Money, money. money, it's all so funny...

Anyone for a bit of borrowing? Borrowing cash that is. Well, with Christmas around the door a few grand would be welcome? Yes, but I just read in a daily newspaper that this, our beloved country is in deep, deep debt. In fact the total debt stands at £5.1 trillion! That is £2 trillion of the national debt (government) and the rest represents borrowing by households and companies. Not bad eh? And moreover this debt is allegedly going up to over £6 trillion (£6,000,000,000,000) by 2023. It is a rather interesting thought but who lent us that sort of money? Where does it all come from? The banks lend cash and with rich people/or organisations like pension funds buy silver/gold gilts (the government issued bonds) but that surely is still not enough to cover such a debt? So, it seems that a second grand economic finance collapse is just around the corner. A day of reckoning. That will bankrupt quite a number of people I suppose. The various governments, except the UK’s government, of the western countries seem oblivious to this. At least in the UK, government has reduced its debt a bit, and it is still falling but it also has created a lot of animosity. But how do people think you pay of debt? It is the same for governments, you have to make savings! It is never easy. But at the same time we should be careful not to cut essential services too much. It is a problem because those in power do not really want to make changes, especially not in their own pay-packets and extras. The bill is always paid by those who can least afford it! Control of money is an art that few people master, there are so many ways to obtain cash. Pensioners now are able to cash in some of their pension pot but quite a few lose it as fast as it comes in due to false investment promises, or people can cash in on property values. Well, fortunately in the Rhondda that is not a very big problem as property values are low, in fact really too low to make much of a difference in debt. There is little point to borrow money on the value of your house. Eventually it must be paid back one way or another. It would be much better to organise lives in such a way that debt is not the overriding factor in anyone’s life. Easier said than done? Well, what IS easy in life?

The Brexit Show - Who's the Dame?

What in all honesty is the matter with our politicians? Is the old adage – They haven’t a clue which way the wind is blowing – true in their case? Take the Brexit conundrum. As Mr McKinstry put it so brusquely in the Daily Express – A second EU vote (probably should have said, a second referendum) will not solve this Brexit turmoil. Absolutely, a second referendum would be as undemocratic as you will. You simply cannot keep voting until one or other party gets the result they want. A second referendum on an important issue such as this cannot solve the issue as there will follow a third because the losing party will or cannot accept the result. This I cannot believe, politicians thinking it is the right way to go! It puts a blanket of incompetence on all politicians. Mrs May seems to be hell-bent on steering through (and it’s pretty debatable) her plans engineered in Chequers because it allows the EU still too much power over UK issues. As I said before, out is out and please close the door. I just cannot get it through my head how well paid MPs of all sides are getting in such a mess. We seem to have a death wish in our beloved land. As Leo McKinstry stated, there is a spectacular failure of courage and imagination in Britain’s political class. They seem more concerned with issues of gender, political correctness and more, rather than important issues of state!

But in the end this question needs asking – who do politicians think they represent? Themselves or the electorate? Well, that power base of the ‘ruling orthodoxy’ needs dismantling straight away. Perhaps it all boils down to the softly softly PC approach of the PM. Get a grip PM, clothe yourself in a harness of British steel. And get on with it. The vote was cast, carry it out!

Ed 14/11/18 : Now that the so-called deal is materialising and viewing the furore it is creating, I think that this government is on its last legs. A dead man walking. The only problem is what will follow it when it falls? Labour is in no way competent at this time to form a proper and well-working government. That is if they ever were capable of doing so. If we think that their economic/financial ideas are the way to go, by all means vote accordingly but be prepared for a far greater b*lls-up!

Ed 8/4/19: Sorry friends, still no deaL WE ARE NOW HAVING EXTENSION AFTER EXTENSION. Yes, another word for delay. It might be prudent for the people to take control. MPs are no longer fit to run the country. I have changed my mind - have a second referendum and if that shows Stay then let's shut up and stay. If it says Go then also shut up and go. Close the door and have a general election.

Bwytwch trychfilod?

Roedd yn amser doniol yn ystod un o’r gwers Gymraeg. Roedden ni yn dafod y bosibilrwydd trychfilod fod bwyd y dyfodol. Achos erbyn hanner ganrif bydd rhwng 7-9 biliwn o bobl ar a ddaear! Siaradwch am 1 miliwn siaradwyr Cymraeg, bydd dipyn o her hefyd oherwydd falle fyddon ni dim ddigon o egni i ddysgu’r iaith! Oni bai byddon ni yn dechrau bwyta trychfilod (pryf).

Dyma cwmni yn y gorllewin paratoi bwyd fel hyn. Chwilod a sioncod y gwair, wedi frio yn siocled? Ond ie, rhaid i ni atal defnyddio llawer o dir am codi gwartheg! Bydd yn dorri nwy methan, defnyddio llai o dŵr a llai o dir fermio ac wella’r amgylchedd. Dylai fod polisi pob Plaid Wleidyddol, yn arbennig Plaid Cymru wrth gwrs. Fe welwn ni yn fuan, gobeithio.Dw i'n hoffi bwyta fel bobl Tseina ond dim cŵn, neu gathodd. 

NHS - National Money Pit

The NHS is very much in the news again at present. The government has indicated that a lot more money is coming, the question is will it? Personally I believe that no matter how much money is given it will never be enough. The NHS is a bottomless pit. Whilst drug companies charge exorbitant prices for their medicines and people generally go to a GP just to get a supply of paracetamol which they could easily buy at Tesco for less than 30p? Whilst the top management keep on the practice of empire building and give themselves salaries of incredible proportions the NHS will be as it is today. Also when we are the world’s health service the money that it costs runs into the millions annually. It ought to be clear that a hard but fair re-organisation is needed. Less admin, better deals with drug companies, a much harder approach to foreign use of the NHS. I am not advocating that we should not help those that come to the UK but prior to them coming we need to know their needs and insurance details. When I went to Holland I needed quite a bit of dental treatment. Before that even started I had to pay! So why would it be different in the UK? We cannot be the world’s health service, and not expect other countries to be either. The E111 card is a bit of a useless item because the dental surgery did not even recognise it? Had never even seen it and refused to accept it. It might be OK if you run under a bus or something like that and end up in hospital but see a GP, no sir! Please pay. Then try to get your cash back from the NHS. Anyway, as said the NHS is a bottomless pit, a great institution with wonderful doctors, surgeons and nurses but it needs a good looking at, a complete reorganisation, one which will make it fit for the 21^st century.