Oh dear Al, I think you made the wrong comparison using our motorways, they too are a joke and not fit for purpose! It all comes down to investment as is the case everywhere, everyone that has a complaint about anything looks to the government for support ie us, how much do we already pay into the system through direct and indirect taxes, if you want government ie us to pay for everything then where do the government go to borrow money? I am not convinced that we are wealthy enough to do many of the things that we expect, those who are wealthy are also highly mobile so over taxing them may be right in the short term however long term whet do we do. Nationalisation brings with it many problems including the influence of unions who will increasingly become more militant in order to extract the maximum pay for their members, I don’t know what is worse a system which fails because of its structural deficiencies or one that is held to ransom by a union. There is no magic wand, however what I can say with confidence is that things will only get better when we stop moaning and start talking, I do not trust our politicians to make the kind of decisions that are necessary to provide real answers, both front benches are the weakest I have seen in my lifetime bring in some new blood and start deciding for the benefit of all who pays for what and by what means.