Investing rather than spending our way out of the crisis.

I was in Leamington at the weekend catching up on some Christmas shopping, looking on as shoppers picked over the bleached carcass of Woolworths who were now offering 60% off, no bailout for Woolworths.

Yet we have seen massive support for the banks while we see little relief for people who face loosing their homes, the same tax payers who funded the bailout before their jobs fell victim to the economy. At the same time the government is considering propping up the car industry so they can make cars no one can afford to buy.

I wonder whether we have got out priorities right. Yes we need to support jobs, but wouldn’t it be better to fund something we all need. We could spend the money on and extension to the High Speed rail network for example from London to the Midlands and North of England, providing a viable alternative to road and air travel. Or we could build the Severn Barrage that would generate the equivalent of Four Nuclear Power Stations which would make a significant contribution to reducing our carbon footprint and assist in our energy security.

If we are to spend our way out of this crisis, perhaps we should spend it one something that would create a legacy that could last decades and benefit us all.