Month: October 2022

I just do not get it! The rich have increased their income massively over the past few years. Truss and the ERG and other rightwing think tanks say we need to cut the taxes of the rich to increase investment and create growth. It seems they meant the growth of the wealth of the already wealthy.

An idea. Impose a higher level minimum wage for all workers in companies paying out money as dividends. % would need to be worked out. But it would both be an incentive for all workers and reward them for their toils.

and take the rest of her Cabinet with her. It was not just her best mate Kwarteng (who she unceremoniously sacked) but the whole cabal of them that the country has no faith in. I mean what is Coffrey even doing in Parliament, let alone understudy to the PM. Sleeze-Dogg must be an embarrassment to all who know him. So we have a Trade Minister who ripped up agreements with the biggest trading bloc on the planet, a Health Secretary who not only smokes, but takes funds from the tobacco industry, a homicidal Home Secretary, a Justice Minister who does not believe in democracy, etc.

Hopefully this is being rejected by the majority of people now. Hoping that the rich will allow a few crumbs to end up with the poor is not only patronising, but wrong. The rich get steadily richer and the crumbs diminish. It is not good at encouraging growth either. Growth is not necessary for a thriving and developing economy, it just shelters the underperforming elements.

Two taxes that seem hard to avoid are Income Tax and VAT. So cut Corporation Tax and increase VAT. Food and children’s clothing is VAT free. Increase the threshold for Income Tax to £20000. Amazon, Google and Apple, etc. should not be allowed to avoid VAT. It would not matter if the company was based in Luxembourg, Dublin or Bermuda – if sold in the UK the tax will be paid. Simple really? Investment grants and other tweaks could be made.

The Governments economic woes continue. Sterling has dropped back to $1.10 and E1.14. The Bank of England will stop buying bonds. The IMF warns that the policy of unfunded tax cuts will cause more problems. The economy shrank last month – so much for growth. The government is being ‘forced’ into a windfall tax on renewable energy companies.

Fracking, fossil fuel extraction, NHS plundering, environmental protection ripped up, sewage in the rivers and seas, public advice services binned, obesity rules destroyed, education funding cut, councils unable to provide society enhancing facilities like libraries and swimming pools, care homes closing, speed limits on motorways to be lifted, planing rules abolished, economic rules abolished, wage rises and tax cuts for the rich. What is there not to despise about these fucking awful people.

This is not just a knee jerk reaction to the Truss disaster. I have been thinking about growth.

Economic growth is only worthwhile if it leads to the growth in well being. I hesitate here because I would not want to deny anyone a chance to have a better standard of living. But this needs to be weighed against the cost to the environment. It is absolutely certain that there is no need for anyone to be hungry anymore. China has lifted 400 million people out of poverty – brilliant! But at a horrific cost to the environment.