What about my Children?

One of the big news stories today was that according to figures published by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) Britain now contributes £50 million a day to the European Union.  That is £18.5 billion a year or to put it another way three times the value of the "government cuts" that generated so much left wing anguish at the march for the alternative earlier this year.  Perhaps some saving on our EU contribution would be a real alternative.

Our receipts from the EU are a little over £8 billion making the UK a net contributor of £10.3 billion this year.  In fact in not one single year during the past thirty years have we ever received back more than we paid in.

In addition to the standard EU contribution this year we have also agreed to pay an additional £22 billion in payments to the EU and to the IMF in order to bail out Ireland, Portugal and Greece.  That is £40.3 billion of taxpayers money this year alone, in order to belong to a club most British citizens don't want to be members of and to support a currency we didn't join!

I was rather struck by the following simple and heartfelt plea posted on an Internet forum in response to this news story.

"Wasting our money and breaking promises!  Well done, Dave! Lets print more money and borrow and borrow and give the EU even more! Your children will be OK Dave, but what about my children? 

- Margita, London, 24/11/2011"

I do hope Dave is listening, but fear that he isn't.
Best Wishes
Will