UK government debt is around one and a half trillion if you take into
account unfunded pensions, PFI schemes
and all the other off balance sheet debts.
Private debt just about matches this if you take into account
mortgages, credit cards and overdrafts. (USA debt is 14 trillion.)
Now try to get your head round a trillion.
Perhaps this helps.
(note: – the British billion is now the same as the American billion -
a mere thousand million, not a million million)
The next time you hear a politician casually talk about ‘a billion pounds’, stop and think about it.
Ask yourself – are they spending YOUR tax money as you want?
These facts help put that ‘billion’ in perspective.
A.
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D.
A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E.
A billion Pounds ago was only 13 hours and 12 minutes, at the rate our government is spending
even more than it can raise from…
Stamp Duty
Tobacco Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Income Tax
Council Tax
Unemployment Tax
Fishing Licence Tax
Petrol/Diesel Tax
Inheritance Tax (tax on top of tax)
Alcohol Tax
V.A.T.
Marriage Licence Tax
Property Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Vehicle Licence Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Only one – income tax – existed 100 years ago (at a maximum of 10%)
when…
Our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world.
The industrial revolution was beginning to feed mouths and fill pockets.
Public spending was a mere 25% of GDP.
We coped with debts of £600 million resulting largely from the Napoleonic Wars.
We had the largest middle class in the world.
Mum stayed home to raise her children.
Dad was allowed to discipline his children.
A criminal’s life was uncomfortable.
The sun never set on the British Empire.
And now look at us today – trapped in the EU and governed by inexperienced pygmies.
How and why did this change happen?
The answer is equally mind-boggling and appalling, because we are to blame.
We have re-learned an old hard lesson :
people attracted to power are fundamentally unsuited to hold it.
Ask yourself: do senior politicians today believe in acting in the best interests of the people who elected them?
Self-evident answer: No. Self-interest and political survival come first.
AND WE HAVE LET IT HAPPEN!
