Coronavirus

[jackd]

Even When it is cold and miserable we ride past fishermen on the canal towpath who have faces like a wet weekend. I assume they prefer it to being home, so they are socially distancing the wife and kids!

It’s comforting to know that the world is its usual self. What can be more normal than teachers unions whinging again about anything and everything. This case about going back to work. If you gave them 52 weeks off, they still would find something to grumble about. Probably the “ stress “ of being off for so long.

Stress is a serious issue that will rear its head. It is rarely commented , and stats are hard to come by, but entrepreneurs ( not doctors or teachers) have a massive suicide rate. We all know some that have been pushed over the edge.

Now government has taken the easy way out and made business pay 100 percent for corona virus, not a discernible penny from the public sector, ( the unions would whinge to kingdom come) there will now be a massive wave of business collapses ( many of them out of sheer spite not logic , like Virgin) and with it a wave of entrepreneur suicides. They will go largely unreported. They are after all, public enemy number 1: parasites in our twisted world of values.

They are the most useful people in the economy, because without them there is no money for anything. But nobody will clap for them, despite the fact of that their paying for corona will last for years. The day they finally make a profit, they will be branded parasites again. Ignoring the fact they pay for it all. Not to mention the devastation of equities which will force many businesses to be asked to top up pension schemes.

That was the most unfair legislation in history, when brown made business responsible for how his government trashed return in the economy.

I can't let that bit of teacher / public sector bashing go without comment. As a teacher, about to log on to my schools home learning platform to mark work, set more work and deal with pupils queries, I find your post quite offensive and a little disappointing.

We are not on strike, the unions are not 'whinging about anything and everything'. We are working within the limitations placed upon us by the government. Speaking for myself (and all the teachers I am in contact with have said the same) we would much rather be back at work and getting on as normal. The union are simply doing their job of checking that it will be safe to do so when we do return. Not just for teachers sake, but also the kids, parents, grandparents and the wider community who have regular contact with school kids and staff.

If the government didn't have the advice that shutting schools was as necessary as the other measures, they would not have closed. The unions didn't shut the schools the Government did.

Can we give the 'public v private' sector argument a rest? In a modern diverse economy, we all know one could not function without the other. The entrepreneur needs a literate and numerate worker, who is healthy and can get to and from work using the infrastructure provided. Don't forget, all the public sector pay their taxes (I don't know many teachers taking advantage of 'tax efficient' investment opportunities registered in the Cayman Islands) and contribute to the economy.

If we went all the way down the free market liberal capitalism road, how do you think we would be faring now with the current crisis? It's the government propping up the economy at the moment, not business 'paying 100% for corona virus'. And as for 'not a penny from the public sector', lets wait and see the more familiar side of this government when it comes to who actually pays for the amount of government borrowing going on. Remember austerity? Remember the cuts? And where did all that QE money go? A lot of already rich people got quite a bit richer after the last round of disaster capitalism. I doubt anything has really changed.

Got to go to work, from home for the time being.