The arrogance of Saint Bob | John Hilary | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk .
John Hilary of War on Want - with whom I regularly share a platform - strongly criticises Bob Gelfdof.
He's right to do so, and not just because of his arrogance.
Time and again the Tax Justice Network has challenged Bono and Bob Geldof on tax issues and tax havens - both personally and as a matter of policy. And time and again they have refused to engage on this issue - seemingly wishing we and it would go away.
The issue won't go away.
We won't go away.
And they have to abandon their horribly typical Irish indifference to tax abuse and realise that tax havens quite literally cost lives. And you can't differentiate the so called 'legitimate' use of these places from their illegitimate use - the mechanisms used are identical.
Bob and Bono have a lot to say, a lot of apologising to do, a lot of reform to promote. Then they might regain credibility.
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And both John Hilary and ‘the Green New Deal’ need to recognise that labour liberalisation in devd countries is now the major capitalist strategy to increase wealth disparity, globally.
And get head out of sand and speak up about it
I’m Irish, so couldn’t agree more about the “Irish indifference to tax abuse” phrase. In Ireland, tax evasion is considered both “normal” and not really a crime, with Revenue regarded as a persecutor, in the same way as someone like Jeremy Clarkson regards speeding as normal, and speed cameras as persecutors. The Thatcher phrase “there is no such thing as society” is 100% true in Ireland, certainly where it comes to contributing your share to society in terms of taxation.