Tax the rich to end up broke

The majority of the British population think taxing the super rich will raise more money. But even if it didn’t, they would still like to do it.

This is utterly perverse. Why, if it will raise LESS tax, would you do it? Answer: pure jealous envy.

I regret to say that this is precisely what is wrong here and why people leave the UK. Why would you remain in a jurisdiction that basically says we don’t like you and we are going to make your life as difficult as we can. In many ways the Scots are even worse with the “ Ah kent yer faither “ syndrome. Translation: I knew your father, a seriously denigratory and belittling epithet within Scottish society.

I’ve never understood why we don’t like success in all its forms here, especially academic and financial. Being clever at school is an absolute no-no if you want to survive. I had a friend who was ( and is) extremely clever. So clever that he worked out how to come bang in the middle of his classes and hence attract no attention. Of course, he also worked out how to get to Cambridge and get a first and promptly left for the States where he has been showered with accolades and cash and leads a life of complete ease and luxury. And everyone there thinks “Outstanding!” As an aside he has been able to attract 3 extremely beautiful wives, the most recent of whom is around 30 years younger than he is. As those who commented on John Profumo years ago, who certainly bedded at least two extremely proficient young ladies together, were heard to say “ Lucky bugger!” Perhaps sexual success is allowed.

The problem we have at the moment is that politicians of all hues think they can suspend the reality of economics. As I’m tired of saying, leave everything alone and economics will make it work. Our woes can all be directly traced back to governments trying to make economics fit their agenda. It won’t. Leave it alone. Ignoring inconvenient economic facts won’t make them disappear nor will it change them. As Thomas Sowell remarked “There are no solutions only trade-offs.”

And that is precisely the point. You cannot fiddle with one thing alone as it connects to something else which will then need fiddling with as well – and so on ad infinitum and ad nauseam. Think about a leaking roof. If water comes in at one point you can fix that – but all that does is make the water go to the next weak spot and come through there. Result? You actually need a whole new roof for a long-term solution. And nothing could be more true about the United Kingdom at the moment than this. Fiddling at the edges, practiced by all parties over many many years has now produced a situation where fixing one bit essentially can’t be done. I mentioned the NHS before. It has been fiddled with so much it is essentially ungovernable. It needs root and branch reform which is unlikely to happen until the whole edifice collapses under the impossibility of funding it any more. It is not the only UK institution in this position.

The public are in open revolt against experts in all walks of life and perhaps no more so than in the world of economics. We need to rethink how ideas are presented – Bill Clinton’s KISS ( Keep It Simple, Stupid) chimes with Lynton Crosby’s diktat that you need half a dozen short, precisely worded soundbites which you repeat endlessly. That’s as much as most people can cope with, and is all you really need to make things work. I regret that the present incumbents relie on obfuscation, u-turns and untruths in their latest attempts to muddle through.

As an aside (and in total counterpoint to what has been said above – it ain’t quite that simple) the US has just approved the digital tokenisation of stocks and shares. We are miles and miles behind on this in the UK, which will revolutionise financial markets for the better. Will we ever learn?

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