WHERE WE ARE NOW

On the economic front there is the impact of the probable failure of one or more of the PIGS economies: Portugal, Ireland / Italy, Greece, Spain. In the US because of the inability to borrow from abroad, inflation and spiraling debt, there will be a huge knock-on effect because of the collapse in the US industrial, public and housing sectors.

Analysis of the historical data suggests that in the long run, such economic calamities are not catastrophic for an industrialised economy overall, and is associated with significant advances in technology and culture which leads the charge toward greater prosperity than before. Whilst such a sanguine attitude is valid for those in he boats being raised by the new tide, this is somewhat akin to the observation that necessity is the mother of invention after the impact of a natural disaster, or the need to face the challenges of wartime, in which there are many casualties.

On the security front, we can expect further erosion of civil liberties because of the failed war on terror, as underpinned by the wishful thinking behind the prevailing COIN doctrine (fm 3-24). A COunter INsurgency doctrine with as much applicability to the battlefields of Afghanistan as it may have at home, as part of a line of politics where the electorate is categorized as an insurgency to be overcome by smart-power strategies:
     Introduction to the University of Chcago Press Editon, A Radical Field manual, Sarah Sewall.

There will be serious unrest from the region encompassing Pakistan and the middle east because of COIN and the ineptitude and belligerence of regional actors. Especially an hegemonic Iran in alliance with its and its regional and Central Asian proxies. And we will have the situation where Israel will be obliged to extend its borders northward to the Litani river, Lebanon, with the inclusion of the Shaba Farms to secure the rear to Mount Hermon.

North Korea is also of considerable concern as a proliferator of nuclear material, to the likes of Iran and Syria, for example, and as a direct threat to South Korea, where much of our pension fund and social security fund monies are invested.

This may seem rather global in its perspective. But SARS out of China, by way of international air travel, is effectively next-day-delivery. Politics is often thought of as local, but local is now global. Even so, as it pertains to the economy of Northern Ireland, the following is worth considering:

The Northern Ireland block grant is £12.5-billion (£12,500,000,000). This is nearly equivalent to 8, £4-million lottery winners every day of the year, and an extra 102 for Christmas. Or, as our democratic counterparts in Greenwich, London, are surprised to learn, is equivalent to £27,000 per annum, for every family of four, if the population of Northern Ireland was divided up in that manner. So much so, that they are unenthusiastic to contribute even more towards this line of funding, when they have to make ends meet as they dodge the loan sharks.

Many of Northern Ireland's democratic representatives claim--for voting purposes--'we're needy and we need more'. £12.5-billion. Let's make it a nice, round £14-billion. In response, the electorate of Greenwich is effectively saying: From our cold, dead hands.

And, as per security, we have a very expensive Stormont administration disinclined to take on the primary responsibility of policing and justice, in favour of conducting a line of kissing babies politics, and passing the pain-parcel of policing and justice, to London and Dublin.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

The Economy:

The principle that the market never fails must be accepted, since the market never fails to eliminate the goods and services which have been offered by way of poor or bad judgment.

The practice of government intervention so that banks and/or businesses are not allowed to fail, so that whatever good is in them can be acquired by more capable hands, must stop. Future generations cannot afford the debt and the devaluation of their savings and earnings.

The bank deposit insurance scheme must be abolished. The practice of fractional reserve banking must be made illegal. And so-called 'free banking' must be made illegal.

Inheritance tax must be abolished. The tax on alcohol, tobacco and fuel must be no more than the standard rate of VAT.

The practice of pensions being offered and/or tied to the employer must be made illegal, and pensions be bought from a private pension provider. This must also apply to members of the government.

Security: