Not the Tories – Section 28 is engraved on the heart of
every right thinking gay or lesbian person out there. Nor her overly black and
white approach to things, from the monetarism that
caused such massive unemployment to the breaking of the miners’ strike, both of which
could have stood some more planning for the support the people these policies/actions left behind
would need. I like privatisation, economic liberalism and empowering
people to own their own homes. I dislike greed, selfishness, the over
centralisation of power in central government’s hands, and selling off social
housing without empowering local authorities to build more. It was, I think,
right to go to war for the Falklands. And it was wrong to ignore apartheid.
Ultimately it may well be I dislike more of the Thatcher
Government’s activities and legacy than I could ever list. But overall what I do like is reform. Some strong effective leadership
that spent less time spouting bullshit and more time cutting through it.
What has caused the Cheerful Fairy to brandish his handbag?
Frustration. Frustration as the apparent blindness , the almost wilful
ignorance of our current Government and, worse, Parliament.
I truly believe we need more than ever a reformist government – or maybe
just some common sense. For instance...
Why propose a ‘mansion tax’ when there is still up to a 50%
discount on council [property] tax for second homes?
Why boast that people on minimum wage are paying less income tax.
Surely they should pay none?!
Why ask the wealthy elderly to voluntarily give up their
state benefits? Instead means-test them (especially when everyone gets
a bus pass, whilst the bus service itself is cancelled to help reduce the
budget deficit) or, even better, just phase them out and make the state pension
a bit bigger.
Why tinker with a 45% or 50% top rate of tax when the
richest (and to be clear it ain’t wrong to be rich) pay only a sixth as much
national insurance (NI) as their lower paid brethren*? You could instead keep the 40% top rate;
raise
income tax thresholds so no-one on minimum wage pays any income tax; and have everyone pay, say, 9% NI on their
earnings.
Why put on the po-faced performance on television about how
little corporation tax corporations pay when you could simply change the
tax regulations with the stroke of a pen?
Why not let local authorities set their own planning rules
and business taxes, and compete for business – go to Manchester or Newcastle if
you want to see how a little freedom can go a long way?
Why indeed.
I don’t seek to answer the questions; there are subtleties
at play in all the queries I’ve posed that a post will simply never be able to
cover, and I’m too dim to really understand. My point is the current lot aren’t
up to the job. And that means to make it work we all
have to get involved, fight for what we believe in, and if nothing else vote in the upcoming elections. And
every election after that.
Next time on 'Things I Don’t Know Enough About to Discuss:
Scottish Independence (a tentative yes)'
*People pay 12% national insurance on wages up to £41,444
and 2% on earnings over that. This means a man or woman earning £1,000,000 a year, (paying
45% income tax and 2% NI) has a marginal tax rate of 47% and someone on minimum wage (paying 20% income tax and
12% NI) a marginal rate of 32%. My suggestion would change this to 49% and 9% respectively.
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