Therein lies a question that many of us suspect we already know the answer to. In reality we are looking at a much bigger deficit nationally than we have seen in years. The current government believes they are doing the right thing in trying to get the country back on its feet after the effects of the recession. And of course we are not out of that recession as yet anyway. We are still trying to find our way back to a reality which doesn’t involve job losses and less money.
But there have recently been a number of cautionary tales which point to the problems which getting into such debt in the first place can cause. One of these has recently been published on the Guardian website. You can find the excellent article here.
It is somewhat ironic that the government has chosen to get into this amount of debt in the first place. After all, it was the prolonged period of ‘buy now, pay later’ mentality that got us all into the mess we now find ourselves in. The government therefore seems to be taking a very risky line to try and solve the country’s problems.
And of course we all know where they will look to start reducing those debts anyway. They will look to the electorate and ply us with higher taxes here, there and everywhere. No wonder no one is that impressed by the Labour government at the moment. It almost makes you feel sorry for whoever else might come in after Labour. They get to try and clear up the financial mess they have made of things. No matter how good or bad the currency conversion is between the pound and other currencies, this won’t be a pretty or an easy task.
So how happy are YOU about the state of the country’s finances at the moment? The problem is that the government has tried to support some of the biggest name banks – and some of those people working for those banks have already gone back to the big bonus culture. This doesn’t exactly make you feel confident that the steps the government has taken so far are actually doing any good at all.
Unfortunately one thing is for certain here. Thanks to the huge debt the country now has hanging around its proverbial neck we will be lumbered with trying to pay it all back for some years to come. That could severely hamper the standing the UK enjoys in the world. Only time will tell by how much.
Perhaps the biggest problem though is the amount of money that is wasted which could easily reduce the debts very quickly indeed. Management in so many areas is so big and costs so much money that it is strangling the country as a whole. The government could make so many long lasting and beneficial changes that would save millions – if only they had the courage to do so.
So don’t hold your breath if you are expecting that UK debt to go down quickly in the near future. It will be a long time before it starts coming down appreciably at all. Until then we must just hope that they take the right steps and the required ones to make a difference and reduce that debt. And it must be done before it turns into a millstone around the neck of the UK.
Of course we aren’t managing the cash properly. But the question is what can we do about it? Until we get the chance to elect a new government we don’t really have any say in the matter at all.
The Tories will be in next but I don’t envy them the job of trying to clear up the mistakes that Labour have made recently. This wasn’t supposed to be a political rant but it’s frustrating to see your own country going down the tubes! No wonder the pound is so weak and can’t pick itself back up again. Things can only get better – I think.
I couldn’t agree more. The UK has a lot of ground to make up to get back to where it used to be. I find it quite ironic that Gordon Brown did a halfway decent job as Chancellor, and now as Prime Minister he has undone all of the previous good work he put in. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
And the thing is he doesn’t even seem to realise it. Oh well I guess we will be stuck with him for a while longer. The money situation won’t get any better until someone else takes over though.
I just read CDixon’s comment and I think they have the right way of thinking about it. Undoing all the hard work you have previously done in another position – that’s exactly where Gordon Brown is now.
Mind you at least we only have a few more months to go before we have the chance to vote him out. I just hope he doesn’t do loads more damage before then. This country isn’t capable of throwing out a Prime Minister in anything other than a proper election! We’ll just have to be patient until the time comes to vote.
This is an interesting article to revisit now that we have a new government in place. Whatever you might think of the new coalition (and I’m not sure I have made up my mind yet) they are at least trying to tackle the debt with huge cuts and savings made in lots of areas.
It remains to be seen whether these painful cuts are going to have the desired effect though. We know we have to get the deficit down and undo the mistakes made by Labour. But it won’t happen overnight and it won’t be pretty either. Lots of people will be moaning before it is over. But just like any other bills in life they have to be paid – however painful that might be.