On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 00:36:36 +0000, Andy Hall
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 00:07:45 +0000, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 12:08:04 +0000, Andy Hall
wrote:

That you may, but I see evidence of positive and negative things in
each country.

Ours seems to be top-heavy in the negatives.

MM

I suppose it depends on what you are looking for.

I prefer the glass to be half full. It's more optimistic than half
empty and the reality is the same.

Here's an example, hot off the press. Today we have had Oliver Letwin
explaining some of the Tories' proposals for spending should they be
elected. It looks like the public services are going to be pared back
somewhat.

However, tonight the Trevor McDonald programme on ITV had a piece
about the dreadful lack of midwives in the UK and the effect this is
having on births all over the country. Apparently we are 10,000 (ten
thousand!) midwives short. The midwives that there are are having to
work long hours to cope with the pressure.

So, if anything, both Labour and the Tories should be ploughing in
*more* taxpayers' money into the NHS, not less. Another item on the
news today was the industrial action by job centre staff and others in
that category. A public servant's starting salary mentioned earlier in
the day was just over £9,000, so it's no wonder they're out on strike.
How can the fourth richest country (so called) allow this to continue?
And then wonder why we can't get the staff and increasingly have to
rely on people from countries far worse than ours but who are willing
to work for a pittance.

Adam Crozier, Royal Mail boss on the other hand gets a basic (basic!)
salary of half a million quid! The top people in many other industries
receive similar huge sums of dosh. I'd say, a couple of hundred grand
should be enough for anybody.

So while managers everywhere are getting paid what I believe to be
excessive remunerations, plus perks, share options, and golden
goodbyes, we do not have enough staff to run a vital part of the NHS!
Neither Gordon's nor Olive's sums add up at all.

MM