Now, we already hear of scores of thousands of people in the City of London being fired, with the service industries that have replaced manufacturing as the bedrock of our workforce having to make serious savings.
If there is any justice and common sense – the proverbial big “if” – scores of thousands of white-collar workers from an overmanned bureaucracy in the public sector would quickly follow them.
But we know Mr Brown will do anything, including borrowing considerably beyond the hilt, to stop his client state being thus disobliged.
The larger the public sector gets, the worse the economy gets. And the worse the economy gets, the more the demand for the services of the public sector. O, bliss!
I was delighted to see the Princess Royal stepping out at Lady Rose Windsor’s weekend wedding in the outfit she had worn to Prince Charles’s marriage in 1981.
A dedicated clothes hoarder myself, I salute the thrifty royal. My old school friend Olivia is getting married next month and I will likely wear a silk slip and a 1940s crepe housecoat combo that first saw service at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 16 years ago.
It was also trotted out for my brother’s wedding in 2001. But if I were to show how terminal my condition truly is, I would turn up in my old school summer frock, last worn in my 16th year, but still fitting perfectly.
Underneath our thrift lies a far subtler and smugger message: see how we’ve kept our figures!
Comment by Spiny Norman on 7/23 @ 9:23 am #
The government (State, County, local) is the largest employer in the state of California. Small wonder that despite record tax receipts, the State is facing an 18 billion dollar deficit.
Comment by banned in colorado on 7/23 @ 9:36 am #
“The junkies, criminals and unemployables who form half the electorate there (London?) should be on notice that Labour will reward their support by forcing them out to work.”
high dudgeon! or something like that. Is he basing this on oolls or facts or those couple of bunglers asking for alms on his way thru London?
I suppose with neoconservatives and Classical Liberals runing the economy we’ll mostly be able to fit in our high school clothes again. I am seeing a lot of oatmeal and water for meals in the future. Be good for our figures.
Comment by Dan Collins on 7/23 @ 9:52 am #
bic,
Yes, it’s impossible to read that article and come away with the impression that something’s gone dreadfully awry with the British welfare state. Rather.
Comment by Lost My Cookies on 7/23 @ 10:46 am #
“I will likely wear a silk slip and a 1940s crepe housecoat combo that first saw service at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 16 years ago”
Bitch, I was going to wear the exact same thing.
Comment by poppa india on 7/23 @ 11:34 am #
Hey banned, find out what those billion dollar earning hedge fund guys do to make their money and do a little of it yourself. If you make just 10% of what they do, you should be all set. And I mean raisin & spice instant set, not that plain store brand stuff!
Comment by Spiny Norman on 7/23 @ 12:46 pm #
Banned in Colorado is yet another example of the blinkered idiots (like Sen. Obama) who believe economic prosperity flows from, and is measured by, government spending programs.
Comment by Squid on 7/23 @ 12:54 pm #
“The junkies, criminals and unemployables who form half the electorate there (London?) should be on notice that Labour will reward their support by forcing them out to work.â€Â
Two sentences earlier in the cited article: “One cannot help wondering how all this is playing in Glasgow East, which has its by-election tomorrow.”
Two sentences. Not that our resident simpering moron has any clue where “East Glasgow” is, nor how close it may be to London.
Honest to Pete, I sure wish somebody would hit this idiot with a Corvette. Might knock some sense into it.
Comment by mojo on 7/23 @ 3:35 pm #
ARE THERE NO WORKHOUSES?
Comment by Mikey NTH on 7/23 @ 4:27 pm #
IIRC, it was related that Chester Nimitz*, while a captain in the 1930’s still had his dress uniform from when he was first commissioned as an officer and was able to wear it. He commented on that and that was the last time he could wear it because the seam in the seat of the pants gave out at that function and he had to stay near the wall for the rest of the night.
Ah, vanity!
*E.B. Potter, Nimitz.
Comment by Mikey NTH on 7/23 @ 4:28 pm #
high dudgeon?
Is the Tower still open for guests of the state?
Oh, wait – dudgeon, not dungeon. My bad.
Carry on (and on, and on…)