It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
What about the working class who earn just a bit too much to receive any benefits? Are they suggesting we have to expand out more benefits to more working people? Because that sounds a terrible idea.
She may also have suggested some tax threshold changes for workers. I can't remember to be honest.
Let's be honest — there was always something a bit weird about choirs singing Every Breath You Take. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the song itself when being sung by Sting, but it never made sense for the likes of choirs to be singing it. This is from 10 years ago.
Let's be honest — there was always something a bit weird about choirs singing Every Breath You Take. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the song itself when being sung by Sting, but it never made sense for the likes of choirs to be singing it. This is from 10 years ago.
In the end I think Leon is right, the mood music in the country has turned decisively against immigration and asylum seekers, it is only going to get more negative towards it as Labour are unable to deport the illegal immigrants or stop the boats so of Reform don't have the stomach then the public will inevitably vote in a party that does or the Tories will step in and become that party.
The prevailing view when the modern experiment in mass migration began was that people might be a bit angry in the short term, but they'll get over it and we'll all be better off in the long run, so any opposition should just be ignored or managed. It's proving to have been a terrible mistake.
I think if immigration had been limited to people with earnings over the higher rate threshold then this might have been the case. As it is with millions of people arriving on unskilled, student and dependent visas who contribute far, far less than they receive in state services it has been an unmitigated disaster since about 2005. Wrt illegal immigration the current or next government will need to get a Rwanda style agreement up and running, clear any and all legal hurdles with primary legislation, abrogating treaties and agreements if necessary and just putting people on planes and deporting them to somewhere not the UK or giving them a chance to self deport if they don't want to do that (see the illegal immigrants in the US self deporting rather than risk ending up in El Salvador).
Make clear that there is no chance of staying in the UK under any circumstances so it's go home on a commercial flight or go to Rwanda, if they've burned their passports etc... then it's go to Rwanda by default unless they can arrange for a new passport to be issued by their home country.
There is an argument that high-skilled migration crowds out the current population from the best paying jobs. Instead of having a half-decent education system or allowing people to progress from the bottom rung to the top, just get some foreign graduate in to do the job instead.
Both my grandfathers did not have degrees yet ended up in relatively senior positions in international firms. One literally started washing windows aged 16, the other on the factory floor. Both were trained up by their firms, sent abroad to get some experience, had their childcare and sometimes housing paid for etc etc. That must be pretty rare nowadays.
Wages are far too crude a measure anyway. I like the idea of a visa that allows people to install solar panels for four years. That won't be particularly well-paid, but it will mean we get over the hump of the Green transition more quickly and cheaply than otherwise. Then we can have a smaller workforce of technicians who replace them when need or fix any problems for the next 30+ years.
Yes, I don't understand the fetishization of high-paid immigration. Isn't that basically reproducing the Norman Conquest all over again in the modern world?
I feel like a lot of contemporary British politics can be understood by reference to the country having failed to overthrow Norman oppression, and so internalising it, and similarly not wanting to feel a scintilla of regret for the British Empire.
It creates uniquely British neuroses about class stratification, a preference for importing a boss class for the indigenous population to serve, and the assumption that if Britain wasn't ruling the EU, then the EU was ruling Britain - not being able to see it as a cooperative endeavour.
Whilst “the strong do as they will, the weak suffer what they must” was intended more as a warning against hubris, than as a truism, I do think it sums up, how most important players have approached politics over 2,500 years. You’re either a butcher, or you are meat.
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
It seems politically infeasible.
She's basically saying we need to tax the middle class more (VAT on essentials is relatively insignificant to the wealthy). While that's probably true given our fiscal situation, there are politically easier ways of doing that.
God is a LibDem, who is going to achieve what no-one would ever have believed possible back in 2015, and force the Tories to do a term as junior coalition partner…..
Interesting thread. This is, of course, a bug competitive threat to the UK biopharma industry, too.
The Chinese threat to the American BioTech ecosystem continues to grow and fast. This great article by Barron’s @joshnathankazis shows how China-U.S licensing deals - with an emphasis on Cancer treatments - continued to grow in an unprecedented scale of up to $25B https://x.com/yaireinhorn/status/1941849883666682238
God is a LibDem, who is going to achieve what no-one would ever have believed possible back in 2015, and force the Tories to do a term as junior coalition partner…..
And, God help us, the ‘progressive’ junior partner in that coalition.
One FBI guy's experience of the 'new' FBI under Trump:
"I recount those events more in sorrow than in anger. I love my country and our Constitution with a fervor that mere language will not allow me to articulate, and it pains me that my profession will no longer entail being their servant. As you know, my wife and I are expecting our first child this summer, and this decision will entail no small degree of hardship for us. But as our organization began to decay, I made a vow that I would comport myself in a manner that would allow me to look my son in the eye as I raised him."
The political capture of both law enforcement and the justice system is happening very rapidly, and far more blatantly than even I expected.
But at least it’s being captured by the right side. By American patriots
In the UK that capture is being done by people, agencies, cultures - that actively hate the UK
A true American patriot would be someone who respected the US Constitution, and was glad the US won the Civil War and World War II.
Not someone who hates the US Constitution (besides the 2nd Amendment), and flies the flag of America's enemy in either the Civil War or WWII.
I don't know if you can really call flying the Confederate flag flying the flag of America's enemy. It was part of America.
Well: aren't you signalling support for the reasons why the Confederacy ceceeded from the Union?
Quite possibly, but I still don't think it was 'America's enemy'. It's like saying the Saltire flag is the flag of 'Britain's enemy' - there are senses in which it was true (wrt England), and there are people who probably still regard it to be true, but there's another sense in which it's a proud part of the identity and history of that location.
I know you would like to have the Russian Tricolour flapping over London, but I wonder what you think the Confederate flag stands for that is *good* in your mind?
I haven't said it is good.
So you think Americans should fly a bad flag, one with utterly negative connotations?
I haven't said I think Americans should fly it. And I haven't said that it has 'utterly negative connotations' either. Your entire posting oeuvre consists of inventing things that people have said and attacking them for it doesn't it?
What I have said is that I don't think 'the flag of America's enemy' can be an accurate description of the flag of one half of a civil war. Leaving aside the pendantry of the fact that 'America' refers to a continent, not a country.
I can't speak for the people who choose to fly the flag (unlike everyone else here who apparently has access to their innermost thoughts) but I would suggest that in addition to being a racist dogwhistle for some, it has additional connotations of a distinctly Southern identity and pride, and furthermore of a rebellious nature and disdain for authority. The people who fly it would regard themselves as 'true American patriots' and probably wouldn't care much for Barty's approval.
What I have said is that I don't think 'the flag of America's enemy' can be an accurate description of the flag of one half of a civil war.
Of course it can.
The half that wanted to continue with America flew the American flag and were victorious.
The half that didn't want to be Americans, wanted to leave the country and lost were not.
The latter half were traitors and enemies who wanted to destroy America. Had they won, then they wouldn't be Americans today.
The fact they consider themselves "true American patriots" while flying the flag of enemies of America just shows how stupid and ignorant they are.
America refers to the continent. The USA refers to the country. The secessionists were just as American as the Union - so for that matter are the Canadians.
Americans refers to people of that country, Canadians are not Americans. They are North Americans, but they're not Americans, and they would be rightly offended if you said they are.
It doesn't matter how offended they would be, it would still be true. Malcom hates the idea of being British, but he still is, and would be even if Scotland were independent. The Confederacy was titled 'The Confederate States of America'. It was no less American than the United States of America.
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
It seems politically infeasible.
She's basically saying we need to tax the middle class more (VAT on essentials is relatively insignificant to the wealthy). While that's probably true given our fiscal situation, there are politically easier ways of doing that.
It's one of the most transparently stupid ideas I've ever heard. Any government that chooses to make food 20% or even 5% more expensive will be reviled for decades to come. Also I'd be highly dubious about a government promise to adjust benefits to cover the rise.
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
It seems politically infeasible.
She's basically saying we need to tax the middle class more (VAT on essentials is relatively insignificant to the wealthy). While that's probably true given our fiscal situation, there are politically easier ways of doing that.
It's one of the most transparently stupid ideas I've ever heard. Any government that chooses to make food 20% or even 5% more expensive will be reviled for decades to come. Also I'd be highly dubious about a government promise to adjust benefits to cover the rise.
Indeed, it's nuts. And while those Waitrose folks might make the fuss, they can afford it - it's the 5-20,% more expensive food at Aldi and Asda that will hurt. Does the IFS think the only poor people are on benefits?
God is a LibDem, who is going to achieve what no-one would ever have believed possible back in 2015, and force the Tories to do a term as junior coalition partner…..
So, presumably, there’s free unicorns for all and no development permitted in the afterlife.
I am sitting outside having breakfast in the sun, and while it's probably about 14C here, one consequence of the sun only setting for an hour or so and having been up since before 2 am is that there's none of that damp, early morning feeling when surfaces are all cold and wet. So it feels more like 19C and is beautiful out here. Of course, more often than not it's cloudy and dull, or windy or raining, and everybody is indoors. But not this morning!
God is a LibDem, who is going to achieve what no-one would ever have believed possible back in 2015, and force the Tories to do a term as junior coalition partner…..
I don't think even Badenoch is daft enough to do that. A Reform government would be so chaotic that it shouldn't be touched with a bargepole.
God is a LibDem, who is going to achieve what no-one would ever have believed possible back in 2015, and force the Tories to do a term as junior coalition partner…..
I don't think even Badenoch is daft enough to do that. A Reform government would be so chaotic that it shouldn't be touched with a bargepole.
It may well be but we have had nothing but chaotic govt since the 2017 election.
Saying don’t vote Reform as they’d be chaotic is hardly a win given the ineptitude we’ve had over the last decade or so.
Indeed Reform are a symptom of it.
BTW how do you think the strike ballot will go ? Everyone out ?
It isn't a bad idea to break the cycle of violence.
Something different needs to be done. We can’t keep doing what we keep doing as that gets us more of the same.
I agree.
But the corollary of that should be that the Gazans can settle on the West Bank, occupying the illegal settlements. Though I accept that the settlers would probably burn them down if such a thing were mooted.
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
And this explains why things are never going to be sorted out.
We need to be 'all in this together' with no exemptions.
So no exemption for the poor, no exemption for the old, no exemption for the disabled, no exemption for the young, no exemption for the public sector.
Because once you start the exemptions there's always another group who demands one as well.
And what you end up with is the extra burden being placed on too few people - who will then work less or emigrate.
US President Donald Trump says countries that side with the policies of the Brics alliance that go against US interests will be hit with an extra 10% tariff.
Trump has long criticised Brics - an alliance designed to boost member nations' standing on the international stage to challenge the US and Western Europe.
"Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
It seems politically infeasible.
She's basically saying we need to tax the middle class more (VAT on essentials is relatively insignificant to the wealthy). While that's probably true given our fiscal situation, there are politically easier ways of doing that.
It's one of the most transparently stupid ideas I've ever heard. Any government that chooses to make food 20% or even 5% more expensive will be reviled for decades to come. Also I'd be highly dubious about a government promise to adjust benefits to cover the rise.
I was being polite. It is a regular theme for economic think tanks to propose ideas which look good on paper, but are essentially fantasies.
The politically easiest way for government to cut expenditures (while increasing taxes) is to use inflation to their advantage.
Millei in Argentina is a recent example. By dint of holding government expenditure steady in nominal terms, he's let inflation impose massive cuts to public spending. It still takes a lot of political capital to pull that off, but it avoids having to make any active choices at all.
Reduces the real value of government debt (that's not index linked), too. Providing you can retain the confidence of the markets, win/win.
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
And this explains why things are never going to be sorted out.
We need to be 'all in this together' with no exemptions.
So no exemption for the poor, no exemption for the old, no exemption for the disabled, no exemption for the young, no exemption for the public sector.
Because once you start the exemptions there's always another group who demands one as well.
And what you end up with is the extra burden being placed on too few people - who will then work less or emigrate.
What exactly does VAT on food do apart from making it more expensive whilst slightly increasing the percentage of income people pay in VAT.
It is also the very definition of a regressive tax as the poorest spend more as a percentage of their income on food than any of us would...
It's time to outline £100bn in spending cuts and tax rises, split 75% towards spending cuts with the majority coming from welfare and entitlements. If the government doesn't do this and continues to borrow like a drunken sailor we're heading for a bond vigilante strike and another bout of QE which will push inflation up and destroy people's disposable incomes.
The only way out is to cut welfare spending and get people back into work. We can't afford to pay the lazy to sit at home doing nothing on benefits.
'Benefits' according to the OBR are £150bn on Pensioners; £88bn on UC; and £74bn on other benefits. Where would you axe to get the £100bn?
Should we get pensioners back into work?
£20bn each out of UC and "other" benefits.
Cut the triple lock entirely.
£20bn out of the state pension by tapering above £40k, spend half of the saving on increasing the state pension for those who don't have any or significant private income in retirement.
NI payable on all income types/merge NI and income tax.
50% haircut on defined benefit public sector pensions for amounts over £40k (so a £60k DB pension becomes £50k).
Freeze thresholds for a further 3 years.
Cut at least 500k public sector jobs within two years, ban use of agency staff and severely limit the use of consultants and contractors. Use half of those savings to offer competitive salaries for technical roles.
I think that would probably make a £100bn worth of closing the deficit, the resulting fall in bond yields and inflation would probably add another £20bn saving per year on the interest bill.
And means test the NHS for the wealthy
Define wealthy.
Otherwise people like me will either die because they can't afford treatment (and I am already at high risk of early death because of the NHS's failures to spot stages 1, 2 or 3 of my cancer) - and I can't - or be bankrupted and made homeless.
As for the state pension, it gets taxed if the pensioner has other income.
One of the reasons for the deficit is the amount spent on furlough during Covid - money largely spent on those in jobs and to keep them in jobs. It was about £140 billion. They too should contribute.
- 1p on income tax. - Extend VAT to food, books/newspapers & children's clothes. - NI for everyone who works. - Limit or abolish tax relief for those giving to charity and place an upper limit on the tax saved by those contributing to charity whether alive or after death. - Limit tax relief for pension contributions to the basic rate. - Extend VAT on education to all education providers, including universities. - Freeze thresholds. - Place a limit on public sector pay increases (the amount shovelled at train drivers by Reeves never gets mentioned here but it was a stupid move). - Abolish the WFA and other pension-specific benefits. Aim for the state pension to be the same as the tax free income as and when we can afford it. - Abolish the triple lock. - Those with assets should contribute something towards social care. - Introduce council tax bands for higher value houses. - Increase or widen the charges for council services beyond the basic. - Ensure that overseas visitors pay for the NHS. Other countries manage this. So can we. - Limit tax relief for private equity companies loading companies up with debt, taking dividends and asset stripping. (Thames Water and other companies in a similar position should be allowed to go bust and then nationalised for a £. Too often asset stripping has been presented as overseas investment. It is a gigantic con.)
And so on.
There is a nasty streak among some of the commentary on here. Everyone seems to want others to pay taxes and those who work on here seem to think that they should be exempt from any measures to help pay down the deficit, thinking it must all be done by the poor and the old. It also gives the impression that some welcome AD because they will be able to pressure the old and sick into killing themselves to save money or withhold treatment so that they suffer. It is disgustingly frankly. I am surprised to see @Big_G_NorthWales among their number
Coming to this late but I have to say I disagree completely with the idea of VAT on Food, books and childrens clothes.
Value Added Tax is supposed to be levied on those items we can live without. The basic necessities for living should not be subject to a 'Value Added' tax. The same goes for education. We are already pricing far too many people out of Tertiary education. adding VAT would risk making Tertiary education the preserve of the wealthy.
I do however agree with everything else even though many of them would directly hit me either now or in the near future.
New head of IFS thinks we should put VAT on food, books, newspapers and clothes but adjust the benefits levels to compensate the poorest. It then hits the middle and upper classes quite hard as the Waitrose shopping is unloaded fro the volvo.
iirc she says it would be her no 1 priority for tax.
It seems politically infeasible.
She's basically saying we need to tax the middle class more (VAT on essentials is relatively insignificant to the wealthy). While that's probably true given our fiscal situation, there are politically easier ways of doing that.
It's one of the most transparently stupid ideas I've ever heard. Any government that chooses to make food 20% or even 5% more expensive will be reviled for decades to come. Also I'd be highly dubious about a government promise to adjust benefits to cover the rise.
I was being polite. It is a regular theme for economic think tanks to propose ideas which look good on paper, but are essentially fantasies.
The politically easiest way for government to cut expenditures (while increasing taxes) is to use inflation to their advantage.
Millei in Argentina is a recent example. By dint of holding government expenditure steady in nominal terms, he's let inflation impose massive cuts to public spending. It still takes a lot of political capital to pull that off, but it avoids having to make any active choices at all.
Reduces the real value of government debt (that's not index linked), too. Providing you can retain the confidence of the markets, win/win.
So a 'do-nothing' government ends up doing something by default. If there is nothing to do, then we could reduce the numbers of politicians and civil servants. Job done.
US President Donald Trump says countries that side with the policies of the Brics alliance that go against US interests will be hit with an extra 10% tariff.
Trump has long criticised Brics - an alliance designed to boost member nations' standing on the international stage to challenge the US and Western Europe.
"Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
Comments
Anyway, it is not going to happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmAXSVtMdbI
https://theodoredalrymple.wordpress.com/category/noise/
"R2D2, it is you!"
That’s certainly not uniquely British.
She's basically saying we need to tax the middle class more (VAT on essentials is relatively insignificant to the wealthy). While that's probably true given our fiscal situation, there are politically easier ways of doing that.
https://x.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/1941873963329548597
This is, of course, a bug competitive threat to the UK biopharma industry, too.
The Chinese threat to the American BioTech ecosystem continues to grow and fast. This great article by Barron’s
@joshnathankazis shows how China-U.S licensing deals - with an emphasis on Cancer treatments - continued to grow in an unprecedented scale of up to $25B
https://x.com/yaireinhorn/status/1941849883666682238
https://x.com/ft/status/1941893524162490783?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
Saying don’t vote Reform as they’d be chaotic is hardly a win given the ineptitude we’ve had over the last decade or so.
Indeed Reform are a symptom of it.
BTW how do you think the strike ballot will go ? Everyone out ?
But the corollary of that should be that the Gazans can settle on the West Bank, occupying the illegal settlements. Though I accept that the settlers would probably burn them down if such a thing were mooted.
We need to be 'all in this together' with no exemptions.
So no exemption for the poor, no exemption for the old, no exemption for the disabled, no exemption for the young, no exemption for the public sector.
Because once you start the exemptions there's always another group who demands one as well.
And what you end up with is the extra burden being placed on too few people - who will then work less or emigrate.
US President Donald Trump says countries that side with the policies of the Brics alliance that go against US interests will be hit with an extra 10% tariff.
Trump has long criticised Brics - an alliance designed to boost member nations' standing on the international stage to challenge the US and Western Europe.
"Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dnz7gw92zo
It is a regular theme for economic think tanks to propose ideas which look good on paper, but are essentially fantasies.
The politically easiest way for government to cut expenditures (while increasing taxes) is to use inflation to their advantage.
Millei in Argentina is a recent example. By dint of holding government expenditure steady in nominal terms, he's let inflation impose massive cuts to public spending.
It still takes a lot of political capital to pull that off, but it avoids having to make any active choices at all.
Reduces the real value of government debt (that's not index linked), too.
Providing you can retain the confidence of the markets, win/win.
NEW THREAD
It is also the very definition of a regressive tax as the poorest spend more as a percentage of their income on food than any of us would...