Money, Money, Money

So what's been happening in the media world and blogosphere this week relating to Carmarthenshire County Council? One would be forgiven in thinking that 'empty barrels' truly do make the most noise when one sees the analysis of the local papers and blogs about the ratification of the county council budget. All you can see is the word 'reserves' as if this was a magic panacea for everything. It really does not take a brain surgeon to work out it was a political stunt but all mentions of this have been 'cleverly' edited out by all. Not even a mention of the ConDem cuts which truly are the pantomime villain of this budget settlement.

Talking of Pantomimes, I am flabbergasted that nobody seems to have picked up the fact that Plaid Cymru reduced the budget meetings to their own version of  Alice in Wonderland, playing the part of the rabbit in their own unique way.

Chatting to Secret Squirrel this week reveals how much of a farce their last minute ploy was. Not only was playing party politics at the most cynical level ever but they seemed to think that by waving the 'reserve magic wand' all the world's ills would be cured.

A nice simple solution?

Well perhaps not....

If they use £6,000,000 from the “reserves” this year (Plaids’s Financial Gurus’s figures) to pay for this years services, they have to spend another £6,000,000 from the reserves next year to pay for next years services (that’s £12,000,000 in two years) or increase the Council Tax by 10% in year two.

Seems OK?

Seems to be good to be true?

Probably is then......

There is a big 'BUT' however because in year 2 the County Council has further cuts in its budget of £15,000,000.

So in reality in year 2 using the Plaid Budget, the Council would need to take an extra £6,000,000 from the reserves (£12,000,000) to deliver the services, making a reduction in reserves of £18,000,000 in 2 years.

Year 3 is the same so by using the Plaid Budget they would have to find £18,000,000 in “reserves” – and would have spent nearly all our available reserves £36,000,000 in 3 years.

A vote for Plaid would be a vote for bankruptcy.......within in one term of office.

Fiscal Gurus they ain’t.

Added to this add them to the list of 'doing nothing means we cannot be blamed' and they are the absolute masters of this as we saw from the National Assembly Plaid Group earlier this year.

Literally.......

On the crucial vote to set the Council Tax so that services could be protected and the lower paid employees in the Council had their pay increased as promised by the Labour and Independent Coalition to bring them closer to the Living Wage – Plaid did nothing!

They didn’t support services continuation, or keeping jobs, or helping to improve the lot of the less well off, or protect the vulnerable and the elderly. Neither did they have the courage of their convictions to vote against the budget.

No – they abstained.

In other words they may have as well not been there at all!

The sad thing is that they choose not to bother, not because they may not have something positive to input but, because, they don’t want to share them even though a consensus between all political parties has to be in the interests of the people they represent. With responsibilty comes accountability and Plaid Cymru seem not to want any of that so they stay silent, shamefacedly 'abstaining' from the most important vote of the year.

Plaid Cymru – not so much the Party of Wales as the Party of Wails!

Coming to an elections hustings near you - 'Fight the Labour Cuts - we did not vote for them' So there we have it - nothing from the party of nothing where nobody does anything.