Profiting from your taxes

Happy New Year one and all...

Bob has suggested that I begin my blog with this greeting. Since I am a simple frog, I'm not sure what this truly means to you, unless it has something to do with continuing with the spirit of your recent Christmas? If it is, then I think that I'm beginning to understand what being a human is, at long last. Ribbit!!

I have to tell you that Bob's a little under the weather this week. Apparently, he's caught a cold! Now, I'm not sure that I know the meaning of this? Is this like catching a bus? No!! Then I'm afraid it has me completely baffled.

With the new year beginning, I'm at a loss as to what is happening to the weather. It's normally far too cold to come out into the open, but for some reason it's still quite warm around the garden. Of course, this is actually quite nice where I'm concerned. It's really quite pleasant to lay back and watch the world go by. Where do I do this? It's from my hiding place under one of the wood piles that are scattered around the garden for my use. By the way, I must just mention that I haven't visited the pond lately. Why? Because that's something we frogs do at this time of the year. Now, I'll let you have some exciting news. When spring begins to show itself with flowers popping up all over the garden, and those sexy female frogs start to swim around the pond in the slightly warmer evenings trying to look nonchalant, I'll be there to do my bit to prolong froggy kind. Oooo! Aaaa! This warms my loins up just to think of it. "Ribbit!!" Wassamarrer... Don't tell me that you're offended by the thought of the S.E.X word? Shame on you!!

Fair enough then, I'll change the subject, just to save your embarrassment, okay? Anyway, Bob was telling me about something that I, as a fairly intelligent frog, find rather odd. It's that your privately owned railway companies, remember, privately owned! are actually being subsidized to the tune of millions of pounds from your taxes just to help increase their profits. I smell something wrong here... and I can assure you, it's not me!

So... I have to ask you all a very important question: why is it that after these companies have already raised their exorbitant fares, yet again, that you lot have to further subsidize their growing profits with even more of your money? As a frog, doesn't it make better sense to renationalise these railways again and free up this subsidy for more pressing uses? After all, since under this situation the railway doesn't need to make massive profits, something that as things are at present is being chased by a greedy minority, it stands that the fares themselves could actually be a darned sight lower than they are at present, and this would encourage more rail users. Right? If the government body, of whom most of you elected into office, really cares about you, the voters, which is not how it looks to me from where I'm sitting, then it would see sense and put the railways back into public ownership where they damned well belong. Other countries have made a success of their railways by running them for the public's benefit, so why hasn't this one? Now, go and ask your local MP this question...

Seems to me that being a human is fraught with endless complications, most being forced upon you by a non-caring government which has no idea what it's doing these days. Well, it's all but done my head in, so...

Stay safe, mind how you go, and do drop by and see me again soon...

Froggy