I see that the Northern Ireland Finance Minister, Samuel Wilson, (aka Sammy), is reported by the BBC as having criticised his ministerial colleagues because of the amount of unspent public money that they have returned to him. Apparently he has received back £42.3m. Should he find this a disappointing result? I think not. Perhaps Sammy should be reminded of Mr. Micaber's advice to David Copperfield.
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six pence, result misery. The bloom is blighted, the leaf is withered ...." Charles Dickens
What I find even more surprising is that Sammy is reallocating this underspend. Why do that? Is that a sensible thing to do when we are on the brink of a triple dip recession? Clearly we have managed to achieve an excess of income over expenditure. That is something that should be applauded. The monies should NOT be reallocated. They should not be spent. They should be used to reduce the government's borrowings. That is common budgetary sense. What is sensible for the family is sensible for Sammy. Politicians should stop pandering to an electorate they hope will re-elect them and take decisions which are correct for the nation and the finances of the nation.
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