In 1997, the national debt was £350bn. That figure now stands at £776bn. Buried in the 2010 budget documents is an admission our national debt will soon double again to £1,406bn by 2014/15, such is the impact not only of ongoing fiscal profligacy but the financial meltdown caused, and then savagely exploited, by the world's "leading investment banks".

While these are absolutely ghastly numbers, the reality is far worse. It shows that if government spending continues at current levels, the UK's national debt explodes from 70pc to more than 500pc of GDP by 2040. Were that to happen, debt interest payments would equal 27pc of GDP, more than half of all tax revenues. This is the reality we face, fiat paper or physical assets - you decide?  It's also perhaps time to protect yourself from a rise in ID theft as criminals become even more motivated by the prospects of easy money: http://www.rfidprotect.co.uk/