According a report published last week in the Observer, the tax burden in the UK is set to exceed that of Germany this year, putting paid to the notion that since we're not in a major recession Gordon Brown must really be doing a good job.

Germany is often seen as the worst example of European-style big government, with corresponding high levels of unemployment. However, while Gordon Brown has been lecturing Europe on the need to change, he will have presided over an increase in the tax burden of the UK to 45.7% by the end of the year, while Germany's will have fallen to 45%. The EC actually criticised Gordon Brown recently for running too big a defecit!

You don't need to look too far for an explanation of where all the money's going either. Let's take a look at the enormous wastes of money we've seen and will see in Northern Ireland alone:

• £100m+ for a sports stadium none of the 3 major sports really wants
• £400k for sacking a university employee
• £155m on an enquiry to answer questions everyone had made their minds up on anyway
• £100m on a suspended Assembly including £40m+ in salaries to MLAs who aren't doing their jobs

I could go on but I won't. All the while schools and hospitals continue to under-perform.

Is this just what happens under Labour governments? I'm too young to remember the last one but it seems that bureacracy and general government-funded waste increases, taxes increase to pay for it all and the net benefit to Joe Q Taxpayer would look small next to the Olsen Twins' lunches.