Now, this is going to hurt...
Posted by admin in on Wed, 20/10/2010 - 06:34
If we believe the Armageddon pedlars and doomsayers, this is it, folks : the Comprehensive Spending Review is finally upon us. Run for your lives - and your P45s!
If we buy into this doom and gloom scenario public sector workers should be diving under their desks in a similar manner advised by the Protect and Survive public information films of 30 years ago, when the worst possible scenario to hit the UK was a nuclear bomb. Looking through the news media in recent months it seems Oppenheimer’s creation has now been superseded by the Government’s apparent doomsday weapon against the country’s deficit. Sticky tape on the windows, chaps, and break open the Spam!
The reality of course it that all we know for sure at this time (on Wednesday morning) is the cuts will prove the deepest in over sixty years. Beyond that, the devil will be in the detail.
Five simple words though: Keep. Calm. And. Carry. On.
The World War II motivational poster has become quickly recognisable since it was first rediscovered ten years ago, but its message has arguably never been more appropriate.
Yes, the Review will undoubtedly be painful. And the howls of anguish from vested interests left, right and centre will be dominate the headlines for the next few days - Bob Crow has been gargling all night in readiness!
But no self-respecting CFO wouldn't rise to the challenge of cutting a deficit within their own organisation of the scale and proportion of the one the UK has become ensnared in. It's going to hurt, but what's the alternative?
Keep calm and carry on.
The Bottom Line:If Mr Cable has his way...
"If Mr Cable had his way, all the big banks would be broken up and bonuses would be virtually eliminated - a sure-fire way in my view of guaranteeing an end to the UK’s ability to compete as an international financial centre. Let’s not forget that this is a man who is on record as saying that everyone who works in a bank has an ‘aristocratic lifestyle’ clearly demonstrating his lack of understanding of the sector." A tough line on bankers’ bonuses could make a brain drain of financial talent a distinct possibility, warns Paul Marsden. Read more