if i wanted cuts i would have been a hairdresser

But i don't think my skills would have been best placed there!!

We are currently experiencing possibly the most tumultuous time in local government any of us has ever seen and the effects of this will be with us for the foreseable future.  The decisions that are being made for us by our peers will not only affect our lives but those of our children, I am not saying that our elected politicians are going to make the wrong ones but my concern is that decisions will be made from the heart and not from the fiscal reality that we have in place.  The other problem is that most people really don't realise quite how bad it is and just want to blame the local government when most of these problems are a knock on effect of bad banking(mostly our American financial wazkids!) and over spending in the past. 

There is a huge amount of savings that can be made in terms of processes that are paper pushing but those processes will also have a requirement for resources that are limited by the cuts, this is a rock and a hard place position. 

There is a great deal of public outcry over the pay for staff and the relation to the average pay in Cornwall at 24k per annum.  Its understandable that people who don't earn as much as that are upset at people earning more, but the flip side is shouldn't we be getting that average up in Cornwall? we have some of the most skilled people in the country living here and many live here when they could be earning big money in the city, they choose to stay because they love their heritage and want their children to grow up in the best place on earth.  I earn a good wage, I have earned much less than the average and believe me I have worked damn hard, given up a great deal of time to better myself so I can do more for my family.  Should I be punished for that?  if i earn less I spend less, so local businesses wont benefit and the knock on effect again means we keep salaries lower.

In terms of benefits, people need them, some people expect them and some demand them.  That's the areas we need to deal with.  If you cant find a job then community service and earn the Job Seekers until you do, it could be linked to skills learning so your training on the job.  If not, your at least doing something for society and the tax payers money, the pressure is lessened for councils to provide the services they cant afford to deliver.

I don't envy the people making the decisions, i don't envy the position of deciding on things that will effect peoples lives for a long time after in how they live and work in Cornwall.  Equally people need to understand its worse than they realise and these decisions are having to be made because they have been passed on to us by the people we had and have elected to make these decisions.  In many ways I applaud them for dealing with a deficit that could cripple a nation and is crippling others.  I don't have any answers but i question whether a Big Society will work when people are feeling very insular, I hope that we see Britain become Greater.