Elland

IT is a crazy world. Pool Water Services is making more profits than HBOS.

For every 70p that ends up in my pocket the Chancellor takes 45p in tax and VAT.

To cope with my disability, I purchased a golf buggy. However, the Chancellor taxes the disabled with more VAT. This is very depressing and he slaps more tax on my medication, red wine.

Like any business, I have to keep accounts. The maths involved is what I learned before I took my 11-plus. HBOS and the Chancellor just handle bigger numbers but the maths is no different.

However, as Gordon Brown has got the country in a mess, I thought I might come up with a few ideas. Conventional economists are pretty useless and I think in terms of resource economics. If economists were architects they would use elastic rulers.

The pound varies in value. When I was a lad I could get 100 haircuts for a fiver. Resource economists think in terms of metres, kilograms and seconds from which other units such as kilowatt hours can be derived. These units have not changed.

Although the economy is in a mess, there are greater long term problems such as climate change and energy supply. Our basic needs are housing, food, energy and social life.

The UK has insufficient housing and needs to import food and energy. For the long term we need a population policy. In the shorter term, we need to use resources more efficiently.

The unemployed are a valuable resource and everyone capable of working should work.

The housing stock is badly insulated. Hence, some of the unemployed could get insulating. Flood prevention needs doing. My contribution is to divert rain water from the roof of my house into a tub or my pond.

Replicating this small action should have a positive effect. Research and development needs to be done on moving to a low-carbon economy.

The politicians have wrecked further education which was quite efficient. I started work at 16 and went part-time to what is now Huddersfield University. After 4 years, I had HNC in chemistry and I was earning more than the average wage.

Four years later, I had the equivalent of an honours degree, four assistants, and my earnings had gone up another 70 per cent. Prior to taking my professional qualification, the powers-that-be decided I needed a fourth subject at A level and I chose geography.

Compared to honours degree chemistry, A level geography is a "piece of cake". With work, studying and football, I had a casual attitude to girls. However, I needed a girl for the works trip and asked a young girl in my geography class. This had life-changing consequences and 48 years later we are still together.

Obviously, most students will not experience my good fortune but further education provided me and many other people the foundation on which to build successful careers. In comparison to today's debt-laden graduates, I had saved £1,000 (1963) to get married.

Hence, in addition to job-creation the further education system needs rebuilding to support those jobs.

As my wife was going to be a teacher, I changed career to teaching in further education. In addition, to covering the syllabus I used to stimulate thought. I told my students that I was 30 times more efficient than the Chief Education Officer in getting to work.

Using resources efficiently at national and personal level can produce massive gains. At a national level, wrapping up in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Olympics and the EU would save huge amounts of finance and energy.
At a personal level, my wife cuts my hair, saving money and hair miles. When I peg out, the NHS can have what bits they want and my body is then to be used at Leeds University medical school.

This is a resource-efficient solution. Medical students have a body to practise on and I do not leave a carbon footprint around Elland crematorium.

Before then, I have quite a bit of living to do. For Christmas, we will have our two lovely daughters and four wonderful grandchildren together. I hope all readers have as enjoyable Christmas as I intend to have before tackling economic problems.

Barry Crossland