Jill Kirby: The five ways that government disguises failure as success
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Independent Minds
Over the past 10 years, layers of government have multiplied, more regulatory bodies have been put in place, thousands of new laws have been passed and greater powers of surveillance have been accorded to the State. Yet as government activism has increased, so public confidence has fallen. How has this happened? In a new report I identify five techniques used by government to disguise failure as success.
First, moving goalposts. In the dilution of standards, selective use of statistics and manipulation of targets, the Government has relied on bending the rules of the game in order to claim success. The reality gap has widened; disbelief and disillusionment have set in, ministers cast around for new ways to convince us that life has got better.
Like putting targets into law: technique No 2. Having failed to meet its (redefined) intermediate targets to abolish child poverty, the Government is now legislating for its abolition. Just like the targets in the Climate Change Act, no one seriously believes this will make it happen.
The third technique is treating government as a public relations exercise, producing a stream of glossy brochures in the guise of departmental reports, consultation papers and "business plans".
Technique No 4 is the collection of vast quantities of data, placing a huge burden on public sector workers and volunteers. The fact that data has been collected does not mean it is used well, but it creates the appearance of compliance.
The fifth and final technique, overlaying all the rest, is complexity – of systems and language. From the elaborate structure of our tax and benefits system to multi-agency partnerships in children's services; from benchmarks and beacons to learning pathways and person-centred planning, this maze of jargon is not only confusing but potentially dangerous.
The only way to bridge the reality gap is to reduce State activism: cut the size of government, abolish targets, free up public services and charities, axe databases. If a new government can abandon the five techniques outlined here, it will not only cut public debt, it will also create a new age of honesty. But learning to let go will not be easy.
The Reality Gap, by Jill Kirby, is published today by the Centre for Policy Studies
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Comments
1) Reduce the size of the Government so they can fob people of by claiming that the issue is not something the Government has power over.
2) Abolish targets because if there are no targets they can't fail to meet them.
3) Free up public services and charities so that their failings cannot be considered Government failings.
4) Axe databases so the Government will have no records of it's failings.
Personally I'd rather have a Government that knew it was failing and tried to hide it, rather than one that had no idea whether it was failing or not.
Five. You are joking. Read the following and I am sure this pictures the 5 point to raise the hair of the illiterate and this that are unemployed. You are confining the 5 to those who have the PC
We had the worst periods from Maggie the great and we still want to know why Tony Blaire went with the Iraq wars. Up to now, I have no idea at all and believe me I have lost interest except being a Muslim like Obama I want the democracy in the Middle East. That is a dream I know I know you do not have to tell me but I do not drink and I am today.
GM and others have taken so long that we want to see no more of the cars as the unemployment to see that this has created the ripple effect. The man gets the unemployment slip, he cuts the car usage, the garage suffers, the petrol pumps suffer, the restaurants suffer, the barbers have few hair cuts bicycle repairs are on the streets and more bottled waters sells but that is bad for health The poor eat the home medicines and hospitals have no beds to sel. I sell my TV and net as I cannot pay, they suffer. They in turn throw more staff out so we carry on and in the end, we have more unemployed. Where exactly this ends .Read on.
Think of the Brown phrase spend, spend, spend He too is crazy this is the only mental hut they share rest you will read after their deaths I love that. Read the depressing news today by the experts and know we are in deep sheet.
The June employment report suggests that the alleged green shoots are mostly yellow weeds that may eventually turn into brown manure. During the 2001 recession, the recession was over in November 2001, and job losses continued through August 2003 for a cumulative loss of jobs of over 5 million; this time we are already seeing more than 6 million job losses and the recession is not over. Not only are there large job losses right now, but as a way of sharing the pain, firms are inducing workers to reduce hours and hourly wages. Therefore, when we are looking at the effect of the labor market on labor income, we should consider that the total value of labor income is the product of jobs, hours and average hourly wages--and that all three elements are falling right now. Therefore, the effect on labor income is much more significant than job losses alone. It is more likely that the job losses are closer to 600,000 per month rather than the figures officially reported. This suggests that most of the tax rebates are being saved rather than consumed. This year it is even worse. Therefore, the outlook for the U.S. and global economy remains extremely weak ahead.
I thank you
Firozali A. Mulla
MIXED NUTS. this is for UK and USA as the economies came from the learned ones UK and USA When I read about the money that once was the key of the USA regime in abundance, now all gone, I see nothing but. Britons are the worst-behaved tourists in Europe - but the French are the most disliked worldwide, according to a new survey.
Expenses uncalled for?..
The Bush administration built an unprecedented surveillance operation to pull in mountains of information far beyond the warrantless wiretapping previously acknowledged, a team of federal inspectors general reported Friday, questioning the legal basis for the effort but shielding almost all details on grounds they're still too secret to reveal. "unprecedented collection activities" by U.S. intelligence agencies under an executive order signed by President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.>>>>2. Obama administration officials said Friday they had no grounds to investigate the 2001 deaths of Taliban prisoners of war who human rights groups allege were killed by U.S.-backed forces. U.S. Officials said Friday they did not have legal (READ THIS) NO LEGAL GROUNDS, grounds to investigate the deaths because only foreigners were involved and the alleged killings occurred in a foreign country. >>>I am pleased with Pope.. 3.Pope Benedict XVI stressed the church's opposition to abortion and stem cell research in his first meeting with President Barack Obama on Friday, pressing the Vatican's case with the U.S. leader who is already under fire on those issues from some conservative Catholics and bishops back home.>>4.. A new General Motors (NYSE: GM - news) emerged from bankruptcy Friday under a government-backed plan to rescue the troubled US car giant and create a leaner firm to compete in a difficult auto market.5. House to house collections for the health care in USA. Key House Democrats decided Friday to raise taxes on the wealthy to help pay for health care legislation, capping an up-and-down week for President Barack Obama's top domestic priority. At the same time, Democratic leaders tried to quell concerns among moderate and conservative lawmakers about other elements of the bill. ^ comes in Venezuela. Oil but not free?Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced a U.S.-backed effort to ease Honduras' coup crisis on Friday as a second day of negotiations ended without a deal between rival contenders for the presidency. An intruder??? Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting Libya's leader Colonel Gaddafi at the G8 summit in L'Aquila.
Brown Meets Libya's Gaddafi at G8 Summit. Obama was first to shake hands. Why is Brown late? In the meantime, Obama is packing another punch at all UK and USA. May be there is a chance at last from Putin. But ahoy wait until December 2009
I thank you
Firozali A. Mulla