I agree, and we’ve previously discussed mechanisms like Land Value Tax, which Reeves did seem to be warming to prior to the election. Gone quiet now though.
If I were in Starmer’s shoes right now, I would be thinking ‘Fuck it. Let’s go down swinging’. But that doesn’t appear to be his style.
Like in the 2017 manifesto they could raise taxes for the top 5%. Also bring corporation tax back to previous level before it was reduced, and make the mega corps actually pay it.
We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that eminently sensible ideas, that work in other countries, are fairy tales.
Nail on head.
The problem with raising taxes for the top five percent is that this taxable money is already in the fucking Cayman Islands.
A secondary problem is that people don’t realise that Capitalism is a Ponzi, so think that an attack on the wealth of the top five percent, is an attack on them.
Corporation Tax is ridiculously low, and it could be raised and still be lower than most developed nations. However, it is still really hard to do, because ultimately that still ends up passed on to the already overstretched consumer.
While there is some truth to that, there is also a hard reality that the UK over more than a generation has evolved itself as an economy to depend on sectors that are extremely liquid (financial, services) and at the expense of the more taxable sectors (land, manufacturing).
Surely that only concerns a small number of people. Certainly nowhere near 5%.
They previously proposed 45p on £80k+ and 50p on £125k+. Obv that would need adjusted for inflation but would bring in a lot of money.
Starmer and Reeves will never go there though. They’d prefer to be “ruthless in public spending cuts”
Just increase wages. Wack the minimum wage up, the rest will follow, and realine the tax thresholds accoringly.
This will cause inflation to go up as companys will take avantage. More inflation=higher interest rates can be supported.
What I don’t understand is inflation to m’y pocket is a least 25% yet is calculateur as 2% or something rediculously low. There’s surely a bug somewhere.
In fact inflation was so high people stopped spending, just getting by on buying groceries.
There’s something fishy going on and noone is willing or able to tell us what it is.
Look at the USA economic numbers are good but noone has any spare cash to spend.
Is everything going to come crashing down before it’s recognised that certain healthy people have far too much and do very ‘bad’ things with thier money starving the rest of us out.
That’s actually because inflation figures are general numbers which don’t match the reality of the vast majority of the population. It’s a particular statistical measure, and you’d be better off calculating your own inflation basket. You’d be surprised that perhaps it’s not as bad as you think, or far worse than you’d think.
Depends on which part of the economy and who. Not to mention, the perception is often rather different from reality.
But otherwise, the rest of your post is certainly food for thought.
I think i could manage losing about 12" off each trouser leg
Bravo @redalways all is clear and explained now. Thanks! 
I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic or not, but for me I really don’t tend to spend much at all.
My household expenditure is largely food and household goods, the standard bills (everyone’s on the cheapest PAYG plans possible, no streaming services, no cable), and leisure travel. The latter is obviously infrequent but still a large proportion of expenditure.
But otherwise, savings rate is actually really high, so inflation as a proportion of income is correspondingly lower.
The Canadian numbers are rather startling when you consider economic stratification. We hit a monthly peak of 8.2% in the summer of 2022, but it was brought down to below 4% within a year and has been around 2% for six months. The common perception is that it is much higher, but there is a very simple reason for that. Inflation of some very common household items like groceries continues to be well above that, so the higher the percentage you spend on those items, the higher your effective inflation rate is - and that covers a very significant population. The working poor are seeing inflation closer to 6%.
Add in the effect that most people don’t think of monthly inflation, they experience it as ‘things cost more than they did 5 years ago, so inflation is high’ - the fact that inflation is 1.9% now doesn’t reverse that 8% spike.
Yes, and everyone absolutely shit the bed over it. Despite the fact that it was eminently sensible and fully costed.
I remember a caller on one of the talk shows who earned 80k raging that Corbyn was going to take 40k off him. They walk among us.
I was being sarcastic.
Grocery prices have rocketed. The cheap products are now at the level of the branded products.
For someone in my position on minimum wage this makes an enormous difference. This happened over about a 3 month period, sure it’s slowed down now but they haven’t gone back down.
Arminius says it better.
Think that was on Question Time wasnt it?
Was it Chris Philp, by any chance?
Indeed they do. But we need a brave government that makes decisions on what’s best for the majority of the population, not what pleases the tax dodging media owners and the misinformed zombies
The only way is a global one. Multinational companies and super-rich individuals can only be taxed if there is a global taxing rule. Otherwise, they’ll always find a way to avoid paying their due.
It’s only a matter of time imo. Of course, cunts like Trump or Musk will try thwarting all attempts, but eventually, when all states will be in a state of bankrupcy, they’ll do it.
You do recall the Brexit vote, yes?
You are…Swiss…right? May as well get out of the chocolates and wristwatches businesses too