MUCH has been mentioned about having your cake and eating it in the last few weeks, since a UK government adviser was seen seen carrying notes that let it slip that was the Brexit ambition.
Well, as everyone knows you can’t have your cake and eat it and more evidence of it was delivered with the budget.
Derek Mackay announced there would be more money for public services but still councils and health boards across the country are having to find hundreds of millions of pounds in savings.
It has led to job losses, a reduction in services, increased charges, hospitals threatened with closure and services downgraded and beds lost.
Money has been moved around to allow the Finance Secretary to talk of a £60m increase for local government across Scotland.
When you consider that Glasgow alone has had to cut £130m over two year,s it is not a council funding boom.
The city also doesn’t benefit as much as others from the council tax banding changes because it has a far fewer proportion of higher band council tax properties than other councils.
In fact, Edinburgh will raise more than double what Glasgow does from the changes.
So the only other way of raising extra cash is though income tax, which Holyrood can now do.
But the basic rate of tax will remain the same at 20p, the higher rate will remain the same at 40p and the additional rate will stay at 45p.
The only change is not to implement a UK increase in the higher rate threshold. So even then, the only change is no change. 
For years Scottish ministers have lashed out at Westminster for cutting Scotland’s budget and imposing austerity while demanding the power to take action.
Mr Mackay said he would not pass on the burden of Tory austerity to the lowest income households.
So no tax rises which leaves the question, what is the point of demanding more powers if you do not use them?
Holyrood now has more powers over taxation than ever before but they will remain in their box unused like an unwanted Christmas present.
At the same time however, councils have been given the power to increase council tax after almost ten years of a freeze.
Low income households pay council tax as well and will be hit with the rise of up to 3% if councils choose to use it.
And with the cuts they face it would be a real surprise if they didn’t.
But it won't be the Scottish Government that is increasing the council tax it will be the individual local council and they will take the blame.
And that is the issue. At election after election, voters whether it is in Scotland or across the UK, show they do not like to pay more tax.
Labour, the Greens and the LibDems offered tax rises in May and they finished third fourth and fifth behind the SNP and The Tories who  promised not to increase tax.
As already stated you can’t have your cake and eat it. If we are not prepared to pay for the level of public services we would like then we only have ourselves to blame if they fall short of expectations.