Drinking themselves (and us) into oblivion

The political elite of Europe are behaving like immature youngsters at a late night party.  They are drunk and know they will have a hangover in the morning.  The only question is do they stop drinking now and have a moderate to bad hangover or do they carry on drinking?  If they carry on drinking the onset of the hangover will be delayed but when it comes it will be so much worse.

The euro party is over so why are they still drinking? 
Best Wishes
Will

Nightmare continues but eurozone leaders still refuse to wake up

Greece is rapidly approaching a national debt of €300 billion, the population of Greece is just 10 million meaning that every person (Men, Women and children) living in Greece is supporting a debt of €30,000.  If we consider not the entire population of 10 million but only those working in the wealth generating part of the economy ie excluding pensioners, children, those employed by the public sector, the sick and infirm; then the debt is going to be in excess of €90,000 per wealth generator.

Eurozone leaders are determined to protect the euro and European banks whilst condemning tax payers to a generation of poverty.  There is no easy solution it is going to hurt, but the longer they delay the worse it is going to be.  The nightmare is not going to go away until Europe's leaders wake up.

Best Wishes
Will

Theft is Theft and Raid is Raid

As I blogged exactly one year ago, Ian Duncan Smith has a difficult but essential role to play in the coalition government. As part of his departments drive against benefit fraud his department recently released a list of the ten most bizarre excuses benefit fraudster have used.

1. I wasn’t using the ladders to clean windows. I carried them as therapy for my bad back.
2. We don’t live together, he just comes each morning to fill up his flask.
3. I had no idea my wife was working! I never noticed her leaving the house twice a day in a fluorescent jacket with a “Stop Children” sign.
4. My wallet was stolen so someone must have been using my identity. I haven’t been working.
5. I didn’t know I was still on benefit.
6. I didn’t declare my savings because I didn’t save them. They were given to me.
7. He lives in a caravan in the drive. We’re not together.
8. He does come here every night and leaves in the morning and, although he has no other address, I don’t regard him as living here.
9. It wasn’t me working. It was my identical twin.
10. I wasn’t aware my wife was working because her hours of work coincided with the times I spent in the garden shed.

Releasing these pathetic excuses, would under normal circumstances have played an important role in convincing the public that a crack down on benefit fraud was long overdue; even if it means some inconvenience to genuine claimants who may have to be assessed.

However, the job of driving through these changes is made more difficult by the government’s failure to act in a number of other areas.

1. MP’s Expenses
2. Bankers Bonuses
3. Tax avoidance
4. The wasteful European Union

The Internet is full of postings about duck houses, moat cleaning, and second homes allowances; not all of them relating to events over two year ago, here is just one example...

"All those excuses seem better than that offered by multi millionaire David Laws MP who has helped himself to the best part of 100K.

Just hiding my gay lover whilst paying him mega bucks of public money as rent' 

Some people believe whats good for the goose....  

If you are a lying cheating politician or one of the elite - its sorry, oops, won't do it again, a 'mistake'."

Meanwhile bankers who, when the gambling pays off keep the profits for themselves but expect the tax payers to bail them out when their gambling fails are back paying themselves eye wateringly large bonuses despite owing us all billions of pounds.

In the Alice in Wonderland world of European finance tens of billions is 'lent' to countries who have no hope of ever repaying the money.  The EU is now well into it's second decade of auditors refusing to sign their annual accounts and details emerge of the euro elite chartering private jets, funding luxury holidays, hosting lavish parties and buying expense gifts all at our expense.

It takes a rare skill to make the public feel sympathy for benefits cheats but I do believe this government has succeeded.  I leave you with one final thought posted on the Internet.

"All I can say is:

Don't ever put me on a jury involved in theft because I'm not going to find ordinary people guilty of a crime our elite can walk away from. 

One law for all. No exceptions."

Best Wishes
Will

A billion here, a billion there; it soon adds up to real money

If anyone thought my back of an envelope calculations on November 20, 2010 Dream on; it's to late to wake up now, the nightmare is about to start were a bit over the top they should take a look at this article published in The Irish Times on May 7, 2011, written by Morgan Kelly the highly respected professor of economics at University College Dublin.

Kelly calculates that Ireland's debts will exceed €250 billion by 2014, equivalent to more than €120,000 per worker; or 160 per cent of gross national product.  He goes on to say -

"Economists have a rule of thumb that once its national debt exceeds its national income, a small economy is in danger of default (large economies, like Japan, can go considerably higher). Ireland is so far into the red zone that marginal changes in the bailout terms can make no difference: we are going to be in the Hudson."

As I said at the time - "Simply put, the Irish cannot repay that size of loan."
So far the UK have saved £6 Billion through government spending cuts and thrown £12 Billion at propping up the Euro currency.  There's more to come...
Best Wishes
Will

Good Money after Bad

Having participated in the EU bail out of  Ireland - the UK's share was nearly £8 billion - the madness continues and the we are now about to contribute some £4.4 billion towards the EU bail out of Portugal. 

We will not see this money again, any more than we will see the Irish bail out monies.  Portugal's debts are growing faster than its GDP; until that process is reversed there will be no prospect of debt repayment.  If, and its a big if, debt repayment ever happens the IMF will be first in line for repayment.  Prudence (remember her) suggests that we are not going to get this money back, ever. 

By a strange coincidence the total bailout money spent so far - there is more to come; Spain, Italy and Belgium are all candidates for bailouts - in propping up the Euro is exactly twice the £6.2 billion savings made by cuts in government budgets.

Forget the March for the Alternative, how about a March for no Bailouts
Best Wishes
Will

Cleaning up Politics

If memory serves me correctly, during the General Election last May David Cameron campaigned to cleanup politics.  He was largely but not exclusively referring to the MPs expenses scandal.  I wonder therefore how it is that in the Finance Bill published on 29th March 2011 there is a specific clause that excludes Members of Parliament from legislation regarding tax avoidance by means of disguised remuneration.  Hidden deep in the small pring of this 390 page Bill is sub clause 554E (8) which reads:

"Chapter 2 does not apply by reason of a relevant step taken by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in relation to a member of the House of Commons."

There has been some comment on the inclusion of this strange clause in the Finance Bill, mainly from fringe internet blogs; the only comment I have found in the mass media is this item from Ian Cowie of the Daily Telegraph.  To the best of my knowledge neither the BBC, ITV or Sky have reported on this matter.  In my opinion this indicates that the health of our democracy leaves much to be desired.  However even if there are only a few of us asking the question it still needs to be asked.

Why do MPs need to be exempt from a law designed to prevent tax avoidance?
Best Wishes
Will

What do we want... When do we want it...

So go the words of every activists favourite chant. 

Ed Miliband in an over the top speech to the "March for the Alternative" suggested the marchers were following in the foot steps of Emily Pankhurst, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.  But what did they want?  Votes for women; civil rights for blacks; and end to apartheid?  "No Cuts" seemed to be the answer on most placards.  What cost were they prepared to pay to get what they wanted?  Economic oblivion Greek style, perhaps they would prefer an Irish financial armageddon or just a plain ordinary Portuguese fiscal black hole.

March for the Alternative!  What Alternative?
Best Wishes
Will