Jump to content

Recommended Posts

How about.....

we take the emphasis slightly off taxing those with high incomes and refocus ever so gently on those that already have piles of loot? Someone earning ?1 - 200k is being taxed to b"ggery at the moment. Clearly they do OK, so no complaints, but there comes a point when it isn't really fair (as alluded to up the chain). Post tax and expenses that's a few 10's of K's but never going to amount to enough to buy a nice gaff in a nice bit of London (cue outrage - yes yes it's all relative).


Why not tax wealth (IHT / Asset tax) rather than income.


At an extreme IHT of 100% and no income tax.

Everyone born equal.

Old gits take a punt on their longevity and at some point sp*nk all their remaining cashish stimulating the economy.

Most expensive house in country is total amount earnable by 1 person in a lifetime.

100th best house...

1000th best house...


So house prices become sensible, everyone has equal opportunity, old people drive the economy rather than burdening it.


OK the extreme is clearly a bit ridiculous, but switching the emphasis a little would let the current crop of earners have a fair shot at changing their station, rather than the current system which keeps the rich rich and the poor poor.


Whether the earners deserve their income due to skill, effort and risk-taking or not in absolute terms, they certainly apply more skill, risk-taking and effort in relative terms when compared to someone who was given a pile of wonga or has a huge property asset because they were lucky enough to buy a house at the right time.


Harrumph..

Tonight, I took a posse to see a pre-premiere screening of The Flaw, with post-film chat with the director and some of the participants. Interesting in terms of data (it's all US), explanations (commentators form both sides of the pond), and personal stories.

http://theflawmovie.com/


Premieres as the Sheffield International Documentary Festival next month.

Oh how lovely. I've just learned that 'Trickle down economics' the great cri de coeur for those advocating tax breaks for the rich was coined by an American entertainer called Will Rogers, who observed of President Herbert Hoover's 1928 tax cuts:


The money was all appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. President Hoover didn?t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow?s hands.

...and while I'm at it, these interesting figures, I'd love to see a similar study done here. I realise it's at least an election out of date, but given the apparent shift of popular opinion to the right, I can only guess that the reality - perception disparity has widened in the intervening years.


 

Given that in 1975, the top 1% of US citizens earned 9% of income, and that in 2007 the top 1% earned 22/23/24% (sources vary), yes MP, the perception-reality divide is probably continuing to grow. People are basing their perception on a historical situation which has not been true for some time.


With the top 10% and 1% both now gaining a much higher proportion of total income than they did 35 years ago, their wealth pots are just growing and growing.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • The current wave of xenophobia is due to powerful/influential people stirring up hatred.  It;'s what happened in the past, think 1930s Germany.  It seems to be even easier now as so many get their information from social media, whether it is right or wrong.  The media seeking so called balance will bring some nutter on, they don't then bring a nutter on to counteract that. They now seem to turn to Reform at the first opportunity. So your life is 'shite', let;s blame someone else.  Whilst sounding a bit like a Tory, taking some ownership/personal responsibility would be a start.  There are some situations where that may be more challenging, in deindustrialised 'left behind' wasteland we can't all get on our bikes and find work.  But I loathe how it is now popular to blame those of us from relatively modest backgrounds, like me, who did see education and knowledge as a way to self improve. Now we are seen by some as smug liberals......  
    • Kwik Fit buggered up an A/C leak diagnosis for me (saying there wasn't one, when there was) and sold a regas. The vehicle had to be taken to an A/C specialist for condensor replacement and a further regas. Not impressed.
    • Yes, these are all good points. I agree with you, that division has led us down dangerous paths in the past. And I deplore any kind of racism (as I think you probably know).  But I feel that a lot of the current wave of xenophobia we're witnessing is actually more about a general malaise and discontent. I know non-white people around here who are surprisingly vocal about immigrants - legal or otherwise. I think this feeling transcends skin colour for a lot of people and isn't as simple as, say, the Jew hatred of the 1930s or the Irish and Black racism that we saw laterally. I think people feel ignored and looked down upon.  What you don't realise, Sephiroth, is that I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying. I just think that looking down on people because of their voting history and opinions is self-defeating. And that's where Labour's getting it wrong and Reform is reaping the rewards.   
    • @Sephiroth you made some interesting points on the economy, on the Lammy thread. Thought it worth broadening the discussion. Reeves (irrespective of her financial competence) clearly was too downbeat on things when Labour came into power. But could there have been more honesty on the liklihood of taxes going up (which they have done, and will do in any case due to the freezing of personal allowances).  It may have been a silly commitment not to do this, but were you damned if you do and damned if you don't?
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...