than slaves".

"Plebeians" beware!  During election times think; do you votes really count?

Good Luck and good bye until the next time.

Knight Owl

Politics and Politicians

There is a lot going on in politics at present and it is difficult to choose a specific topic to write about.  However, with the goings on with secretary of states in the UK, I thought that might be one topic of interest.

Dr Liam Fox, secretary of state for defence, or now ex-secretary of state for defence, fell foul of his friend's involvement with his official position.  Dr Fox's friend had posted himself as his advisor although he had not been officially appointed as such.  He was photographed attending various official meetings with him.  It was reported in the press that he had also arranged some of these meetings.  Pecuniary arrangements for this friend was rather dubious.  It was claimed that Dr Fox's political sponsors were supporting him financially.  Dr Fox's friend claimed to have special interest in the arms trade.  The unanswered question remains whether these sponsors were arm traders or not?  Dr Fox has now resigned his government position but will this stop the speculations or further revelations.  We shall have to wait and see.

Today, it has also been revealed that another Cabinet Minister has been photographed on several occasions dumping official government papers in public litter bins in St James's Park in London.  I am not going to speculate, he may have just been offloading himself of the weight.  I shall leave the speculating or revealing the true reasons, if there is one, to the media.

Going back to politicians, governance and political influence.  There was a time when politicians and politics was about national interests.  However, this has long gone and no politicians or political parties are immune to it. And this is not only a UK position, it is a worldwide issue.  Although governing a country is about working in the interest of the whole nation, this is no longer the case.  The governments only really work in the interest of about 20% of the nations and these are the plutocratic investors and industrialists.  Legislations are always in favour of these minority groups, and this include TAX avoidance legislations.  Whereas legislations for the remaining 80% is punitive and negatively weighted.  The current austerity measures of high taxes, low wages, increasing living costs and pension changes also only apply to the majority 80%.  Whilst this 80% are sweating Calories turning the wheels of industry, the other 20% are putting on Calories and increasing their wealth enjoying the fruit of the former's labour.

I suppose the duties of governments and  politicians nowadays are about helping their financial sponsors who bankroll their prospects of getting elected and political careers and not the nations.  There is also this principle that trade and industry is the heart of the modern world. This being the case, may be politicians are delivering the goods that their wealthy clients have paid for and not acting in the interest of their voters.  How this applies to the labour party in the UK is a bit confusing.  This political party is financially supported by both trade unions and wealthy plutocrats.  The trade unions and trade unionists do not get anything in return but the plutocrats do.  Are the plutocrats support more important, and/or are the trade unions and the trade unionists just taken for granted? 

This whole process calls into question the belief related to elections and democracy in electing politicians and governments, particularly in the western world that boasts about its democratic principles.  Does this reflect the diminishing number of voters who actually turn up at the polling stations?  Do the voters feel that no matter who they vote for the elected representatives do not work in favour the majority voters anyway?

Good bye and good luck until the next time.

Knight Owl

Recent English Public Disturbance; Rhyme or Reason?

The recent public disturbance in England has calmed down.  Perpetrators are being sought and punished.  The victim are trying to come to terms and rebuilding their lives.  The politicians, however, continue to pussy foot around trying to address the situation. Prime Minister Cameron has moved from describing the society as a broken society to a sick society.  He is busy prescribing  remedies without adequately diagnosing the problem.

The problem underlying the uncalled for disturbance in England and the unrest and economic mayhem around the world is a social and economic catastrophe. The heart of the problem lies with the rigid interpretation and application of the Monetarist Economic Policy.  In the same way as the Keynesian policy failed in the 1970s, we have to admit and agree that the Monetarist policy has failed now. The Monetarist perspective that money [and property] is all that matters is the core of the current problem.  It has created a few who has money and masses who haven't. As a result it has also created selfishness and greed. The masses who still aspire and are encouraged to persevere to acquire money find all kind of obstacles put in their way. First and foremost the people who control the money also control the employment and manipulate the market. The market creates the perception that everyone are entitled to and have a right to own goods no matter the cost.  It creates envy and some people use fair and foul means to have these goods. This allows crime to enter the equation.

The masses are also disadvantaged by a failure of governments to promote social well being in the form of good social policy. Society may be broken but we are not instituting social policies to mend this breach.  Instead we are creating policies to worsen this breach, and blame people for not being self sufficient.  We thus promote a criminal underclass which also live by the monetarist perspective that money is all that matters.  Ethics, morals and the law are all ignored or take a secondary position. This is as true in the world of business, for example, the nature of banking and hedge-fund management, and the behaviour of the criminal underclass.

This was summed up by Reginald D Hunter, a US comedian on the BBC "This Week" programme when he said "You cannot tell people who are broke, don't feel hard done by".  We care more about money and property than people and so do our politicians.

I am led to believe that politicians regardless of the parties they belong to ignore the masses in society and side with the few rich who funds their respective political parties and their bid to get elected.  The masses are the naive majority who continue to trust and believe in their politicians just as gang members do with their gang leaders who continue to manipulate them for personal gain.

Good bye and Good Luck until the next time.

Knight Owl

Appraisal of the Public Disturbance in England, United Kingdom

Parliament was recalled from the summer recess yesterday to discuss the disturbance that took place over the last four nights in some major English cities.  The police and other emergency services were rightly praised, by both sides of the house, for the admirable and effective way in which they dealt with the situation and restored order.  They were also rightly critical of the criminals who perpetrated the disturbance and the looting and vandalism that took place.  Series of measures were announced to help the police and the justice system to do their job more effectively in dealing with the problem.  Measures were also announced to deal with the criminals.  Various proposals were suggested to understand the underlying reasons for the disturbance but these were not considered at the time.  These will hopefully be appropriately and fully discussed, debated and appraised in the weeks and months to come and addressed accordingly.  Praise was also given to the communities for their help in clearing the mess and restoring a sense of normality.  Unfortunately the vigilante stance some communities adopted was not condemned.


It is important to understand the underlying causes whether simple or not to be able to avert similar situations in future, and to restore  and instil public confidence.  I believe that the Rabbi who was on Chris Evans BBC Radio 2 show yesterday morning hit the nail on the head with the explanation that he gave for the kind of disturbances that we are experiencing.  And I think what he said explains the situation globally, whether it is in Britain, the Middle East, Africa or anywhere else in the world.  His explanation is that the [ultimate] value  society places on possessions accounts for many of the antisocial, disruptive and criminal behaviours that we endure on a daily basis.  This was reflected by a conservative Member of Parliament, during the parliamentary session today, when he referred to consumerism as the root cause of the ills of society that David Cameron, the prime minister alludes to.  But, Mr Cameron was more concerned about punishing the culprits of the  latest disorder rather than underlying reasons for their criminal behaviour.


There has been an intense emphasis and importance on values that involves money and possessions since the 1970s; and this emphasis has been above and beyond all other values.  This has led to consumerism and greed.  The latter being defined by most dictionaries as:


 "An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth". 

There are many examples of this in everyday life globally.  The parliamentary expenses problems that we faced recently can be attributed to greed.  Many of our sportsmen and women, people in music and film industry and industry in general use this as their modus operandi.  The bank crisis of 2008 and the global economic crisis, including the fragile and fluctuating stock markets, the recent News International debacle and the pressure put on Prime Minister Cameron to curtail the BBC as per James Murdoch's 2009 MacTagart lecture are all examples and the effects of greed.  The disturbances in the Middle East and the continent of Africa is also highly likely to be influenced by the same emphasis on greed as an important value of humanity.  People, therefore, are using all means available to them to achieve possessions whether foul or fair. There are also plenty of examples where this kind of behaviour is reinforced and rewarded.  These include bonuses, national honours and awards and public adoration.  However, the rewards depend on the social and economic background of the recipients and the context in which it has been achieved.  Some people fall foul of living up to these values and they engage in criminal activities from petty crime all the way up the criminal spectrum including the illegal drug industry. Criminals obviously have to be punished but should we not attempt to change society by revising the values we give so much importance to and may be in future avert these problems that has been created.   

Read my next post for some suggestions to remedy these ills.


Good Bye and Good Luck until the next time


Knight Owl 

London Burning

It is very disheartening, disturbing and distressing to see many areas of London ablaze.  Rioting and looting has also been taking place in many areas of London, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham and Liverpool. The last time such disturbance took place was the early to mid 1980s.  Whether these activities are a result of the politics of the day, political grievance or not, it certainly isn't pleasant and it is not a way of protesting.  These are criminal activities in whatever way they are described.  Although, it is understandable that many sectors of the community feel disenchanted with the austerity measures, and job prospects being extremely poor, particularly for young people.  These activities cannot be condoned and it is highly unlikely that it has anything to do with the shooting of Mark Duggan by the police in London.

It is also distressing to see how inadequate the police and particularly the fire service is.  In Croydon, a very large fire was being tackled by three fire engines.  Under normal circumstances there would have been at least a dozen fire engines if not more.  Many areas report lack of police and fire services.  There has been cutbacks in these services because of the austerity measures.  One hopes that the thin spread of services is due to the number of incidents rather that a lack in service personnel.

The political leaders are all returning back cutting short their summer holidays and emergency meetings are taking place across relevant ministerial departments to assess the extent of the problem and how best to resolve it.  Whatever has triggered these uprisings is not as simple as it seems.  Underlying all the discontent and the despicable behaviour lies predictors and precipitants that are complex and highly likely to be fuelled by the general economic downturn that is affecting most of society.  There is also a gap developing between the rich and poor.  While most middle and low earners and the unemployed are being squeezed, there are some whose affluence is increasing beyond belief.  This is evidenced by the profits of some major companies but even more so by publication of the rich list in the national papers.  Prominent politicians may have also inflamed the situation by stating that multicultural society in Britain has failed.  However, these cannot be used to promote crime.

Whatever the predictors and precipitants, we all have a responsibility.  First and foremost we must utterly condemn these act of criminality.  All of us rich and poor, affected and disaffected should work to resolve the problem together.  Let us not posture and  threaten each other. Let us communicate our grievances in a lawful and responsible manner.  This applies to all of us including the rioters, the communities, the businesses and the politicians.  We are all in some way responsible and we must act in a responsible way.  It is bad enough for the global economy to  be spiralling into decline.  It does affect all of us not only the investors.  We are literally in it together and we all have to unite to get out this mess.  Divisions and subdivisions will only create acrimony, disrepair and despair.  If you wish to protest, remember Mahatma Gandhi, peaceful protest is much more powerful than violence.

Good Bye and Good Luck until the next time and may peace and serenity be with you.

Knight Owl