Joining the dots
Friday, December 30, 2011
There are two key stories in the news today and my question is this. Why does no-one see the connection between one and the other?
How can a government that continues to spend a greater and greater proportion of the money it takes from the productive by force find it surprising that they then decrease their discretionary expenditure? By the time most British families have paid income tax, council tax, housing costs, utility bills and food, they just don't have enough left to provide for a comfortable retirement.
Big government and its lavish bribery of its payroll vote is at the root of this problem. People are not saving for their own pensions because their money is being taken by force to pay for those of the state's thugs and cronies.
One thing that is not surprising is the government's response; the use of force. Force is, ultimately, all the gangster state has to offer those of us outside the gang.
With only a gun in its hand to shape its self-serving ends, all of us in the private sector look like nothing more than targets. What amazes me, with the corvée in Britain now standing at 208 days for the average worker, is that no-one is shooting back.
Tom You know perfectly well the UK Governement works very hard to make it as difficult as it can for ordinary citizens to legally own firearms.
They don't like thinking about an electorate that can make democrasy stick. And who are not depening on them for domestic security.
I absolutely agree about inheritance tax.
Posted by: Moggsy | Wednesday, January 04, 2012 at 11:23 AM
Your deduction is correct Mr Paine, government is simply spending too much of YOUR money.
The TPA debt clock above moves inexorably upwards as government spends more and more money, that it does not have, and yet nothing is getting better. Education is a disaster, the military laughable, healthcare pitiful, policing and courts woeful, transportation laughable, housing values decreasing, welfare costs unmanageable, reputation abroad pitiful, government pensions unfunded. In short there never was enough money to fund the politician's socialist dreams, borrowing costs are increasing worldwide and the Ponzi scheme is unravelling, the only action that can save government from a humiliating disaster is to steal more of YOUR money, whether it has been earned (equity) or yet to be earned (future earnings).
Unless you are part of the government nomenklatura in which case a luxurious retirement is assured. Then anybody with a lick of sense would be actively liquidating assets and putting them out of reach from the government. That is the way to fund a worthwhile retirement.
Posted by: Cascadian | Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 03:52 AM
Major is a emblem of the decrepitude of the modern Conservative Party. He will go down in history as the Prime Minister who presided over the abolition of the right to silence; thus undermining the great writ of habeas corpus - arguably Britain's greatest contribution to liberty. I have never felt safe in a country without habeas corpus, and am sad that I must feel that way now in the country that invented it.
Posted by: Tom | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Yes, precisely. Inheritance Tax is utterly immoral-effectively a guarantee of the primacy of the state over the individual/family.
It should have been abolished by Major-but he didn't have the guts to do it.
Posted by: MickC | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Your last paragraph is very sad and very true. One of the old Greek philosophers defined civilisation as a man being willing to plant a tree that would shade his grandson. By this standard, we are ceasing to be a civilisation.
Inheritance Tax is perhaps the wickedest tax of all not only because it taxes that which has been repeatedly taxed before but also because it takes the most experienced producers out of production; people who would keep on creating wealth if they knew it would benefit their children and grandchildren.
Posted by: Tom | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 09:48 PM
Obviously you are absolutely right as to why people do not save-but there is almost certainly another reason. That is-in what particular medium can wealth be maintained?
Paying into a managed type pension fund merely ensures that the managers take a percentage of the wealth whether they have performed or not. In my view they usually only produce a nominal profit at best-taking into account inflation, there is no meaningful profit or maintenance of wealth (other than the managers wealth). As an articled clerk many years ago, it was obvious to me that people who had been paying into insurances to pay for their funerals since the 20's had been ripped off. They had paid in 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's etc. money and the return in 80's money still wouldn't pay for the funeral.
This surely is why the British like property as an investment-at the end of the day, it is still there.
Even so, the purpose of saving is to look after oneself and ones family-but with Inheritance Tax, the saving will not look after the family when you're gone because the State takes too much.
The reality is that unless you are extremely wealthy, the logical thing to do is to spend your money and enjoy life-you won't be able to pass the money on.
This is not the way to create an independent and wealthy nation, but it is what we have got.
Posted by: MickC | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 07:45 PM
Civilisation in Britain only has one worse enemy than HMRC, so such fear would be quite reasonable.
Posted by: Tom | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 03:04 PM
I thought I was quite intemperate by my standards Cap' The trouble is that angry doesn't play well with British voters. They are being told on all establishment channels of communication that the current situation is reasonable. If they are to be weaned from this insanity, they need to hear opposing 'voices of reason.' Or maybe not. I don't know any more than you what (short of economic collapse) will change their views. So let's all keep trying in our own ways.
Posted by: Tom | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 03:03 PM
Tom,
I blew a fuse and ranted like a ranty thing.
Was forced to use unseemly language.
Not sure how you write so calmly.
http://captainranty.blogspot.com/2011/12/two-hundred-and-eight-days.html
Be well,
CR.
Posted by: Captain Ranty | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 02:31 PM
Perhaps they are scared of HMRC?
Posted by: Martin Cole | Friday, December 30, 2011 at 02:14 PM