Sunday, 15 March 2015
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Infestation
Although I'd very much like to crawl under a rock and live off a supply of Fizzy Worms until it's all over, sadly it isn't that easy to avoid a general election. I'm relatively certain that spring is only just breaking in the UK thanks to the vast volumes of hot air being generated by our dear elected "leaders", as they smell the next chance to flex their incompetence and arrogance in the purest of rat races.
Now, I don't often pay attention to unqualified people in overpaid, technical jobs, but I've noticed a couple of new tricks that I hadn't spotted before (maybe due to chronic apathy). Fret not, I shall elucidate presently...
The first is a series of ads on the radio, ostensibly as public information (rather than identifiably party political) broadcasts. I have heard two, one of which was about changes to pension arrangements and the other to care for the elderly. Aside from the fact I'm blogging about it, that may seem innocent enough. However, neither ad actually said anything other than how wonderful it is that one scheme or another has been enacted. The pensions one actually went out of its way to claim it didn't affect pensioners above a certain age but didn't explain how it affects anyone else. Instead, an elderly chap waxed lyrical about how lovely it was that the changes didn't affect him or his hypothetical wife (I assume she was called Agnes). The elderly care ad was more blatant and infuriating as it used emotional blackmail, suggesting that because of the schemes enacted by the government, someone's mother/father would be properly looked after.
Neither ad actually provided any information - not even a government website to read about the schemes in question. Basically, they were thinly disguised ads celebrating "accomplishments" of the current government. Now, aside from being irritating, I thought that thing was actually against the law.
The second gambit I've noticed is the apparent increase in election "pledges" which any decent citizen of a democracy should rightly expect as a basic task of government. I heard one politician claiming that if they are elected they'll make sure children learn English and maths. Excuse me? That's like me telling my boss to pay me a bonus if I promise not to set fire to his trousers for a whole four years. Another claimed that the NHS is in crisis and he needed to be elected to save it, entertainingly glossing over the fact he had been in power for almost four years.
All of this ignores the masterpiece - the fact that everyone is still begging for election so that they can close the budget *deficit*! Forget repayment, they're still expecting credit (no pun intended) for not making our debt bigger! If you take a look at them and their backgrounds, the epic philosophical struggle they seem to be having with spending less than they can earn honestly starts to make sense.
Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have plenty more examples and slightly more eloquent reports in the coming days...
Now, I don't often pay attention to unqualified people in overpaid, technical jobs, but I've noticed a couple of new tricks that I hadn't spotted before (maybe due to chronic apathy). Fret not, I shall elucidate presently...
The first is a series of ads on the radio, ostensibly as public information (rather than identifiably party political) broadcasts. I have heard two, one of which was about changes to pension arrangements and the other to care for the elderly. Aside from the fact I'm blogging about it, that may seem innocent enough. However, neither ad actually said anything other than how wonderful it is that one scheme or another has been enacted. The pensions one actually went out of its way to claim it didn't affect pensioners above a certain age but didn't explain how it affects anyone else. Instead, an elderly chap waxed lyrical about how lovely it was that the changes didn't affect him or his hypothetical wife (I assume she was called Agnes). The elderly care ad was more blatant and infuriating as it used emotional blackmail, suggesting that because of the schemes enacted by the government, someone's mother/father would be properly looked after.
Neither ad actually provided any information - not even a government website to read about the schemes in question. Basically, they were thinly disguised ads celebrating "accomplishments" of the current government. Now, aside from being irritating, I thought that thing was actually against the law.
The second gambit I've noticed is the apparent increase in election "pledges" which any decent citizen of a democracy should rightly expect as a basic task of government. I heard one politician claiming that if they are elected they'll make sure children learn English and maths. Excuse me? That's like me telling my boss to pay me a bonus if I promise not to set fire to his trousers for a whole four years. Another claimed that the NHS is in crisis and he needed to be elected to save it, entertainingly glossing over the fact he had been in power for almost four years.
All of this ignores the masterpiece - the fact that everyone is still begging for election so that they can close the budget *deficit*! Forget repayment, they're still expecting credit (no pun intended) for not making our debt bigger! If you take a look at them and their backgrounds, the epic philosophical struggle they seem to be having with spending less than they can earn honestly starts to make sense.
Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have plenty more examples and slightly more eloquent reports in the coming days...
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