How it looks.  How it is.

The view you get of anything depends on where you are looking from.  That is why this is written by two people – one looking at Northern Ireland from a distance and the other living and working in Belfast.

But we have other distinct viewpoints.  One of us is in business and the other retired.  One of us travels the world, the other stays at home.  One of us understands a bit about science and the other knows more about communities.

We also have much in common.  We’re not rich.  We don’t smoke - but we do fume about things we think are crazy.   We both think that Northern Ireland has more than its fair share of craziness – but we think this for different reasons.

Crazy books

Anyone looking at the books for NI would scratch their heads in wonder.  How come we have more than half of all our working people employed by the government ?  Who pays them ?  The taxes that get collected are nowhere near enough – so our supposedly near independent NI has to be subsidised by the UK government, to the tune of £7,000 for every household every year.

Why do they do that?  Can they afford it ?   The obvious answer is they cannot afford it and, more and more, the folks in London really don’t see why they should.  Why don’t all the people in NI understand that all the things they enjoy  - like schools, roads, buses, doctors, housing, universities and other stuff like our own government – need to be paid for ?

How crazy is it that, if we carry on the way we are, our children will have to pay three times as much tax, not retire until they are 70 or maybe get used to being hungry in what will, by then, look like a third world country.

Crazy talents

Anyone looking at the creative energy of NI would scratch their heads in wonder.  How come the clever creative clogs of the entertainment world seem to think that NI is a great place to make films and TV productions? 

The answer is quite simple -  the rich stock of skilled people around here who are able to build scenery, sketch designs, light up sets, make costumes and do all the very crazy things needed to allow international stars to work their on-screen magic.  

And it’s not just the filmmakers – we have music coming into our ears from a thousand new musicians and more than a rich heritage of pop bands.  

Where do people from all over Europe come to learn how to be a really good professional DJ ?  Belfast.  More than half the customers of an Internet business selling training to new music makers are buying NI’s brilliance….in America.

Crazy business

Anyone hearing the deathly silence from NI’s businesses during the recent riots would scratch their heads in wonder at the lack of leadership.   How crazy is it that we have a business world that is so determined to stay inside its own selected silos that the leaders don’t see their job as leadership.

Who is getting the message across to ordinary folk ?  Who is telling the citizens how the lack of business growth and the burden of unemployment and social unrest is damaging the future of this place?   Who is telling them about the real successes and the excitement of having big ideas in an ever-shrinking world?

Maybe it comes from years of ‘keeping out of other peoples business’ but, listen up guys, its been 11 years now and high time you got out more.  Where’s the innovation, the business confidence that, way back, made NI such a great place?   Where are the local enterprise partnerships that cross the public/private divide?

Crazy people in crazy places

Anyone looking at the way land is used (or not used) in NI would scratch their heads and wonder about the insanity of a country with farms galore but has to import most of its food from overseas.

Farms in NI are on average about one third the size needed to be worthwhile.  The average age of farmers in NI is now 64.   Seven out of every ten farmers have to take another part-time job to make ends meet.   Nearly all farms depend on subsidies paid from taxes on the rest of us.  We have some of the best land in Europe for growing things and creating food – but how crazy is it that rural areas are in decline and we bring in most of our food from overseas ?

Meanwhile how crazy is it that our towns and cities are under-populated but blessed with shops full of goods from all over the world and on display to people who either don’t have a job or only have money to spend because just a few (probably less than 1 in ten) are creating wealth ?

Crazy kids

Anyone, anywhere, looking at the televised scenes of recreational violence must wonder at the future for children schooled in the arts of petrol-bombs, burnt out cars and rocks hurled at those who are supposed to be looking after them.

Sure, we know that the entire world for some people only stretches as far as two streets in any direction – but how crazy is that when we spend more on their education than in any other part of the UK or Ireland ?

Is NI the leading global expert at creating communities that are so closed off that they cannot see the wider world?    In ten years time will the kids on yesterday’s streets be making a useful contribution to their communities ?  Will they be doctors, business leaders, nurses, film-makers, plumbers, musicians, carpenters, policemen, chefs, or, like so many before, leave these shores for safer, saner, less-crazy, places? 

How crazy is it that we seem intent on continuing a pattern of youth emigration  - that, more than anywhere else in the UK, means we have a much greater stock of old folk who need looking after ?

Crazy futures

Anyone from overseas looking for a place to set up business must wonder at the astonishing attractions of NI. 

The talents, the resources, the location of the place as a stepping stone to continental Europe, the education, the craic, the friendliness of people, the amazing willingness to leave the past behind, the growth of well-connected 21^st century spaces to live work and play and a fantastic history – all these things make NI a brilliant place to create new business and bring in overseas investment.

Sure, there are some snags – like creaking infrastructure in places and too many bureaucrats – but business that need talented and well educated people who want to go places will find their wildest dreams fulfilled across NI.

But how crazy is it that our leaders don’t seem to be able or brave enough to get that vision across to citizens - to drive forward the reduction in public employment and accelerate the growth of innovative new businesses? 

How crazy is it that anyone with new ideas must first endure the insults of a small army of naysayers intent on preserving ‘never never land’ ?

No-one does anything for us ?   Or is it that none of us are doing enough ?

There’s a really great story to be told.

This place looks crazy and is crazy.  Let’s all make sure that we get crazy about making this place work - for everyone.

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This editorial was wriiten at the invitation of local media interests in Belfast during the aftermath of 3 days of social unrest at the start of the 'marching season'.

The calculation of annual subsidy per household is based on an annual figure of around £5bn per annum (2006 data) over a current estimate 700,000 households.