No party has a magic wand on taxes
AS a nation we are always complaining we are paying too much tax. Sorry to buck the trend but I think we are not paying enough tax to fund our present lifestyles
– but of course this would mean cutting your coat according to your cloth.
Of course, if it’s somebody else’s cloth, then that’s a different matter. Unfortunately a prevalent attitude of many in Britain these days. The poor say the rich should pay more, but there’s the rub. The rich can afford ways to not let this happen.
So regardless of which government is in power, the vast majority of we mere mortals will always be the fall guys so please, voters one and all don’t expect any future government of any persuasion to wave a magic wand on this issue. You’ll only be very disappointed despite all election promises.
But if we worked our way out of this hole that’s half the battle. Of course, our major expenditures are benefits, illegal immigration welfare, defence and the NHS. Each should have a chapter in its own right.
But sick note Britain is probably a good place to start with, and should be a bit easier to tackle in the short term, since it has predominantly reared its ugly head since the Covid pandemic even with the advantages of modern 21st-century medicine.
But how to sort the wheat from the chaff is the problem. The wheat being those with genuine disabilities and the chaff being those on the bandwagon of benefits which pay better than working, even at minimum wage. Minimum wage is currently £10.42 per hour (about £358 per 35-hour week). A basic retirement pension is £169 per week.
Surely if this is considered adequate for such a pensioner why should this figure not also be paid as the unemployment benefit? It might just encourage some who regard unemployment as a way of life.
No wonder so many of those on a basic state pension are setting an example by filling many of the job vacancies crying out to be filled. Those who are wilfully unemployed would certainly sharpen their recovery senses when they realise not working doesn’t pay.
Well, it’s a practical start to our faltering economy.
Edward Kynaston Lydney, Gloucestershire