David Maddox: Who is best to teach the youth of Scotland about financial prudence?

Obviously Gordon Brown would not be top of the list these days to talk about "prudence", a word he seems to have become less fond of since we found out that boom and bust had not really been finished.
But it turns out that SNP education secretary Fiona Hyslop has an interesting advisor for the "credit crunch" lessons for school children being proposed by the Scottish Government, as covered in today's Scotsman.
Labour's Bill Butler has uncovered that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to be her main advisor.
Yes that is the same RBS which went on a spending spree of world banks, bringing down the once great institution with purchase of Dutch bank ABN Amro. The very same bank that was bailed out by the tax payer and is now mostly owned by the UK Government because of its erm.. expertise in financial prudence.
There was a suggestion that bankers should retrain as teachers. Maybe Ms Hyslop has a plan to supplement former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin's massive £342,500 a year pension (reduced after he took a £2.7 million lump sum) with a job in the classroom.

David Maddox: Afghanistan - the Peter Principle

Dr Laurence J. Peter (pictured right), the Canadian born hierarcheologist, is probably best known for the Peter Principle that "everybody rises to the level of their incompetence."

He argued that at some point every position was held by somebody incompetent to do the job and the real work was done by those who had not yet reached their own level of incompetence.

It sounds like former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin's professional epitaph.

And any observer of politicians would know that this is especially true in the world of politics where the threshold for the level of incompetence is all too often very low.

Which brings us on neatly to the continuing conflict in Afghanistan and the historical vortex of incompetence that the world's various powers have found themselves in for more than 150 years.

A less well known but even more pessimistic quotation from Dr Peter is on history.

"History teaches us the mistakes we are going to make," he said.

It seems a very apt quote on the day that Gordon Brown orders more troops into Afghanistan following President Obama's plea for more support in a conflict that eventually, if we look at historical precedent, seems doomed to failure.

The late George MacDonald Fraser's novel Flashman perhaps offers most readable object lesson in history for Afghanistan. it charts the demise of the British army's first catastrophic foray into Afghanistan under the command of the incompetent Scottish Major General Lord Elphinstone(an historical example of the Peter principle) ending up with his force's massacre in January 1842.

MacDonald Fraser's building of history around the hilarious antics of the cowardly, womanising bully Flashman (of Tom Brown's Schooldays infamy) adds pathos to an unfolding tragedy known as the First Afghan War.

Since 1842 the British have been back, the Russians had a go, the Americans have been in along with the British (again) and others. Even with more technical weaponry, none have tamed that country or its warlords.

The cause of stopping terrorism, saving women from the Taliban's awful abuses and turning a failed state into a successful democracy are all worthy and just ones. And it is also true that British troops are currently out-killing Taliban ones - 15 to 200 in the last month.
But in the end every major army has failed in Afghanistan, the sooner this is recognised and the allies get out the less lives may be wasted.

David Maddox - FMQs: Who is to blame for bankers?

There is nothing more likely to get politicians going than to find out that some industry fat cat has managed to manipulate the system to get a big pay-off. The same logic rarely applies to themselves.

So it was not surprising that FMQs today was dominated by the £650,000 a year pension for life that the former Chief executive of RBS Sir Fred Goodwin (pictured left), still just 50, has been awarded affter he led the once great bank to ruin. That would pay for more than a dozen MSPs afterall.

But in the fine tradition of finger pointing it took just a couple of questions for the blame game to start on who was responsible.

Labour leader Iain Gray suggested that it was Sir George Mathewson (pictured right), Sir Fred's predecessor, who also happens to be the "chief economic adviser" to Alex Salmond, the First Minister.

He asked Mr Salmond "which side are you on?" and went on to point out that Sir George was a supporter of short selling that had led to the collapse of some banks and bonuses.

"Iain Gray should remember that he's here to question the actions of the First Minister," countered Mr Salmond. He then went on to state that it was the UK Government in October which arranged Sir Fred's pay off, a view backed later by Lib Dem leader tavish Scott.

Only Annabel Goldie steered clear of the topic, perhaps mindful of the often made accusation that hers is the party for fat cats. Afterall who else would be willing to attend dinners to raise £530,000 for the party, like the one which was declared in yesterday's Electoral Commisions donations.

Eddie Barnes - Pension Scandal

The pack are out in force against Sir Fred Goodwin this morning, following the news that he is already drawing a £650,000 a year pension, despite being only 50.

My e-mail basket is filling up with politicians jumping on the bandwagon. Alastair Darling says it can't be justified, bearing in mind Sir Fred's failures. Labour MSP John Park says the pension should, at the very least, be stopped until Sir Fred reaches normal retirement age (I wonder if he extends the same view towards former Labour First Ministers who also got their pensions the moment they quit).

Coincidentally, an e-mail from the Taxpayers Alliance also dropped into my e-mail basket this morning. The Alliance has produced new research showing that local government pensions, excluding teachers and firemen, have now reached £4.5bn, or equivalent to every £1 in every £5 of council tax raised.

Somehow, I doubt Messers Darling and Park will summon up quite the same level of outrage towards their Local Government friends as they are doing against Sir Fred. It is shoot-a-banker month after all....