Missing Millions

We are in the middle of an office move. Typical local government stuff: 2nd floor moves to third floor, third floor moves to second floor etc etc. As a consequence, I found a copy of this Child Support Agency document

on my desk, with letters attached, addressed to me, dating from 1997. Someone had found it in a cupboard or drawer and had thoughtfully returned it. It's far too late now, as the children are grown up, but I calculated once, that had my ex paid the full whack, instead of nothing, I would have been £80K better off over the past 20 odd years. OK, she has lent them money, into the thousands, and wont ever get paid back, but that isnt the point. I have given them thousands too.
Then on Friday, I was sought out to be the first to hear that we had just been informed of a half million budget cut. Respect to that man to include me in the loop. Me and the bearer of the bad tidings then went directly to the Asst Director to discuss the consequences. Already, the loss of my project has lost significance as other stuff is lost. From now on, it is a little of this and a little of that, from the money that is left. Seems like this is happening all over the country. This is where those 750 000 public service job cuts are going to come from: if you lose a project, someone in the design team is not needed, some engineers and technicians are unnecessary, oops, there goes a planner, don't need that tarmac layer, road safety officer etc etc. Where I work, 50% of jobs are in the public sector, so if you try to balance the improvements for the public that these lost projects would have brought, along with the employment, against the costs of people on the dole, and the same old, dull old public infrastructure, I wonder who is benefitting from this? Do we hear talk of job losses in banking? hmmm
So in the the end, we all lose out when people dont pay up.