National Debt in the UK (and USA)

Sometimes I feel like we are living in the 1930s: we can see a crisis looming but carry on hoping it isn't going to happen, yet in my gut I feel that it is imminent.

What is bothering me? Well it is the indebtedness of the UK (and the USA) and the almost inevitable deep crisis that will result if it continues to mount. The true level of the UK's debt (around £900 billion) is VERY close to that in Wiemar Germany in the early 1920s when inflation went mad (money became worthless) and social unrest and national socialism took hold.  If interest rates rise by just a few percent, the UK will be unable to repay its debts, banks will fail and there will be no government money to bail them out. In summary we would be in totally uncharted territory where no savings, salaries or pensions would be safe. It is quite possible that social order would break down and a revolution and far left or right politics would be the order of the day. This is just in the UK. The same story is likely in the USA and across the Eurozone. The stability we have enjoyed since WW2 would be well and truly over.

I hope and pray that I am wrong.

The ONLY answer to this is for the nation to live within its means both nationally and on an individual level. We CANNOT continue to borrow money to support services and lifestyles we cannot afford.  

Read http://pro.moneyweek.com/myk-eob-tpr123/PMYKP703/ to get the background on this. I also recommend the book "How did we get into this mess?" by the BBC financial commentator Robert Peston.

Well done Andy Murray - Wimbledon tennis champ

For the first time since the 1930s we have a British male Wimbledon champion. The standard of tennis has been exceptional this year and Andy Murray has been first class. He deserves his impressive win.

Well done Sir (he surely will be soon) Andy.

Justice at last

The BBC website reports that the radical cleric Abu Qatada is expected to be deported to Jordan overnight to stand trial on terrorism charges. It has taken over 10 years to get this menace of a man out of this country.  It beggars believe that a man with such radical and downright NASTY views has been allowed to stay this long. Something is seriously wrong with our legal framework within the EU for this to take SO long to resolve.

The UK is no place for people with extremist, violent views and we should be able to deport such nutcases with the minimum of fuss and delay, working within UK legal framework.

Who judges? Sharia Law

The BBC website has reported that Sharia law, and its rough justice, is spreading through rebel held parts of Syria. They report on the killing of a 14 year old boy because he made an off-the-cuff joke about "the Prophet".  See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23139784 .

The ruling regime in Syria has a lot wrong with it, but we have to be careful that what replaces it, possibly with the help of western nations, is not just as bad, or even worse. Sharia law has no place in the 21st century. Do we never learn that the religions of the world have brought much hatred, wars, civil unrest and unhappiness. Whatever you belief, surely the common threads of all world religions are meant to be care for others, empathy, understanding and love in its most profound sense. Why is it then that the enduring image of almost (all?) major religions is just the opposite?

If you disagree, please let me know the reasons why.

Edward Snowden and the Russian/USA discussions?

This evening, I read that Edward Snowden, the US contractor who has leaked details of US spying activities, has (reportedly) asked for political asylum in Russia and that President Putin has said,

"If [Snowden] wants to go somewhere and there are those who would take him, he is welcome to do so," and  "If he wants to stay here, there is one condition: He must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners, no matter how strange it may sound coming from my lips."

Now, to my suspicious mind this sounds a very strange comment from a Russian head of state. One can only imagine the behind-the-scenes contacts between the US and Russian governments that prompted this utterance. We all know that the USA spies on Russia and that Russia spies on the USA, so why this apparent support for the USA? 

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23138073

Waitrose

Waitrose, part of the John Lewis partnership, is one of my favourite shops. Their food quality is excellent, their no-quibble response to customer returns is first class and now they offer a free cup of coffee or tea plus a free Daily Telegraph or Daily Mail for Waitrose card holding customers. In my view, the Daily Mail is best avoided unless you like rubbish journalism on the far right or need paper to wipe up your mess. Every time I read a copy I fume with rage! The Daily Telegraph is more central politically, although slightly on the right of centre.

The John Lewis partnership is a model for future business: employees share a bonus based on real results (unlike the rip-us-off bankers) and thereby want their business to succeed. They treat their customers well.

The sickness of banks

Having just read an excellent book by the BBC financial correspondent Robert Peston called "How Do We Fix This Mess?: The Economic Price of Having it All, and the Route to Lasting Prosperity" I am appalled by the action of banks and bankers over the last 10-20 years. Rotten to the core does not describe them accurately enough.

Reading this book it is clear that, from the very top, many in the banking business were corrupt, greedy, arrogant and deceitful people who greatly contributed to the crisis that has left many nations, including the UK, greatly in debt and living beyond their means. Not all the blame is on the banks: there was a total absence of control from governments of all flavours too and, as individuals, we were guilty of believing that something for nothing was possible. But, overall, we were being run rings around by greedy individuals who should be strung up and made to repay every penny of their ill-gotten bonuses.

Fixing the problem will be a long slog with a need for a cultural shift: we have again to live within our means at all levels. We need to earn our way in the world and not live on cheap finance (debt) provided by nations like China. The sooner the UK becomes a manufacturing nation again the better.

Globalisation cannot be stopped, but we need to make some major readjustments.

A final lesson from the book: the crisis is far from over and NEVER trust banks or governments with your money. Burying some of what you have saved in a box at the bottom of the garden may not be such a bad thing.