Today Lord Hutton’s report into Public Sector retirement packages is published. In it he recommends-
· Raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 by 2020
· Abolishing the Final Salary pension scheme in favour of a ‘lifetime average’ plan
In an almost automatic reaction the Trades Unions are strongly resisting his proposals as unfair – Their members are being asked to pay more and work longer for lower benefits and at a time when their salaries are being frozen. They are also aggrieved at having the terms members signed up to at the start of their career being changed now as they approach retirement.
Others will decide the relative merits of these arguments and next week the newsrooms will have moved on. What has happened here is an illustration of how the national consciousness has been raised to address an issue affecting the body of the nation. If we were to liken this debate to an inflammation process in the body, how is it being dealt with?
An atherosclerotic defence would be to absorb the troublesome issue by building a macrophage of financial cushions and absorbing the new arrangements into the arterial walls of public service. Such approaches do resolve the immediate inflammation but over time the arteries narrow and harden, greater pressure is placed on the organs of state and systems start to fail. We may resort to medicating the symptoms – it may even be decided to remove gangrenous toes, slash school renewal programmes, allow the armed forces to waste, through cardiovascular over-exertion in multiple draining conflicts or by simply lopping off a fleet of Harriers, and reorganise the Health Service again for good measure.
Inflammation is a natural process of healing. We are constantly amazed at how a scratch from a bush, grows, reddens, knits over and flakes off. We are incredibly resilient. Our bodies and the state are supported by a powerful subconscious intelligence which never sleeps.
As a mid-life convert to healthy living I recognise that my early adult lifestyle was unsustainable and, if uncorrected, I was in danger of premature death. Tough choices have been made, but gladly, because I have purposely deliberated on my situation, and chosen to add life to my years. The bellyaching is over, the cravings are dispelled and I love my greens.
The individual, the business, the state or the planet that wants to be healthy, strong and sustainable finds a way of consciously living within its means. We eat sensibly, work hard, treat our fellow man with reverence and respect and avoid creating mountains of toxic waste to blight the lives of future generations.
Lord Hutton’s report brings our awareness to an inflammatory situation which will swell support for impassioned debate, heat some air and redden a few faces today. If the good of the nation guides collective decision making then we will make the necessary adjustments so that we can thrive rather than simply survive. By 2020 we will have the energy to continue and will be happy to share our gifts. Today’s scabs will have flaked off and disappeared.
©Paul Curran
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