From Kevin Keen.
ONE of the downsides of modern democracy is that politicians seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time scoring cheap points against each other.

The recent debates about sandwiches and who should pay for ministers’ BlackBerrys are perfect examples of this kind of time wasting. Occasionally, though, there is an issue which should remind politicians of the real job they were elected to do.

In my opinion the structural deficit of around £50 million per year is just such an issue. Avoiding further tax increases for voters must be something our representatives can all agree on.

Pensioners are suffering from increased living costs and reduced returns on their savings. Middle income families have felt the brunt of the recession in terms of no bonus, no pay rise or even no job and of course 20 means 20.

The lower paid will be struggling even more than usual. Young people are dealing with fewer job opportunities and probably the burden of debt following further education.
If raising taxes is out – and I really hope it is – then politicians will have to do what seems to be their least favourite job, start finding ways to save money rather than spend it.

One of the very few politicians who is trying to do this is Senator Philip Ozouf. He faces a mammoth task, though, not just persuading fellow politicians of the imperative, but also convincing civil servants that the fundamental spending reviews are real. These are not like the numerous other reviews that happen in the States, which often only seem to end up benefiting the consultants carrying them out.

In a business where day-to-day costs exploded from £324 million (in 2000) to getting on for £600 million this year, finding the odd £50 million would be comparatively easy. Of course, as we are often reminded, the States is not a business, clearly evidenced by the difficulty it seems to have in making just about any decision. With wages being the biggest cost, the States, like any employer, will also have to deal with the impacts on hard-working colleagues of cost reductions.

Decisions affecting human beings are never easy, but delaying necessary change is just weak management and long term only makes things worse for everyone.
Islanders who have too much money and don’t mind giving it to the government can do nothing.

For the rest of us, now is the time to get our representatives focussed on the real job in hand – reducing public spending to a sustainable level, rather than just talking about it at the 2011 election when it will all be too late.