My good friend Howard Reed has written this on the blog this morning:
One of the more unsavoury aspects of the 2010 UK General Election campaign was the way in which the nature of the economic debate around the parties' manifestos seemed to be unduly influenced by a few dozen corporate oligarchs writing to the Telegraph, Times or FT attacking, for example, Labour's so-called “jobs tax” proposed increase in National Insurance contributions (despite the fact that the estimated employment effects of tax hikes in most of the empirical literature are tiny). And ever since then we've seen the same tactic at work at regular intervals — every few months one of the main broadsheets publishes a letter saying “scrap the 50p rate”, signed by the same businessmen. And the Telegraph is also now arguing that corporations should have the vote: presumably they would allow a few hundred oligarchs to dictate economic policy, introducing what amounts to a corporate fascist state.
In response to this kind of sounding off by “the 1%”, it would be good if the TUC could organise a letter saying “keep the 50p rate” or indeed “introduce a 60p rate”, signed by (say) five million trade unionists. It would have to be delivered to the newspaper offices in a freight container to fit all the signatures on it (although an electronic version would certainly be more environmentally friendly!) . That should give you some idea of the relative strength of the argument in terms of the numbers of people backing each position. Certainly opinion polling at the moment shows strong public support for the 50p tax rate.
OK, who is up to organising this?
The TUC?
Unite?
PCS?
38 Degrees?
Avaaz?
After all, this is about tax justice, building a fair society, redistribution from those who can pay to those in need, and this is about us all being in this together.
My suggested wording:
We believe that the 50p tax rate must stay. It's an important symbol of tax justice, of our commitment to a fair society and our belief that those who can pay should properly support those who are in need in our society by helping provide them with the income they need - which they'll spend to help create jobs in our economy and so boost growth.
Takers anyone?
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Ossom.
Howard Reed, you are completely right! I do not disagree with a single word, which is rare for me. I actually believe that we are descending into a fascist state, slowly by degrees. Day on day the state is tightening it’s grip on the poor and negating their arguments via control of the media, the whole work programme debacle is proof of this. Does empathy and concern for poorer people mean that you become a “Trotskyist” or does it mean that you have an understanding and benevolence for others? I’m sure where I sit, and I’ve never been a member of a communist organisation, I’ve employed people, and found that the best thing you can do is look after your staff, and they will look after you and your business. Insistence on paying the minimum wage does not encourage loyalty or conscientousness. Rich people if you wish to get the economy moving, look after you staff, pay them well so that they have more money to spend within the economy, and pay more tax. ” Because you’re worth it” as a slogan says!
Could also start a campaign for these more deserving causes with a 73% marginal tax rate. Perhaps these greedy types could explain why they believe they are more deserving?
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100010716/parents-hit-hardest-by-high-marginal-tax-rates-and-rising-childcare-costs/
Missing link
Blimey Stephen! They’re squealing like stuck pigs at the moment, let’s not scare them too much! This one needs to be a “Slowly, slowly, catchee monkee” approach. Let them lift their heads from the trough briefly on this one, and then hit ’em harder! They should also have the charity gift part of their tax taken away. You can imagine the charities that they give to..”Dowagers down to their last million”, ok I just made that one up. You get the idea though…
Let’s get this straight – we’ve been allowing a few hundred oligarchs to run the economy for a very long time – that’s the domestic economy in line with their international ambitions.
The first step is for people to wake up to this.
Look to the hidden power of the City of London Corporation
Today in EU – Cameron is again prioritising deregulation on its behalf.
Good stuff Linda! Just think what deregulation has already brought us, the ‘credit crunch’ caused by commision hungry salesmen, PFI’s, PPI’s etc. Regulation is important where money is concerned or we’d all get a shotgun and rob a bank..the (il)logical conclusion! Some people need to be governed by strict laws, otherwise they will just run amok, and money is a powerful incentive. Then you have the influence of the Bilderbergers, Rothschilds, possibly even the ‘illuminati’ if they exist.. The saying money goes to money, doesn’t always mean marriage..
The Blair-Brown years took over from the Thatcher-Major ones, shifting further into a money-led cul-de-sac. How the Germans (and now China) must be laughing at the problems of the UK. German financiers are sitting pretty on a reasonably healthy “Economy” even if it is contracting too.. Yes, lets have a 50% top tax, (and on top companies too) operating here with proper scrutiny of tax avoidance as well as evasion! BUT MORE than that..
I hope, Richard you do not take offense at me suggesting that Accountants, academics, Bank of England, government officials and “professionals” are culpable. we cannot expect politicians to know. As you’ve said The Bank of England Do Not Know and may not BE PRACTICAL AT FIXING THINGS (or the officials worried about their jobs). If they did know or had sufficient experience out in the real world of business then they’d surely have fixed this years ago (the lack of feedback loop that i have put on your website before that would divert at least the base rate of interest on any new money into the public purse). If the money creation by commercial banks had been clearer and the free money properly taxed, then you would not have the excess private money driving the “economy” and now them buying up the global real estate, speculating on commodities etc etc. YES IT IS ROOT AND BRANCH REFORM WE NEED INDEED.. If you/we’d had the “books” properly kept showing the “FREE” money which inflated the UK economy to such a degree up to 2007/8 – mainly on “borrowed” money (that was actually created and still has to be paid back) we would not be in such a parlous state with much more to come, with so many bankers not doing much good at all, just making money and sucking it back out of struggling businesses. I do not believe government or the finance industry have much idea of how bad things could get in the UK on the current path of not directing money properly..
For example IF, say 50% of THE Bank of England’s QE MONEY (or at least some of it) HAD BEEN PROPERLY USED TO DO SUPER-INSULATION AND ‘PROPER’ SOLAR – THERMAL COLLECTION OF HEAT when it is there in summer AND STORAGE of that heat for use well into the winter! How much more would people be in work then.
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Kind regards to you and your readers!