There’s a lot of discussion at the moment about whether we are in a recession or an age of austerity.
However I wonder if this is not a permanent situation with the massive national debt that we have to pay back.
I was recently told that my share of it was £227,000, and consequently it may take us generations to pay this back.
The government will have to start thinking about cutting services and benefits in order to begin paying back the loan rather than just the interest.
With this we will have to expect increases in taxes, like the increase in VAT to 20% on the 4th January 2011.
However in the longer term we have to find ways of exporting things that make here.
As many products and services which were originally invented in the UK are now made or performed cheaper abroad, we will need to being thinking about new things.
If this is the case we will need to encourage our scientists and engineers to come up with new products and services.
The government fortunately does offer grants to well conducted scientific research.
However one group which does get ignored is the lone or small group inventor.
These people have come up with ideas which have later turned out to be world beating, but there are a number of problems to be overcome before we can ‘hot house’ these mavericks.
Firstly, the experts in their fields may criticize their research and oppose any grants or assistance offered.
This may be correct for 9 out of 10 due to bad science or poor engineering, but the 10th could be the one that makes us export revenues.
The second problem is the cost and complexity of the patent system. Taking out a UK patent can cost up to £5,000, and a world wide patent up to £50,000.
These are huge hurdles to overcome, but if we can find a way to deal with them, we have a chance of paying the debt off early.
So come on you lone inventers. Get thinking about ideas which will change the world.
And let’s hope the investors out there will be willing to take a gamble on a few British eccentrics.
Giblicom's Blog 