Double bubble today... The unions and the Chancellor have annoyed me.

This won't be a long post today. But I thought I put down a few thoughts...

The tube is operating, barely... today because the unions have come out on what will be the 'second' 24 hour strike. Notice how I didn't put the 'last' 24 hour strike? I don't think it'll be the last... I just hope Boris Johnson doesn't capitulate too early or too much. Travelling across London on public transport can be a miserable experience even when the tube is operational, so quite what gives the tube workers the idea that they are so important to the machinery of London is quite beyond me...

I am not a fan of the unions. I am, however a fan of employee rights but this militant tendency that seems to always be a legacy of a Labour government is just a pain.

I said 'double bubble' in the title. George Osborne has annoyed me this morning also. Almost to the point of rage actually. Whatever that is... He's announced that people who earn more than £44,000 now lose child benefit. Nothing wrong with that in principle but when you consider that it comes down to individual earners... I think he's opened a huge can of worms. Let me explain...

If one person in a household earns this amount, all child benefit is lost. If two people in a household both earn £43,000 they don't. And George has done this to keep things simple, so he doesn't have to manage a system for keeping track of where the benefit should go... or rather, where it shouldn't go. He also wants to keep away from 'complicated' forms. Bless him.

So what exactly do these 'high' earners get in return for all their contributions over the years?

You wouldn't want to get too ill at the minute because the health service isn't all it's cracked up to be.

What about education? Education in this country isn't the best in the world. I think it should be... Perhaps if the standard of education was better the forms wouldn't be so complicated. Perhaps the forms don't need to be that complicated George? Patronising? I think so.

Perhaps if you can't fill in a form you should think twice about parenthood? Just saying...

I really think this is the wrong direction to take. I don't think it is fair. I don't think it has been thought through properly. And for what? To keep the system from getting too complicated... I just don't like it. This household will lose the child benefit... haven't got an issue with that. But I do think it should be based on the earnings of the household and not the individual.

So that's child benefit sorted out. As for the tube? How about we close it? Let's face it, we somehow get around the capital when the tube workers strike anyway. Why not close the tube and invest all the money saved on a bus service that really serves? Why not close the tube, pave it and install some lights? You sell all the outdated trains as scrap and be left with the perfect underground urban cycling network? Just a thought...