I read today an interesting article about national debt and the deficit which in part caused it’s creation.
I suspect what I’m about to write may hold some inaccuracies, but as usual it’s my usual ramblings through my own thoughts, aired publicly for your amusement. And perhaps ridicule.
I find it odd that a country with wealth like ours can be so indebted. It is said that as you earn more, your lifestyle accordingly becomes more expensive, thus never really making you any more wealthy. I relate directly to that theory; I earn now perhaps three or four times what I did in my first full time job, but my proportionate disposable income doesn’t seem to be any greater. What with two mortgages, two vehicles, a menagerie of animals and a child, my turnover has never been higher, and my own money never been more scarce.
Does this relate then to how countries operate? Could it be that whilst astronomic in size, it’s much the same theory? We know we can afford more, but instead of being content with that notion we buy more, we effectively take on more debt.
I worry quite a bit about deficit. It’s a scary word. If I ran my accounts in deficit I wouldn’t be able to sleep, I’d have the bank calling, I’d have Mandy to answer to, but yet the country in which I reside has done it for so long. The very nature suggests an unsustainable pattern, which I think has gone on far too long. In 2007 the level of debt compared with GDP stood at 44 percentage points; last year it doubled to 88 percentage points. And it’s still climbing.
Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe that the current government are doing a sterling job of reducing it. By 2018 our deficit will be just two percent of the GDP, and the trend looks to continue until it becomes a surplus, and we can finally start to reduce the burden I often think about.
My worry is, rather unusually, democracy. Don’t worry, I’m not about to condemn it as a poor solution, but it does mean short tenures don’t ensure policies get followed through with. We’re making great strides, especially in the welfare arena but I do worry that a change in 2015 may well undo a lot of the good already done.
An insightful person I work with now and again said when he comes to work, he is not creating a better business for himself, he is creating a better one for the next person to run and the person after that. I think in most roles, the majority of any good processes, procedures or models in place were created not by us, but our predecessors, we stand on the shoulders of their successes, and that’s my point here.
To make an entire country successful we have to selflessly ensure that the good we do today will be felt in five, or 10 years time. By creating a culture of helping the next guy do a great job will ensure that he in turn helps the guy after him. That, my friends, is how I would suggest a truly exceptional parliament to run. Enough of the bickering and name calling, enough pointing the finger and claims of “Please Miss, it wasn’t me, it was the one with the blue tie”.
Sustainable business works not only in business, but in every area of the world. It’s evolution, our bodies have being doing it subconsciously for us; we now need to do it consciously.
Get better with every iteration.
