BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT

 

For the last few days I have been mulling over a number of problems. Perhaps not problems, more concerns that have been occupying my thoughts. I had started to write a blog about global expectations and the makeup of the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and France. They are in effect the most influential of societies in what it still referred to as the Western World. There are differences of opinion and political parties in all these countries, but they do have elected civil government, chose by the people choosing to exercise their right to vote. The elected representatives then form an executive which decides on the course their nation will take moving forward.

 

In the UK there are 33 members of the cabinet. In the United States there are 17, in Germany 15 and in France 15 as well. The decisions made by these people must of course be approved by the elected legislatures of each country, their Parliament, Chamber of Deputies, Congress and Bundestag.  Each of these persons are putting themselves forward as someone caring enough to serve the public interest, to behave in such manner as will be of benefit to the people they purport to represent. They all have differing views as to how best to run the country in the best interests of the public from their particular point of view. They will cover the full spectrum of political thinking form the far left to the far right. On the whole the electorate seem to prefer centre, left and right of centre. The extremes do not often get a look in, but when they do, it generally leads to disaster and explosions of prejudice, bigotry, violence and repression.

 

The sadness of the western world is that there appears to be a shift towards the extremes and in particular the ultra conservatives.  The rhetoric of the Republican party in the United States is full of hatred and recrimination against those who do not support their view of the world. That includes all democrats, who they refer to with venom, and any member of their own party who dares to offer criticism of their idol. Their demands and behaviour are given full press coverage 24 hours a day by a media that is on the one hand astonished by the behaviour and on the other that encourages and actively assist in perpetuating their venal mendacity. Their voices have a far greater sound than the voices of reason. The tragedy is that reason has no effect whatsoever on what can only be described as the Republican mob.

 

That mob has been described and showcased in a number of cinematic hits with a view to showing its viciousness and stupidity. It is usually quelled by the lone hero. Think of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Charles Winninger as Judge Billy Priest in The Sun Shies Bright, Marlon Brando as Sheriff Calder in The Chase, Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night and there are many others. The actions of the mob have usually been vilified in art, save when it comes to successful historical revolutions. A totally different dynamic is applied thereto, but the excesses are often later admonished. In any event it is difficult to predict a happy Hollywood ending to the current American political crisis.

 

So far as the UK’s 33, the German and French 15 are concerned, one has to believe that they all mean well. At least they have persuaded a number of their citizens to vote for them, so as a democratic citizen (note small d) one has to give them the benefit of the doubt. By the same token, one has a right to criticise and to wish they do not behave like fools, which it appears they are apt to do, certainly in the case of the leadership of the 33.  I have no doubt certain citizens may feel the same about their respective 15. So I continue to mull over my concerns.

 

The following is the rather long piece I was contemplating, if it is of any interest (there is no conclusion):

 

There are, of necessity, in the age of the internet (or rather because of its worldwide visual and audio impact) global expectations of what government should be. The needs, aspirations and desires of the average citizen on the planet seem to be melding into some sort of universal perception of what life should be.

What we see of urban life, in just about every major city around the world, is essentially similar. City centres are much the same round the world, save for differences in geography, architectures and design, but on the whole, tall buildings, traffic, restaurants, cinemas, night clubs, some casinos etc. The following are 22 cities, some of them capitols, from round the world:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could have gone on, but you get the picture. They all have the same problems. Water supply and sewage systems, refuse collection, gas and electricity or connections to a power source of some kind, supply of foodstuffs and storage, housing, hospitals, health and social care, crime prevention, slum clearance, zoning and building regulations, public transport, environmental health and safety, and a myriad of other concerns for a mostly ever increasing collection of individuals. It is much the same for those living in rural areas, as the exigencies of good farming, animal husbandry and agriculture are universal. 

So just what is it citizens expect from their government and who are the people who run the various departments and are responsible for the spending of large sums of money?

 

 

On looking at the UK Governments Departmental Expenditure list for 2020-2021, it is apparent that health, social care and education take up the bulk of the budget. It is however surprising that expenditure on Transport has 356 million more than Housing, Communities and Local Government. Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has an even bigger spend. Given that there seems to be precious little industry in the UK to be strategic about, it would seem more appropriate to divert some of that money to Housing, Communities and Local Government

As to the United States, herewith the current Government Departments and their Budget.

As one would expect, Health and Human Services has the largest budget, with the Department having some 79,500 employees; however, Defence and Homeland Security have the next highest budgets with some 3 million employees and $791.88 billion, more than half the amount spent on Health and 37 times the number of employees. The Department of Education has one tenth the defence budget and %0.13 the number of employees as compared to Defence.

 

Therein lie the differences of priorities and needs as perceived by the different political parties in their respective countries.

Here are the French and German current Ministers of State:

Whilst the UK Government’s cabinet is made up entirely from the Conservative Party and are also elected Members of Parliament. The German Government is a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union, the Christian Social Union and the Social Democratic Party. The French Government is made up mainly of members of Macron’s La Republique En March (REM) a few independents who had been members of the Socialist Party, one of whom had been a member of the Union for a Popular Movement which was part of the European People’s Party. As to the United States cabinet, the President chooses his team who are not elected members of congress, but have some connection with and, presumably some expertise and knowledge of the Department for which they have been chosen to run They are confirmed in the office after submitting to questions for approval by the Senate. 

 

So where do we go from here?