CITIZENS Advice Bureaus have increasingly to deal with a huge enduring problem, namely that of personal financial debt.

Scores of British citizens have amassed debts they cannot possibly ever repay. Often in low-paid, part-time employment, subsidised by benefits, they have just about enough cash to spend on a drink, a smoke and petrol, all of which are taxed to the hilt by a government hostile to its natural dependents.

Many people work already for much of their lives to pay off interest, which is often due to loans/credit used to buy items that are neither needed nor even wanted. As the junk mountains grow, so do the debts. And yet, another Christmas season of 'worshopping' is already upon us, again!

It would be easy to say "it's their own fault," but temptations are strong, and the tempters are powerful persuaders. "Buy now, pay later" and the flexible friend -- with an 'r' too many for my taste -- are firm realities of modern life, whether we can afford it or not.

There is a much bigger problem, however, than just the bad debts poor money lending souls have to put up with: people have no longer enough money to pay the state to which it is entitled. The latest list of council tax defaulters (BEN, November 16) amounted to about £112,000 owed to this Council alone.

As I cannot know the individual circumstances of the cases, I want to assume that many of them are desperate rather than unwilling. However, the fact remains that country-wide unimaginably large amounts of council tax, council rent, car tax, fines of all sorts etc are owed, and often simply written off -- money that is desperately needed by authorities to carry out their necessary duties.

On this rollercoaster of financial madness, millions owe billions, and Central Government indirectly robs local government. Yet Central Government -- despite being so fortunate as to enjoy a vast regular income from North Sea oil, licence fees, sky-high consumer taxes and many more -- is itself practically bankrupt.

Britain plc owes over £300 billion, and the Chancellor's 'war chest' contains peanuts by comparison. So, where has all the money gone? Amazingly, hardly a pound is actually missing, and I put it to our local lay economists to offer an educated answer to this puzzle, instead of wasting any more time squabbling over indistinguishable trivia like 'Labour' and 'Conservative'.

Mrs B Stuart

Lord's Stile Lane,

Bromley Cross, Bolton.