Author: Richard

I am not a pessimist, but do panic! So to counter this I am playing what if! He wins.

Definitely not good for America, but we saw last time that a lot of what he says will not happen. Perhaps the worst thing he did last time was the stuffing of right wingers into the Supreme Court. Hence the anti-abortion legislation acroos the country. However this is not generally popular. Will Congress allow him extra powers? States do not always swing red or blue with the president. Musk is a more concerning figure – he has stated that he would like to see a crash in the dollar, whether Trump is party to this I know not, will Musk force a U Turn on carbon fuels? The USA is also less taxed than we accept here. The U.S. economy has been doing OK and it is unlikely that Trump would disrupt that – he does not appear to be ideologically driven, just ego-driven

World wide there are issues! Would he cut funding for NATO – realistically why should America subsidise one of its main competitors Europe. I am sure he admires Putin personally, but is he daft enough to act suppline before him. The same is true of Xi Jinping. Both are Democratic dictators (is that a possibility or an oxymoron?). America’s power as a superpower has diminished Israel ignores advice and warnings without hesitation. However there are hidden influences there? But should Taiwan be worried? Probably but more in the long term. Eastern Europe – recent election in Georgia has showing growing Russian influence. Will Trump allow that influence to be converted into military action? Latvia has already had cyber attacks. Hungary is already sucking up and Poland must be concerned.

Russian influence world wide has not diminished with Western sanctions – rather it has just spread east. China and especially India are now buddying up due to natural resources in Russias control. Russia also seems to be playing a role in destabilising North Africa? Given the solar potential of the Saharan and Mahreb countries this is not surprising.

Back to Musk – he will find it easier to deal with dictators who can be bribed rather than democracies where public opinion is not so esily swayed (although the British media do their bit!).

Not bad for a Saturday morning before 10.17am. Levant prepared but I am still not happy with Millie! I have been to supermarket, done the papers at the shop. Stewed apple next!

Interesting whinging on LBC – restaurant owner complains that the minimum wage rise will affect his business and then complains that people do not have the money to eat out. Has he not heard of Ford economics? Low earners tend to spend their wages locally – FACT. The rich will not. But the rich invest money in business? Bullshit, they invest in hedge funds and FTSE100 firms (which pay their directors hundreds of millions. CGT should be at least equal to income tax, a tax on squirrelled wealth should not be less than that on labour.

So tax the rich – easy, few to complain unless you count the gullible fuckers who read the trash press! If labour really want to equalise society they will assess carefully the housing market.Bring housing costs down and everyone except the rich will be better off. So building more – especially within cites, to reduce transport and utility costs. But also increase CGT on property.

A conundrum – I bought this house 25 years ago’ish for £170000 and it is now worth approx £400000>. Nice! I paid off the loan with interest so probably at least £100000 profit. I would hope to pass on money to the kids as the housing market has been cruel to them. But if I was asked if a 50% on the £100000 profit was fair I would have to say yes! This sum is easy as I do not move often – Maybe there should be a start date? I suggest 2016 (that fateful year!). And then additions to houses and improvements? Yes complicated but a tax on land would be equable?

has genuinely lost the plot! he “claimed that the debate about reparations had “seeped into our national debate through universities overrun by leftists peddling pseudo-Marxist gibberish to impressionable undergraduates”. He knows much about gibberish and little about history. We did not colonise these territories as a benign superpower wishing to instal a fair and democratic society. We forcefully occupied these countries to extract wealth from them and to entrench or miliatary power on the oceans and seas of the world. Whether we were better or worse than what came before or after is basically irrelevant compared to what we did when we were the colonialist power.

If his nonsensical diatribe wins him votes it really does reflect very badly on Conservative members! Manny Shinwell is looking increasingly wrong when forced to make a statement to Parliament “….not all Conservatives are liars”. However the current trend of rewriting history is a dispicable one. I cannot be bothered to point out the intellectual reasons that Jenrick is wrong – he is also guilty of attempted fraud via his time as Housing Minister and guilty of one of the most pointless vindictive acts perpertrated by the last government – painting over a mural designed to make children more comfortable. What a fucking bastard!

I guess that could be death, but I was thinking about the Budget and then the USA election. Firstly the latter – I personally find it unbelievable that so many Americans love the orange twat! But if I think about how the UK would have voted in the last election with Johnson instead of Sunak – I am filled with despair! It would have been close and I suspect Boris would have won! But ttf he didn’t.

So the budget – the wankers on the right have been predicting all sorts of doom and destruction – but we will have to see what the lady draws out of the battered red box on the day.

Voting – I think that most people vote on the economy, how it affects them, etc. Racism and bigotry win in binary contests, like Brexit. So are the left panicing unnecessarily over Trump? He has a vocal hardcore of supporters and Musk!