okay, we can leave it here if you want
I remember picking up the Economist in a train station when I was younger and a bit of a centrist melt and thought it would make me a real grown up and enlightened about the world. Even then I was taken aback by how much of a load of shite corporate propaganda it was. There was an article that was like “in defence of fracking” lol
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I think it’s kind of handy in the same way the FT is because it’s where the enemy just says their real thoughts out loud with very little barrier. As compared to the New Statesman for instance, which is 90% laundering and pablum.
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A easy way to spot them is that their twitter avatar will be one of two things:
- a statue of a man from classical rome or greece
- a painting of a British man from the enlightenment era
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Toby Young is a proud classical liberal. On the one hand defining your political, ethical and moral positions purely to put distance between yourself and someone you don’t like is immature and negative contrarianism. On the other hand…
Just read this mornings playbook, there’s so much can kicking that’s all coming to a head. It’s going to be carnage.
Conservatives (+5)
This probably isn’t of much interest to anyone else, but the New Statesman are stepping further and further right, with the appointment of Tim Ross:
Yeah I enjoyed it all this morning. They are blatantly going to self combust while Keith finds another alpaca to kill.
Quite interesting how many of the last general election intake of Northern Tory MPs are really, really pissed about the NI rise.
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Hmm let me just check my notes…
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Is NI being used for this increase rather than general taxation because it’s a regressive tax?
Trying to get my head round whether it makes a difference – would an increase in all tax bands of 1.25% be much different to increasing the NI rates by the same?
Remember the employer contribution will also go up by 1.25%. So it’s a 2.5% income tax rise that they can claim is not an income tax rise and is only 1.25%. And one that people over state pension age don’t pay, as a bonus.
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Good point about the employer contribution. I think after year 1, when it becomes a separate levy (not lumped in with NI), the 1.25% will apply to those above state pension age though.
I’ve not been paying attention to the detail, although I heard something about share dividends as well.
Yeah, dividend taxes are going up by 1.25% too. Those need much more serious reform though (as does capital gains tax) to become fair but I’m not holding my breath on that.
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As @colinfilth notes, it only targets those under state pension age, and it only targets earning from employment. National Insurance is not paid on all income.
Whether it has a different affect than income tax depends on where you are on the income ladder. As you say, NI has a disproportionate effect on those earning a lower wage compared to income tax.
I’m slightly squeamish about the idea of raising direct income taxes on people who’ve basically left the workforce for good, although I’d admit the number of people who’d be sent to the poor house as a result is likely very small. But in any case it’s better to tax wealth, and we all know that.
Quite depressing how many holes are appearing in this “policy” already.
Yeah, I’d tie it into inheritance tax, personally.
Will Hutton proposing a Baby Boomer Trust Fund in The Observer last weekend, although the article is completely overshadowed by his ludicrous claim that Abba were a band for boomers.
They were, weren’t they?
Abba’s most devoted fanbase were 9 year-old girls in the seventies. Their parents were boomers.