As already mentioned by Phil Bradley, we attended Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches’ debate last night on how to save $100 Billion. We had gone to wave the Library cause flag but didn’t get the chance.

The purpose was to have some debate ahead of George Osborne’s emergency budget cut-a-thon [ “Oh, it’s a scythe…..” Blackadder]

Anyway, Georgie boy was speaking in the commons a few moments ago and I suddenly thought of Chico Marx. That in turn lead me to the answers to all our problems - the past. Let’s look at how others coped …

Minister of Finance: Here is the Treasury Department’s report, sir. I hope you’ll find it clear.
Rufus T. Firefly: Clear? Huh. Why a four-year-old child could understand this report.
Rufus T. Firefly: Run out and find me a four-year-old child, I can’t make head or tail of it.

Rufus T. Firefly: Now that you’re Secretary of War, what kind of an army do you think we ought to have?
Chicolini: Well, I tell you what I think, I think we should have a standing army.
Rufus T. Firefly: Why should we have a standing army?
Chicolini: Because then we save money on chairs.

Freedonia’s Secretary of War: How about taking up the tax?
Rufus T. Firefly: How ’bout taking up the carpet?
Freedonia’s Secretary of War: I still insist we must take up the tax.
Rufus T. Firefly: He’s right, you’ve gotta take up the tacks before you can take up the carpet.

Prosecutor: Something must be done! War would mean a prohibitive increase in our taxes.
Chicolini: Hey, I got an uncle lives in Taxes.
Prosecutor: No, I’m talking about taxes - money, dollars!
Chicolini: Dollars! There’s-a where my uncle lives! Dollars, Taxes!

Secretary of Labor: The Department of Labor wishes to note that the workers of Freedonia are demanding shorter hours.
Rufus T. Firefly: Very well, we’ll give them shorter hours. We’ll start by cutting their lunch hour to 20 minutes.

Amazing how it was all there, totally clear in Duck Soup.