There are days left in 2023, I admit. But, the year is sufficiently over to reflect on it.
My year really began when I kicked long-Covid off after eight months in February. I am seriously hoping I do not go there again.
In March, I took a week off to celebrate and realised this blog needed some redesigning, and then a new name. Over a quite short period, lots of new features were added, from polls, to like buttons, to different ways to view it, and much more. The glossary also expanded. And then it became ‘Funding the Future', after much debate. Andy Moyle's help with all this should be noted, with thanks.
It seemed you liked it. This is the annual readership data for the blog since it began:
Traffic near enough doubled over every month the year before from March onwards. 'Thank you' is all I can say to that.
The number of people subscribing to the blog's newsletter also required me to expand the capacity on that service twice during the year. Almost 2,500 people a day receive the newsletter now, which is more than double a year go.
Most things I tried on the blog worked, except the podcast and my own videos. There are plans for them in 2024, though.
Twitter was also pretty busy. Right now, I have 249,400 followers;
I guess it will hit 250,000 very soon, although the rate of growth fell considerably during the year due to Elon Musk's best efforts. That said, my Tweets got 210 million impressions (reads) in the year. You can see why I have not given it up as a medium.
Regular posting on Facebook, Mastodon and now LinkedIn now take place.
For what I think to be my largely out-of-hours activity, this is a busy social media enterprise.
In addition, I wrote for the National every week during the year, the Mirror occasionally and made rather more BBC appearances than I expected. I was also on LBC and Times Radio fairly regularly. I tend to duck other requests: I am finite.
As for work outputs, my work on water companies has achieved continuing attention, which is good, but it was the Taxing Wealth Report which dominated my writing from June onwards.
Colin Hines had suggested earlier in the year that whilst we had talked a great deal about QE and the reformed use of savings as ways to provide finance for climate change we had not discussed tax enough, and he thought a short report on the issue was needed.
I began in July, and started publishing in September. I am still not finished, and having Covid this week (which has been exhausting) has not helped as I planned to work on some of the final reports over these few days and have not.
The whole report now looks as if it will be around 150,000 words. I hope to finish in January. But the core recommendations are already out. It is easily the biggest and most comprehensive set of proposals for reform of UK tax to tackle inequality in the UK that currently exists.
Of course, there has been other work. The Accounting Streams project could take a lot of time in 2024.
There have also been a number of really useful developments with major tax organisations on tax spillover work.
And much of this is being noticed in behind-the-scenes discussions.
Overall, that's been useful.
And thanks for all your comments, notes of support and donations. All have been appreciated. I have never quite worked out why I wake up every morning with the desire to write, but I do. I would probably do so even if there were very few readers, and maybe none at all. But it is (overall) fun to share ideas, and I appreciate the feedback.
So, there will be more of the same in 2024, and no doubt some changes as well.
Thanks for reading this post.
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Thank you
A somewhat daunting summary of the work, across many media channels, that makes for a leading accountancy and tax influencer! Wishing you a satisfying and above all health 2024.
“Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.” Ovid
Thanks
Thank you very much for your work Richard. If I had to define why I like it it it’s because you very expertly point out what the consequences are of holding shallow beliefs. The UK I believe has a big problem in that far too many of its inhabitants don’t examine the consequences of shallow beliefs indeed far too many are willing to believe it’s someone else’s task to do this. If a cause of these two outlooks is to be found it’s in the country’s educational syllabus where too little emphasis is placed on examining consequences as a vital life skill. This message not suprisingly is the conclusion of the archaeologist Ian Hodder’s book “Where Are We Heading? : The Evolution of Humans and Things”
https://www.ajaonline.org/book-review/3951
I was pondering a comment on why the blog is so good… but I think you have got there first and expressed it very succinctly – “Challenging shallow thinking” – it covers every topic that Richard covers.
Thank you, both
I am flattered
I’d agree with that too – challenging shallow thinking which is what we are mostly swamped with. Richard’s blog and some of the writers on substack are where I go for rigorous thought through arguments.
Sadly so much commentary, the media and politicians are all part of that shallow thinking. That is then reflected in the conversations one has with people. Worse still if you are out canvassing and hear what people have to say on the doorstep.
Even just reading about that amount of work leaves me needing a lie down. Staggering output. Thank you.
Thanks
I ignored most of my academic work in that summary
Well, having seen this:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/29/tony-blair-rwanda-style-asylum-plan-2003
……I am left with a profound view that the people who are in charge are not the right people at all. Words cannot convey my shock and disappointment at reading this.
My God. What is wrong with today’s politicians?
Nearly everything they do seems to be an exercise in hopelessness.
I cannot see you being any less busy in the future to be honest.
Can you provide the statistics on how many people you’ve blocked in 2023, presumably because they dared to point out your lies, mistakes and ignorance in a variety of topics?
How many of your followers are people that actually support your views? Looking at this blog on a regular basis, it’s a handful of self-confessed amateurs who worship every word you write, presumably because they don’t understand the issues well enough to disagree?
I have most likely blocked you 100 times under different names, urls and email addresses.
I am happy to keep this space as free from idiots as I can.
@”Joe Howard”
Funny how you didn’t actually provide evidence of any lies, mistakes and ignorance. Perhaps you could state who you are, your qualifications, and explain the issues for us?
Dear Joe
Two things if I may:
1) Thank you for reminding us what Richard and those of us who come here are up against. A timely reminder.
2) This blog is only a small part of what Richard is all about. He has authored books and has a very fine record as a campaigner and researcher as well as achieving academic roles through his work and having that recognised by academic institutions.
Richard does not really need us to be honest Joe.
As for us ‘amateurs’ – well amateurs we may well be, but if you are paying attention you’ll know that we are a well read and turned on bunch who share what we read and learn which is more than you will give us credit for.
In fact, I suspect that people like you don’t like that do you – people who question things and take the time to try to understand what is going on? You I think would rather have us screaming at immigrants and spitting on the homeless.
Well, that’s just tough Joe and you might as well get used to us old chap. And more will come. Savvy?
Happy New Year.
Nicely put PSR!
Whatever dissent there might be amongst the blogs ‘regulars’, I think of Jo Cox’s observation that there is more that unites than divides.
Not with me and Starmer’s Labour right now, I think
I think some of your strongest supporters may feel it is unnecessary to sign up for your Newsletter as, like me, they will conscientiously visit your blog every day and are attempting to reduce their incoming emails. I hope you will start feeling better soon as we admire your dedication to the important issue of equality and funding the future. Keep up the great blog posts that help us to remain informed of your progress. Your work is truly transformative and we can only hope it breaks through the, ‘first-line-of-defence’, moronic and myopic UK media focus.
However, I do not hold out much hope that the Labour Party will implement any of your reforms if they are elected under their current leadership. With so many Labour MPs seriously at odds with Starmer, I fail to comprehend how he has remained in his totally dysfunctional leadership position. Surely the well-respected Socialist MPs who have now been expelled by him would have greater impact defecting to the Green Party than running as Independents and hoping in vain for Labour transformation. This move would perhaps alarm Starmer enough to prevent and further lurch to the right.
If the Green Party had more than one MP in the House of Commons then, with such gains prior to the election, the Green Party would not be listed as just ‘other’ and might also be given a platform in televised debates. The media prefer to marginalize the Greens as a one issue party of tree-hugging protesters. In reality, the Green Party membership democratically decides on a wide range of policies that represent far more than just environmental issues. If Green Party candidates are given a chance to speak on camera they are equally focused on the important social equality agenda and the value of taxing wealth.
We cannot allow our distraction with holiday feastivities to halt the pressure on all civilized governments to call for an immediate end to weapons shipments to Israel and a permanent ceasefire. Collaborators in the Gaza Genocide, like the US and UK, who supply the weapons for Israel to openly ignore the Geneva Convention, aren’t counting the horendous carbon cost of destrunction in addition to the countless linnocent lives lost due to the indescriminate relentless bombing of Gaza. How can we call on countries to reduce their carbon emissions, while a self-apointed global leader is sponsoring a totally unnecessary ecological disaster in addition to this unconscionable Genocide.
Thanks
Agree. Those of us who care about suffering should be more tolerant of people with slightly different views and agree with the most important things I’ve to reduce suffering in the world. I believe that Lib Dems, socialists SNP Plaid, greens and others could provide a common progressive and inspiring manifesto shelving their differences until PR is implemented. What’s not to like about actions that can lift everyone out of poverty, hopelessness and crime, stop and mitigate against climate change whilst providing everyone with decent homes and communities.
Thank you Richard. You provide real hope in a political world bereft of reason.
Could i suggest MMT is discussed in The New Internationalist magazine. It has a Dicussion page where two different points of view are put across. I suggest a basic one would be about the question, Can Money be created out of thin air?
The magazine is read by many progressive people in the UK. It is always topic based, well researched and referenced. One of this summers editions was about Palestine and went into a lot of depth. Perhaps an edition on MMT, with a piece on The Wealth Tax Report 2024, and Steve Keens ‘Economic Manifesto’.
Thank you again for your insight and inspiration and the fascinating comments you genererate.
Kind Regards.
Sheffield Green Party Councillor, Bernard Little.
I have no influence there Bernard
I was in a recent issue on QE
Richard – your increasing success which I have followed over the years is one of the few points of cheer. It’s one thing to read the blog and know that there are other people who are broadly on the same wavelength but that could just be an echo chamber. That it has so many views combined with the hits on Twitter is at least slightly reassuring.
More strength to your elbow and hope you manage to get yourself fit again soon. We need you on fighting form! All the very best for 2024.
Thanks Robin