Politics is a dull beast...

UK debt ratios - put in to everyday, 'less well off' numbers

2010-10-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

OK,
Since Labour still can't seem to work out why we need to have cuts, I thought i'd do the maths and work out
1) How much we owe as a country
2) What our GDP is
3) How much interest we pay
and best of all
4) Translate this into the equivalent of a household salary. That means replacing GDP with income, scaling the debt down so that anyone should be able to see how unsustainable our situation is - and why we need MORE cuts, not less.

I'll do the workings out and citations as I go, so that you at home can do the maths with me and check my sources/maths. Sources will be shown in [square brackets]

Our GDP (in 2008 - so not as accurate as i'd like) was 2.67 TRILLION US dollars [World bank, 2008].
At todays rates, thats 1.68 TRILLION pounds or £1,680,000,000,000.
Big figures don't really mean much to most people.

Our deficit is 11.4% of our GDP. [ONS 09/10] - £191,520,000,000
Our total debt is 71.3% of GDP. [ONS 09/10] - £1,197,840,000,000
The repayments on that debt stand at £42,900,000,000 per annum [UK Treasury, Sept 2010]

Now for the interesting bit.
Let take Labour's hypothetical 'hard up single mother' at £44,000 who can't afford to feed her tribe without child benefit.

Every year, she has a deficit of 11.4% of her annual income.
£44,000 * 11.4% = £5016 deficit per annum = £418 Per Calendar Month

Her total credit card debt is 71.3% of her annual income = £31,372.
On this £31k, her annual interest payments are £1,124 [(national interest/GDP) * 44000 = interest at national rate on 44k debt] or £93.66 per calendar month

Which means:
Each month, she borrows £418.
Each month, she pays back £93.66 in interest ALONE.
22% of her borrowing is to cover the interest... of her borrowing.

She is, in fact, going to AMEX to get money to pay Mastercard, then going to Visa to pay the AMEX bill.
She HAS to cut back not just the £418 that she owes, but also ANOTHER £93.66 to ensure that despite her interest payments, she is still breaking even.

The current UK government has pledged to cut the deficit by half over this parliamentary term.
Lets translate that down.
This woman says to her creditors that she's going to slowly reduce the amount she borrows over FIVE years until she's ONLY short £209 per month?
Then, her interest payments will be more, so she'll be borrowing almost exclusively to cover her interest payments.

Get real. Her position is completely unsustainable.
She needs to cut back the kids ice cream allowance.
No treats, wear jumpers so that the heating can be turned down, walk instead of getting the bus.
However, when she suggests anything, the kids refuse to get out of bed and go to school. They claim that she's being evil and she's incompetent - that she's the worst mum ever.

Who's wrong - the kids, or the mum?

What would YOU do if you were that Mum?

A youth minister?

2010-03-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

I read here: http://www.libdemvoice.org/campaign-launched-for-a-youth-minister-18537.html that a petition is being started to get a 'Youth Minister' to represent young people to government.

Youth Minister? Oh lord. Another 50-something trying to be down with the kids?
If you must keep the current system, increase consultation (and by that i mean informally LISTEN, don't just sit back and make the decisions before a formal meeting), have a tzar (maybe) of someone under 30 to champion youth problems. Maybe even go as far as encouraging ethnic minorities, young people, disabled, gay, and transgendered to stand for parliament.

Equally, not all young people are knife carrying gang members (in case people hadn't realised!). Even white, middle class men don't care about politics.
Politics fails to engage them. A youth minister won't change that. Consultation would be another tick box activity, done to appear inclusive.

So, lets look at another way.
It's not about having a youth minister, or a minister for racial minorities, or sexuality, or disabled affairs.
It's about losing the whole shebang of ministers and tzars and allowing people to make a real change.

Devolving power to local communities - so that there are fewer tiers of crap for young people to cut through to get to the decision makers.

Leading a strategic government - not one focussing on micromanaging identity groups. Letting local authority help local people.

Stop 'harsh prison sentences' when fear of prison makes no difference - when so few get caught. Maybe we need to decriminalise a hell of a lot of blue labour's new crimes, and look at WHY these crimes are being committed. Causes, not symptoms.

Stop the rush to ban methedrone. Something about our country is so screwed up that young people are shoving plant food up their noses in an attempt to escape.
Once Methedrone's gone, then what next? Another easy to source legal drug. Banning GHB just brought up meth - which is just as deadly.
We need to be looking at causes.
People have no outlet. No natural social venting mechanism. They are ignored by decision makers and are disassociated from the 'traditional british values' that we once loved. People realised something harsh through this - that the best thing that they could do with this world is alter their perception of it, so they stop caring. I should know. I'm a recovering addict.

Societal values are obsolete. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
Maybe we need to change how we think about society.

Gang membership is a desire to be part of something.
Knife carrying is an intent to overcome fear.
Drug use is an escape from a world which human beings can't be expected to live in.
Burkha wearing is to be protected, to be respectable.
Wearing a BNP badge is a sign of fear - fear of the unknown, fear of difference, fear of losing that which people hold precious.
Stop fighting all this, start thinking outside the box and then work with the people to overcome their fears and allow them to contribute.

IF britain is broken, the tories aren't going to fix it. Labour have failed to fix it - and the only people who will are those young people who stand up and battle against the system from within - these people are the only ones who can think OUTSIDE the box.
Outside the system - because, lets face it.
The current system has failed.

I choose to stand up and be heard from within the Lib Dems.

Others won't be as mainstream.
Despicable as it's policies may be, at least the BNP empowers it's voters...

Interim post!

2010-03-18T05:18:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog - mainly because I've stopped doing what I used to do (and my blog ended up mainly about my personal life) and started working proactively with my local Lib Dem party.

This blog should give anyone looking to get involved in politics an idea of what it's like on the inside, and show my progression through the ranks - if I ever get that far!

My last (first) blog post had to be taken down from this site as it was published by Lib Dem Voice - and can be seen at http://ldv.org.uk/18417

That's a good start to a political blog, methinks - yesno?

Anyway, today I'm faced with a bit of a crisis of career.

MP or Staff?

Essentially, I'm trying to make up my mind now whether to direct my efforts towards becoming a PPC, or whether I want to work as a speechwriter/policy worker.

My main skill is my ability to stand up and speak my mind clearly, but I'm not sure whether that is best put to use as a writer or a speaker. It's over to you lot for that one!

I'm going to give this some thought, but my first priority is getting our lovely Ed Fordham elected as MP for Hampstead & Kilburn!

In the mean time, don't be afraid to add me on twitter - @jackyboy86

J x