6:30am Thursday 15th July 2010
Sir – The national budget cuts will affect Oxfordshire badly. The public sector job losses will have significant impacts on the private sector as the newly unemployed will have less money to spend and the employed will hoard their earnings whilst they remain fearful of losing their own jobs.
But Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council don’t seem to get it.
The county council is only looking at cuts as the solution to its budget problems, whilst ignoring new revenue streams.
This approach means that front-line services like basic road maintenance and programs that support the most vulnerable will have to be cut deeply.
Thames Valley Police have already made it clear that they are concerned about the impact of the potential budget cuts and a quarter of county council managers will have to go. I support the Green Party proposals for the introduction of evening and weekend car parking charges in central Oxford, plus charges for parking at the various park-and-rides around Oxford. These proposals would raise significant revenue that could be used to mitigate the worst effects of the budget cuts. The county council has so far ignored these proposals.
The city council plan for copying the private sector with salary increases for top managers whilst keeping salaries for everyone else low or making staff redundant is madness. This is both morally and economically bankrupt.
If we want to support the local community we should be minimizing job losses whilst at the same time making sure those employed on the lowest salaries have enough income to get by. I believe that reducing income inequality is essential throughout the economy and that a reasonable place to start is in the public sector.
Kevin Meaney, Florence Park, Oxford
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