How come we have to pay?

So Alistair Darling is telling us all we need to accept below inflation rate pay rises or the economy will go into meltdown. Perhaps we should tell him that, on the basis the inflation rate is set by a Government who lie out of habit, many of us in the real world have suffered below real inflation rate rises for years.

Notice there is no mention of firms having to accept lower profits, or shareholders having to accept lower dividends or the favoured few having to accept less than lottery winner level bonuses, just the peasants at the sharp end taking the brunt again.

We are even being softened up for rises in interest rates. Now I seem to remember that this whole economic shambles was brought about by the breathtaking arrogance and greed of our bankers who thought they could make killings with deals anyone with blood flow above the neck could see were somewhere between dodgy and suicide on the financial scale.

Now an increase in interest rates makes a nice windfall profit for . . . you guessed it, the ones who caused the whole mess.

And in the midst of all this wringing of hands and pleading with use to accept penury as a way of life to save the nation MPs are recommending they get £24,000 a year tax free, presumably in a brown envelope, used notes, non-consecutive numbers, so they don't have to fiddle their expenses for second homes any more. Nice timing lads. You just could not make it up.