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Problem Summary

I think it's worth quoting Brendan Barber (TUC leader) from his speech in Exeter yesterday. He said:

The brutal truth is simply this - that the living standards of millions of low and medium paid public service workers are being hammered in the name of reducing the deficit. As the cuts begin to scythe through our public services more and more jobs are under threat, and as the pay freeze bites - while inflation roars ahead - real wage cuts are making it ever harder to make ends meet. On top of that now they are coming for your pensions. Meanwhile those who caused the crisis are getting off scot free. Let's be clear the real villains today are not the teachers and civil servants - they are the greedy City traders and bankers who got us into this mess.

Pithy - and accurate.

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