Separate Moan Thread About The Election

The MP in my area got 35.3% of the votes, but when you factor in there was only a 63% turnout, that reduces to almost 22%.

But others were even less popular.

 

Meanwhile, over the pond ... Biden seems to believe god is holding him in position, rather than Dem Big Money. Unless, like many wealthy people, he thinks Big Money is god, of course.

 

Figures released by HMRC (delayed due to the election campaign) estimate just under £40 billion in tax is being avoided by the wealthy through offshoring. That is money the gov could use, and should be able to use, IMV.

 

HMRC may be correct, but HMRC set the rules for the taxation system in the UK so they are entirely to blame if legal loopholes are being used to avoid payment. It's important to note that using these loopholes to avoid paying tax is entirely legal. Tax evasion i.e. not paying tax through illegal methods is another thing altogether.
Many of the tax avoidance schemes have been deliberately created by Governments over the decades to encourage investment and to get business to come to, or stay in, the UK.

 

Agreed ... and that's why I want reform and simplification of the tax system.

 

It would be nice if they closed tax loopholes but haven't they always been there, they might be a labour government but I very much doubt any of the top ones will be poor.
It's never in any government's interest to close all tax loopholes.
It's them and us regardless of who they are.

 

From 2014 to 2018 the top 25 wealthiest USA residents seen there wealth increase by just over $400 billion, the tax collected on this increase was 3.4%. It will probably all be legal as bulk of there wealth will be in assets.

 

It's legal ... because govs set it up that way. And that happens because the wealthy have excessive lobbying power.

Rules on tax should not be skewed in favour of a minuscule group who already have the most. The individuals in this country with wealth over £500 million together have more than the poorest 50%.

 

Perhaps income should be capped at 250 k pa- anything above that ( for anyone regardless of their status ) should end up in a pot to be used to improve services and life in general for the whole population. I like the idea but the problem I see is who would guard the pot and decide where the money goes ?? That strikes me as nearer to Socialism in real terms. Forget Communism as it's nothing more than Capitalism with a different name.
All this crap about Levelling Up is a joke whichever political party uses such a stupid term.
How on earth can anyone merit some of these incredible earnings ? How can they even spend that amount each year ? Well, probably best not to answer that one
Sort out the H of Lords too - too many lost souls hanging about in there and doing Nil.
Dream On

 

Levelling surely means some things go up and some go down.
Why is there the assumption that there's no poverty in the rich and privileged South?
It's a load of

 

There's UP ( above ) LEVEL ( straight/even ) and DOWN ( below ). The previous govt appear unable to understand the basics.
The North East is always considered as a poor ( down ) area whilst the South East has always been considered as a rich ( up ) area.
Neither is true overall but that doesn't stop the oft repeated slogan which is why I also think it's a load of............... !!

 

@Philippa, agree re the HoL. Needs a real clear out. I would like to see it capped at 250 members with a max period of 10 yrs in the role and a fixed upper age limit of 70. PMs should not be able to hand out peerages to mates and donors either.

 

I think the House of Lords should be stocked with people who have some sort of practical skill that they can offer to debates. One for one with the elected members of the House of Commons. And forget that awful name. For a place that could offer balance to the House of Commons’ biased, yah yah yah “debates”, by providing calm, non partisan advice or comment, I think it should be called The House of Uncommons.

 

There will be poverty in privileged and rich neighbourhoods in the south, but probably not on the same scale as deprived neighbourhoods.

I was reading a report where they were studying the changing geography of jobs and how a, hollowing out has effected the labour market since 1993

The North and the Midlands were always where middle paid jobs came from the manufacturing sector. During the off-shoring and automation of these sectors it resulted in many middle paid jobs being lost. During this period, the percentage of lower paid jobs has increased more than the national average with jobs in the higher paid jobs has also been increasing well below the national average.

With the nuclear site BNFL just down the road, the average wage there is well above the national average. Yet the town is run down, some independent shops are only opened 5 or 6 hours a day with cash only signs in the window, in my local town the four pubs that are still open are cash only.