Pockets

The minister opens a Christmas bazaar, saying: 'Friends, there is good news and bad news about the money we need to mend the church roof. The good news is that we have enough to complete the job.' Applause all round. 'The bad news', he goes on, 'is that it is still in your pockets, purses, wallets and bank accounts.' As Christmas approaches,  we are being inundated with letters appealing for funds. Everything from frail old people to lost children and tired donkeys needs help. We are pensioners, and when we have given some carefully planned donations to certain funds, there is nothing left, and we inevitably feel very sorry. Do all these excellent causes depend on us? Of course not. There must be a  worthwhile response to the effort they make to send out appeals to so many people. The national exchequer, we are always being told, can do no more now with its restricted budget. So roads can hardly be mended, youth clubs must close and all the good things being done by local authorities and others to make life worth living have been curtailed. Of course, there IS money in the nation; it is just not in the right pockets. If we all put a small percentage of our total financial possessions into a pool, we would be able to do everything that health, education, social servicves etc is being prevented from doing because of 'the cuts'. We have more money than needed to rebuild the nation. It is still in our wallets and purses, though,, and taxation notwithstanding, looks likely to stay there.