Sidewalk Solutions

“There will be trouble ahead
But while there’s money and freebies
And dole and no chance
Let’s face the music then dance

Before the bankers have fled
Before they ask us to pay the bill
And while we still
Have the chance
Let’s face the music then dance

Soon We’ll be without the NHS
Humming a different tune
And then

There will be teardrops to shed
So while there’s money and freebies
And dole and no chance
Let’s face the music then dance,  dance
Let’s face the music then dance”

(with apologies to Irving Berlin)

The British dance floor is overcrowded with too many people employed in wealth-destroying jobs – 6 million public employees or thereabouts (can you imagine a company not knowing how many people they actually employ!) There is another 6 million who rely entirely on the government and live off benefits. That’s 12 million people on a small dance floor creating no wealth and leaving it to the rest to pay the bill.  How can Britain win the competition unable to dance free and shine like they can? Dancers need space to move and show off their talent.  Let’s clear the floor!

How about dropping the entry fees to watch us dance – say devalue the pound another 25% over the next 2 years (probably better to manage that than just wait for it to happen). Just think of what our French and German competitors would think of that. The Greeks would get it in the neck again! Our widgets would be 50% cheaper than they were just a few years ago. Bet the Chinese and Indian dancers wouldn’t be well pleased with that either! God forbid that the Brits could once again compete in making things on the world stage. All those Northerners, Scots and Welsh tradesmen would have to give up their non-jobs as community diversity and multi-cultural officers and return to being welders and fitters. I can just see them on the dance floor – Jack is a Welder from Wigan and Joyce has just left the NHS to start up her own Home Care business, don’t they look great. They both pay tax and rely on their own talents.

Well how about clearing the dance floor a little – let’s have say only 4.5 million public employees and the same amount of beneficiaries  (4.5 million)? That would save maybe £75 billion a year.  I wonder if we can get by with only 4.5 million government employees; nobody has ever asked me that! In order to be the caring and sharing people that Brits are these days, we could spread the pain over a 5 year period, to get the didums used to the real world after 13 years of being looked after by Nanny Gov.

If Jack and Joyce want to dress up and look their best in tuxedo, sequins and pearls they will be allowed to do so – a law will be past barring Government from interfering on any dance floor.  They will also be allowed to dance whatever dance they want – if they want to take risks and dance a Paso Doble then they will – the 250,000 health and safety officers will be replaced with a single Common Sense Zsar who will act as sole judge. Jack and Joyce will be set free to compete with the rest of the world. Dancing will become the biggest British pastime. The unemployed Health and Safety Officers will be offered re-training in mountaineering and single handed round the world boating, if a 16 yr old can do it they can!

So let’s wish Jack and Joyce well as they dance away from the old State to the new. Free of political correctness, saving hard for their new costumes, free from the fairness doctrine, free to win, free to come last, free to fail.

Britain can get over itself, because that is their only problem – themselves.

Jack and Joyce know there is trouble ahead – do you?

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As Governments around the world pretend that they have found a cure for our Credit Illness – have we been cured of this blight? Have we suddenly all changed into the prudent and thrifty people we should be?  Whilst we have all been re-educated on Global Warming (the UK must have missed Global Warming this summer!) and how we must change our light bulbs and ensure the plastics are kept separate from the newsprint – have we changed our financial habits that have led us into this financial mess? In fact describing it as a mess may be something of an understatement. Continue Reading »

Being over 60 has it’s advantages – I remember when taking my pocket money to the Savings Bank and seeing the handwritten note in my savings book stating “paid in 10 shillings” made me feel good and pleased that I had managed to put hard to come by cash away for a rainy day. Continue Reading »