UK Government heading to financial oblivion?

The Government is up to it's eyes in debt. More debt than any of us can truthfully claim to understand. Remember that old myth about the tribe that had only had 4 numbers - one, two, three and 'many'? Well it's hard not to feel that way when ministers appear at the despatch box to blithely talk in the tens of billions.

There have been some attempts to express these figures in graphical format, but in truth all of it exists in an abstract realm beyond our comprehension.

Which would be fine in some ways - after all, few of us would claim to have comprehension of many of the things that the Government does. But at some point, you have to question whether the politicians themselves really understand the numbers.

Certainly the Unions and some very prominent figures on the Left don't. To them, this mountain of money is somehow notional - and paying it back can be delayed until a point where we 'can' afford it. But the truth is, we can't.

Spending on debt interest alone is set to reach £70 billion by 2015. That's 10% of the entire projected budget, just on servicing the debt - much less paying it back. While some economists argue that this is actually fairly appropriate and sustainable, it's hard to imagine any prudent household working on the same measure.

The much vaunted 'cuts' are actually no such thing. While capital expenditure will be cut, the overall Government budget will rise from £661 billion in 2010 to £739 billion in 2015. Much of that rise will be caused by increased debt payments and - by mad, insane correlation - paid for by the further accumulation of debt.

In short, we are stuck with a permanent debt problem for the forseeable future - even if the economy surges enormously. And with the meltdown of the eurozone an ever more likely prospect, things could get a whole lot worse before they get better...

May God have mercy on us all!