The Kingdom Of Fife, Scotland

The Price You Pay Today
Isn't The One You'll Pay Tomorrow

In January, 2008, there was shock, awe and revulsion by price hikes announced in the UK gas and electric power industries. Figures approaching 25% were mentioned and doubtless set to make major impact on household budgets throughout the land. Fuel price hikes of this kind affect public services like hospitals, schools and even your local library. Your local shops are affected by similar price increases. In many cases, public services meet the increase via rate rises and shops pass on these increases by raising prices. The man or woman in the street is hit three ways!

The price of petrol and diesel rose during 2007 with barrels of oil exceeding the $100 dollar mark for the first time in history. With a litre of petrol now retailing over £1/litre, commuting represents a major expense and yet necessary to many to maintain employment and income. One litre of diesel equates to about three miles of driving for a modern truck and since many goods are delivered to local shops by this means, cost of haulage has risen to a point where one third of haulage costs in Britain are determined by prices on the forecourt. Once again, it is the end consumer of the goods who must ultimately pay the premium.

Same applies to those who don't even have a car and use buses and trains. Higher fuel prices mean higher fares.

Oil is more than a fuel and lubricant. It is the raw material providing the chemical building blocks of nearly five thousand industrial products including virtually all forms of plastic. Oil and natural gas took millions of years to form deep within the crust of the planet and cannot be replaced or synthesised. Oil is the lifeblood and cornerstone of modern society.

The oil crisis of the early 1970s saw great investment in the production of 'alternative energy' but these were largely deemed too expensive when oil supplies resumed from the Middle East. At the time, we were told two thirds of the World's Oil had been consumed but major finds in the North Sea and Alaska seemed to suggest the experts were wrong. Forty years later, wind farms have become reality and large tidal barrier projects are being actively considered. Despite this, alternative energy power may never exceed about 15% of what is currently used in Britain. The decision to continue with nuclear power isn't really an option if we want to live the way we do now. Using coal, oil or gas for power stations carries ever increasing costs and long term obsolescence.

In the last few years of the twentieth century, American consumption of oil was rising at 3% per annum while local production was falling at about 7% during the same period. To combat oil shortages, America was compelled to import oil from the international market causing oil prices to rise while the US dollar began to weaken in value. The boom years of North Sea Oil peaked in 2000 and extracting the remainder of oil and gas will take more expensive techniques than previously.

The largest remaining reserves of oil are located in Russia and the Middle East. Iran has considerable reserves but has promised to maintain Chinese demands for the next decade at least. Ironically, Iran has no oil refineries and imports petrol and diesel and sells it at prices equating to about 50p a litre. The government knows it must increase the price of petrol or else limit the supply, both of which would be extremely unpopular. The last Iranian leader who tried to raise the price of petrol in Iran was the the Shah and they deposed him. It is this deal with China that helps Iran maintain an anti-western stance and knowing any kind of aggression similar to that of Iraq would almost certainly trigger Chinese involvement. Recent incidents in the narrow Straights of Hormuz between British, American and Iranian ships have been alarming on several occassions. China's new found wealth is reliant on exports and sales to the west so one hopes that common sense will prevail in the event of crisis arising from that region.

Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have considerable reserves but their geographical position and proximity to Iran does present a number of political, logistical and potentially military issues. The new pipeline from Iraq to ports on the Black Sea is being built by a consortium headed by BP. It passes through several areas of instability and starts in a country still reeling from defeat and war. Even if this pipeline remains secure, the size of tankers will be limited in size on account of narrow canals like the Bosphorus Straight which is only 36 metres deep in some place and just 700 metres wide at the narrowest point. More tankers means more cost and once again must affect prices on British forecourts.

Russia already exports huge amounts of oil into Europe via pipeline crossing through several former Soviet States and there has been major political problems with these states in recent years. So far resolution has meant higher oil prices to Europe. Oil brought to Britain by tankers hasn't been easy. Scotland's refinery at Grangemouth is badly positioned to receive large tankers and is likely to close in the future. This will mean fuel supplies being delivered from locations in England via tankers and with additional delivery costs. Prices charged on Scottish forecourts must therefore be higher than many areas and doubtless affect tourism and other important parts of the economy.

The problem will make it even worse for Northern Scotland where refuelling stations are becoming rarer. The recent closure of the petrol station in Brora means there are no refuelling stations on that last thirty-five mile stretch to Thurso. On the west coast, refuelling stops between Ullapool and Durness are rare and typically attached to a few hotels. Even in Fife, there are far fewer petrol stations than just ten years ago. In part, this can be attributed to the rise of supermarket outlets but for many in rural areas, it takes fuel just to get fuel.

In closing, the issues of energy and fuel are likely to be hotly debated issues in the coming years. Taxation on fuel, in particular, is likely to come under fire from the populace at large with demands for government to reduce or eliminate such taxes altogether. With so much government revenue now heavily reliant on this source, where will the money come from to finance education, health and welfare, unemployment benefits and pensions? FifeServe.Com is not a political web site yet hopes to find answers to some very complex questions that affect us all.

It's also a practical web site where we can illustrate how usage of local companies not only improves the community but actively helps with environmental issues. Collectively, these can mean living a better life in Fife!

Inflation is low, says the government, and employment is at the highest level for many years.

The official government definition of inflation excludes many regular household expenses and fails to relate to daily life faced by millions of people in the UK. For people on fixed incomes, like pensioners and workers on low incomes, increased costs will drive many to declare bankruptcy or else endure poverty. With stagnant or declining wages, it is no surprise how income tax value to the national exchequer has declined with government more eager to retain high tax rates on fuel and VAT. Modern Britain is one of the most overgoverned and highly taxed nations in the World. Anyone with a second or third job is taxed at higher rates than if occupied in one singular employment. To survive, there are many hard working people caught in this tax trap. People who are part self-employed often end up paying National Insurance twice yet will get nothing in return. Most new business ventures in the UK owe it to experience gained in former employment and as a reluctant answer to employment opportunities that no longer exist. The failure rate of new ventures in the UK is abnormally high with takeovers from foreign owned companies ar record levels. Who would have believed that a transaction on a British Post Office Cashline Machine would actually be handled by the Bank of Ireland? Who would believe that nearly 40% of Scottish land was owned by absentee landlords in the Netherlands and elsewhere?

Our national economy is in tatters. Today, less than ten companies make up 80% of exports from Britain PLC. A century ago, it would have taken more than a hundred. The introduction of a national minimum wage was admission that employers were ready to hire people at incredibly low levels of income. It's interesting to note how some companies actually reduced their wage rates to this level. One example of this involved a popular Pizza outlet of global reputation! It's sorely tempting to name them here but easier to avoid litigation by avoidance and in fairness, they were not alone. Even today, the issue of minimal wage levels is a really difficult one. One of the largest independant employers in Fife is reliant upon supply of services charged at higher rates elsewhere. Increasing the national minimum wage would thus reduce this employers ability to compete in an international marketplace.

Having said that, more British people declared themselves bankrupt than ever before in 2007 and it seems likely this record may be broken in 2008. Financial services remains one of the few growth areas of the British economy. Television advertising is dominated by companies offering debt solutions albeit at a hefty profit for these companies. Current estimates suggest eight million British people work one week in four to earn enough money to service unsecured debt. A huge and increasing number are reliant on benefits and inadequate pensions. Day by Day, the problems faced by many people in Fife and elsewhere are becoming greater.

FifeServe.Com is an attempt to bring people closer together so that job opportunities in the region can be better linked to needs of the community. The FifeServe project is about education to meet local needs, jobs paid at realistic levels and opportunities for all resident in Fife.

Banks Are The Biggest Employers In Britain!

There was a fairly recently time when individuals collected brown coloured pay envelopes at the end of their weekly shifts and found it packed with money alongside a pay slip. Weekly paid wages were common but in the 1970s, many companies persaded employees to get bank accounts so that wages could be paid into banks on a monthly basis in order to save costs. Many of us might never have had bank accounts if left to the previous system. You spent what you could afford and no more. Credit was an illusion and preserve of the wealthy landowners. A typical family would carefully consider costs and budgets. A school blazer at fourteen shillings and sixpence, purchased from the local tailor, might also serve a younger member of the family in future years. Forget central heating, fitted carpets, wooden floors and double glazing. Television was black and white with only one per home and everything paid for in cash!

Financial services is currently one of the few lead growth areas in the United Kingdom with television adverts from many companies appearing to offer easy routes out of debt - and doubtless with significant profit to themselves in the process. At the extreme end of this industry are 'sharks' able to charge incredible rates of interest with apparent impunity. All this at a time when the government thinks a minimal wage less than nine pounds an hour is an acceptable monetary return on your life investment. Of course, if you're unhappy about this then there is an army of foreign workers willing and able to perform the tasks at lesser rates of pay! Expansion of the European Union has invited workers into the UK willing and able to accept the minimal wage proposal.

The migrant workers come here because earning levels in their homelands are poor. They accept living conditions deemed by slum landlords and typically work harder than British workers. In acceptance of these conditions, many meet the criteria of speaking english, obeying the law and pay taxes. By contrast, there are many born in this country who fail to meet equally applied criteria yet ready to accept benefits paid by taxpayers of this nation!

Running a modern household carries identifiable aspects many businessmen would readily identify with. Increasing costs presents a dilemma whereby people must increase earning capability or else endure failure. Failure in this case means loss of assets including the home we live in and loss of everything we have have worked hard for to acheive. Failure in this case means filing for bankruptcy and the hardest regime that can be applied to all human effort in future years. Britain is a country in which enterprise is rarely recognised or aplauded. Those who succeed are regarded with scorn while those who fail are apt to lose everything they own - even their own self-respect. Britain is not an enterprise culture and yet it is through enterprise that Britain once ruled the World.

A socialist regime can apply 'band aids' to the economy by usage of high taxation to provide 'income supplements' yet this is ultimately doomed to failure. The money will eventually dry up and millions will face hardship. Pensions are already far below acceptable living standards! Forget classic apprenticeships and education. A huge range of experience and skills are being lost each day as older generations die. What remains may not even know how to spin wool or knit a jersey! It's time for change at the 'grass root' level. Time to accept the 'free ride' is over and that society is facing major change. Time for FifeServe.Com to create new and better life in Fife!