With just a few hours to go before we know the result of the General Election, I find myself wanting to congratulate the present Government. for one thing they did and for one thing they did not do!
To start with I think the non smoking ban they brought in, covering public places, was a great move. Far be it for me to interfere with people’s choices but, unfortunately, smoking is a “shared activity,” one in which non smokers prefer not to get involved with.
Next the Government are to be warmly congratulated for keeping Great Britain out of the Euro. As a non economist I could never see the need for a shared currency, on the basis of boosting trade and travel. Why make other people’s problems ours? What was there already seemed to work pretty well, so why change it? And now, most certainly, events in Greece indicate the wisdom of retaining our old faithful pound.
Mind you, ever the cynic, the only reason we stayed clear of the Euro was our so called inability to meet the five criteria. Of which, doubtless I guess the first of these was that all concerned in the decision making process ought to have their snouts well into the trough first!
Staying with matters political, my Tuesday evening meal was interrupted by our local MP doing the rounds and asking for support. As this gentleman has always seen fit to look into matters I have raised with him, and sent well worded replies, my allegiance stays in place. Mind you, in conversation, I did raise the point of asking why we could not have a political system that linked voting to employment. No representation without taxation is the simple message.
Returning to Greece, as a non economist I am at a complete loss to understand the current state of rioting. Having voted in their Government (and any comparison to GB PLC here is coincidental) why complain now when austerity measures have to be introduced? Surely belt tightening is better than national bankruptcy, and that having half a loaf beats going hungry?
Or am I missing the plot in thinking that the population over there expect the party to go on forever, and that someone will keep funding their life style?
