diable rouge

Cat, please spare us the ''I know 100's of people'' anecdotes. I'm surprised that with this large social network of yours, who all happily divulge their intimate financial details to you, that you can find the time to bless the EDF with your presence...

In theory, but the reality is that these high earners employ 'creative accountants' (tax deductible) and via tax avoidance schemes this revenue is just as likely to end up in an off-shore fund than the Treasury's coffers. What the Tufton St lot don't understand is the 'politics' of all this, it's seen as intrinsically unfair, a 'reverse Robin Hood tax', and today's Telegraph headline about the Gov prepared to cut benefits in real terms will feed into that narrative. And that's before we even get the full details of the ginormous spending cuts needed to fund this plan i.e. Austerity 2.0...

Week 8 fixtures... Saturday 1st October Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur AFC Bournemouth v Brentford Crystal Palace v Chelsea Fulham v Newcastle United Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion Southampton v Everton West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers Sunday 2nd October Manchester City v Manchester United Leeds United v Aston Villa Monday 3rd October Leicester City v Nottingham Forest

What we're seeing, once again, is what happens when this extreme version of Brexit eventually meets reality. The UK has now become a petri dish for the fantasy libertarian economics of the IEA et al while the rest of the world looks on aghast. It's no longer a cult, it's become a deathcult. All self-inflicted, all totally unnecessary, all consumed at the altar of Brexit...

Kwarteng on borrowed time...

Call me a cynic, but something tells me this post isn't going to age well...

Also a huge difference as to how the borrowed money would be spent. I'm guessing tax breaks for the wealthy and removing the cap on banker's bonuses wouldn't have been top priorities for those opposed to austerity...

Indeed, listened to him on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio when he was playing, then, non-commercial Chicago House...

Huge difference in borrowing costs i.e. interest rates/inflation rate, between then and now...

Week 7 points... Week 7 table... International break, back in about 10 days time...

Predict Addict are calling this Week 7, starting with 2 matches Friday night. Week 7 fixtures... Friday 16th September Aston Villa v Southampton Nottingham Forest v Fulham Saturday 17th September Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester City Newcastle United v AFC Bournemouth Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City Sunday 18th September Brentford v Arsenal Everton v West Ham United

https://www.metalstamper.net/durex-inc/

News cycle obviously being dominated by Queen/King events, but what's going on in Ukraine in recent days is incredible, Ukraine taking back control of territory from the Russkis at an unprecedented rate. This video is already out of date...

Sad news. Strange seeing a reference to ''The King'' for the first time...

I hope we can all agree that right now and in the coming months, probably even subsequent autumn/winters, the poorest need financial help far more than moderately/very wealthy people. And we're not just talking about people on benefits, zero-hour contract workers etc, I'm sure most have seen stories of nurses and teachers relying on food banks etc. There are millions of people who have no safety net and won't be able to pay bills and/or keep up with inflation galloping ahead like it is. What I'm saying is that there are better ways to target and distribute money so it goes to the neediest, rather than what a cut to NI would provide. It doesn't have to be via a tax cut. Give them a further rebate off their energy bill, and/or some food vouchers. Food banks are running out of food, spend the money set aside for a NI cut on keeping them stocked during the crisis. Free travel for low-paid workers. Anything really that will target those that are struggling. The other problem I have with a NI cut is that it's being done for ideological reasons. i.e. Tory party = tax cuts, and they are simply playing to 'their' crowd rather than the country as a whole...

No chopping and changing required. Tax cuts benefit the wealthiest more than the poorest. Tax rises hit the poorest more than the wealthiest. And Truss thinks her proposed NI cuts are 'fair' in a cost of living crisis which is already hitting the poorest hardest. Righty Ho! The above 'fair' comment from Truss tells me everything about her merits. No 'Tory bad' narrative from me, just an 'anti-incompetence/not fit to govern' narrative. The current incarnation of the Tory Party have been in power for 12 years, this is on them, no one else. In the past I've ripped into Corbyn and his unfitness to be leader of the Labour party let alone PM. If the Tories had a decent leader and manifesto at the last election I would've voted for them over Corbyn, but with Johnson they managed the impossible and outfuckwitted Corbyn. At least Labour has since seen sense and returned to more moderate ground. The Tories yet again get another chance to do likewise, but no, they continue to veer right towards the sunlit uplands of small state libertarian 'fwee twade' cakeism. Dream on. Excuse me if I pass on yet more confected Daily Mail pearl-clutching at it's finest. Frivolous at best...

''Give them a chance''...

It's not even a short-term solution. Care to explain how reducing NI will go towards solving the problems you listed, in particular item iii), since a lot of economic opinion says that NI cuts are in fact inflationary...

It is possible for both to be true. If you are a low earner, raising NI rates will hit you much harder as a % of your disposable income than it will for higher earners, even though on the surface higher earners are paying more. Likewise when you cut NI, the higher earners gain far more than lower earners. Labour's point is that there are better ways to target lower earners, which surely should be the aim right now with this cost of living crisis. Not forgetting that there are millions of people who don't even earn enough to pay NI. 'Trickle-down economics' of tax cuts has failed as has Johnson's flagship, 'Levelling-up', The gap between north and south, rich and poor etc has in fact widened these past 3 years, and not just in terms of how much money people have in their pocket. Until someone comes along with a plan to redistribute wealth that actually narrows that gap, it will continue to widen and the mire will get deeper...

In the same way Johnson should've been given a chance? I'm reminded of the definition of madness! We're now on our 4th Tory PM in 6 years, not forgetting the previous 6 years that included years of unnecessary austerity, and we should be giving them 'a chance'. Judging by latest polls, Tory voters aren't exactly falling over themselves with gay abandon either at the prospect of Truss. Sorry, but leopards don't change their spots, I've seen and heard enough from Truss during her career to know that she's another PM the Tory party has bestowed on us who simply isn't fit to hold the office of PM, She had a chance to redeem herself during the past 2 months, but all she delivered was empty platitudes pandering to a miniscule of the electorate whose lives bear little resemblance to the average person. ''The jury's out on whether France/Macron is an ally.'' Seriously? Just as we've experienced since the referendum, boosterism, cakeism, and unicorns will eventually meet reality, meanwhile the country sinks further and further into the mire...

I hope this answers your question Sparty....

A guy doing Tai Chi complete with ceremonial sword was a bit of an eye opener. Less niche but good comedy value, a couple trying to play table tennis on a windy day...

Week 5 points,,, Week 5 table...

Yes I know you'll be homeless in 3 days time, but the care home is at full capacity and we can't take in any more residents after you told our EU staff to fook off