As the Grauniad reports.
A fierce debate within the government on how to tackle entrenched wealth inequality – possibly through a high pay commission or a tax on assets – is to be ignited by a report ordered by Harriet Harman, the Labour deputy leader and the minister responsible for equalities.Now I'm no expert in economics, but even I know the story of the goose that lays the golden eggs and this is what Labour are proposing for anyone they see as wealthy. Of course the one thing that Labour can't allow themselves to see is that the wealthy also create wealth too by investment in business and employing people to do the things they want. There's usually a domino effect when you start to squeeze those that have which eventually hurts those who have not. Hit a rich guy in the pocket and he'll no longer hire plumbers and electricians to do work around his house or business, he'll sack those deemed excess to requirements from his places of work, these then have to be supported by the governments as they go broke or claim benefits which hits everyone else.
The report is due to be published in January. Early drafts seen by ministers say wealth inequality has deepened, with the rungs on the ladder having grown further apart, reducing social mobility. It is also expected to underline the degree to which access to pensions and housing play a crucial role in entrenching inequalities in wealth and income.
Harman sees the report, which has been commissioned from a team of academics chaired by Professor John Hills, as a political opportunity for Labour to frame a progressive debate on inequality before the election.
Downing Street and the Treasury would be opposed to a new wealth tax, but there may be pressure for a tougher capital gains tax on main homes, or widening council tax bands. It is also likely to lead to calls for wider employee share ownership and home ownership.
It seems to me that we should be encouraging people to become wealthy or at least have the wealthy investing in the country and not squirrelling it abroad. Low taxes for businesses so they can make bigger profits for investors will soon bring in more wealth to create more jobs and industry.
Taxing the rich will only make them leave or pull in their horns and not spend their money where it's needed, which is right here, right now to get us out of recession.
But you can't tell Labour that, it doesn't fit their ideology based on envy and bringing everyone down to the same level, and yes it's bringing them down, not raising them up. Labour needs poor people to vote for them, they need ill educated people who will not question their policies to vote for them. They need immigrants to come here who will vote for them because of the benefits.
Labour need envy and failure, because it's the only way they'll ever get elected.
5 annotations:
Exactly. All this talk of equality, the economy, pensions and housing is aimed at svopring votes. It has nothing to do with reality.
All the same, I WILL vote Labour if the Tories don't at least give us a referendum on Europe. And I admit that I will do that just out of spite, I'm afraid.
I doubt I'd ever vote Labour out of spite, my personal preferences run to LPUK, UKIP and the English Democrats in that order. I might ruin a ballot paper with "None of the above" if my choice were that limited. I'd possibly vote Tory if the PPC were a "Better off out" supporter though.
QM - other than folks suffering from cultural-familial retardation I doubt if they have much of a core vote left.
Edgar - vote for the Greens - that'll really piss them off.
Of course the one thing that Labour can't allow themselves to see is that the wealthy also create wealth too by investment in business and employing people to do the things they want.
They never see it, they can't, they don't want.
Wealth becoming concentrated in fewer and fewer hands is the product of rapine capitalism. Searching for greater growth potential -everything is squeezed until the only variable left to squeeze is workers incomes. That's where we're at.
But who will buy the products when the workers can't afford them? In the fifties, sixties, and part of the seventies, we had a "social contract". Simply put - it was share the wealth. That contract has been abrogated and it's now every man for himself.
The financiers tried to evade reality by creating a paper economy and off shoring whatever they could. We've seen how successful that was and will be paying for it for generations. One thing's for sure - the rich will privatize the profits and socialize the losses wherever possible - like in the UK.
James Higham says:
"Labour can't allow themselves to see is that the wealthy also create wealth ..."
Give me a break - these damn socialists pumping billions into bankers bonuses - it's enough to make you weep.
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