give it your all
There are undoubtedly some things you want to hear from ‘the powers that be’ in your life: ‘contrary to popular opinion your pension’s doing well’ from your IFA, ‘you’ve got the promotion I promised’ from your boss, ‘yeah of course I still love you’ from the missus. There are some things I’d personally like to hear from the guy at the top of the country’s financial tree, the chancellor. Perhaps, ‘I’ve got a grip on the double-dip recession’, ‘I’ve finally decided to put in place a progressive tax system’ or even ‘Relax, of course I’ll get you into the Bullinger Club’.
However, a poor grasp of the mathematics behind percentages is not one of them! That’s why, whenever Georgie-Boy uses the term 110% my heart sinks and my ire rises. Giving such an effort is surely the domain of the inane, a glib response of the celebrity footballer and X-Factor contestant. When Osborne continues to promise that he’s going to work ‘110% harder’ and ‘focus 110% on the economy’ it’s time to head for the hills, or at least for non-taxable off-shore domains!
Of course you could always claim that giving 110% is a feature of today’s society: not a few short years ago the banking community were more than happy to lend us 110% of the value of the third house we were all trying to buy. And nothing bad ever came of that, did it!
