Reducing congestion in the Big Brother state

The UK Government continues its march toward totalitarianism.

A newly leaked report shows the Labour Government are considering a new "variable road pricing" scheme. What's wrong with that, I hear you ask? Well, the scheme involves fitting every car with a GPS module so our every movement is tracked. The idea being that we would receive a bill at the end of each month.

To cut a long story short - The government plans to monitor your every move!
Every car journey will be logged, viewed and stored. There will be no escape - except for criminals. That's right, criminals will subvert the system, whilst you and I, ordinary law abiding citizens will be studied. Of course the Government will say there will be checks and balances. That the information will be used only for billing purposes. For how long? The scope for abuse is terrifying.

The congestion charge cameras in London are regularly switched to form a network of "total coverage" CCTV monitors. If you take part in a protest march, it's likely your image will be scrutinized by the security services in this country, and possibly by those in other countries also.

Why should we be worried? If you're not breaking the law you have nothing to fear, right? Wrong. There was a news report today outlining that musicians, lawyers and politicians have all had phone conversations monitored. None of these people were guilty of any offence. Likewise, with this monitoring scheme, everyone should fear its misuse. History has shown that when governments get the opportunity to abuse power they invariably do. It's not unique to this government, but the new powers very well may be. We are witnessing the end of democracy. The government no longer represent the people, the powerbase is shifting. The people now serve the government.

We are moving into a time where our every movement will be monitored.

If the government were serious about reducing congestion and pollution, and not using this as a subterfuge to introduce a guilty until proven innocent system I have a number of suggestions.

1. Get a public transport system implemented! The deregulated transport services don't serve the people, they serve the shareholders. Train services say if lines get more busy a "congestion charge" will be introduced. The government needs to make public transport attractive. The easiest way of doing this is to subsidise the services. Make the cheap! The bigest ever rise in public transport usage was in the 1980's in London when the City council introduced massive subsidies. People flocked to the services as the were very cheap, relatively reliable and a viable alternative to the car. It became more attractive to use the bus and train! No more cutbacks. No more cancelled services. Give the bus run back to schools, give the bus routes to the people. Give the right prices and everyone will use them.

2. Introduce a fairer road tax system that doesn't penalise the poorest much more then the wealthy. Licence 4x4 vehicles (typically the worst pollution offenders) in the same way as red diesel! That is, for legitimate agricultural/business use. If someone has a need they can use. If there is no need? Tax them to the heavens. Likewise with huge inefficient "luxury" cars. If you pollute, you pay. Promote cleaner burning more efficient cars by reducing the tax burden.

3. Move heavy vehicles off the road. Transport more freight by rail. The rail network is perfect for freight movement.

4. Start licencing more electric trains, moving away from diesel locomotives. The government have not funded the conversion of one single rail track to electricity since coming into power. Good environmental credentials, huh?

5. Stop scaring parents with stories of child abductions. Why else do you think so many parents drive their kids to school now? It's because years of media stories have broken the nerve of parents. Children don't get abducted very often, in fact a child is more likely to contract HIV than be abducted!

6. End company car schemes. Stop incentivising car journeys and making cars status symbols. They are not symbols of achievement, they are transport.

Will any of the above happen? Yes. The GPS system will happen unless we stop it. unless we take power back and deliver this government a bloody nose at the ballot box. The GPS system will be the most complex of all the suggestions, the most intrusive, the most dangerous. But it will happen. Why?

The Government has an end game of monitoring our every move. If they can make corporate friends like Capita or Jarvis multi millions at the same time, what's not to like?

You have been warned

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If political parties can't manage their own finances...

...Why do we entrust them with the nations?

The Labour Party are £27m in debt. The Tories are reported to be in similar trouble. And these are the parties that have shaped the political landscape of this country over the past 30 years.

Lets think about that for a second. Is it really a surprise that the NHS is struggling? Is it really a surprise that pension funds are are poorly administered? When a political party cannot run its own finances in a prudent and sustainable way, why should we expect them to run the Country in a more efficient manner?

I used to wonder why the Government had sold our interests out to corporations. I used to wonder why they so abused the democratic process, clearly acting against the people who gave them the mandate to govern. In fact the answer is obvious. Money. These parties prostitute themselves to further their own existance. Large corporate donors act as a prosthesis, providing funding for the parties to continue their spendthrift ways without ever having to worry about operating within a budget or balancing the books. Like the spoilt child, The Labour Party and The Conservative Party have never been told no.

To cover for the negligence and lack of care in the administration of Government funds, who will be expected to pay? You and I. We're being asked for more and more and less and less. Every year the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The burdens on the rich fall whilst the general populace have to sacrifice more of their disposable income. Remember the good old days? Before student loans? Before tuition fees? Health care will be next.

I don't mind higher taxes. In fact, when you think of it rationaly, higher taxes are a situation where everyone can be a winner. But we, the people, can only win when the Government acts in our interests. I have no interest in paying more taxes to help Rupert Murdoch or Tesco.

The aim of this blog is to highlight some of the glaring problems in our society. And hopefully to encourage any readers to do something about it.

We have the solution! There are better political parties out there - The SNP, the SSP (although the recent in fighting does them few favours), the Green party and the Liberal Democrats. I'm not a fan of all of these parties, but they are all a step up from the moral bankruptcy of the two main parties.