The 'Granny Tax' and the death of the 'Big Society'

Following on from Osborne's budget, we are now starting to see who he has actually taken most of the money off (and handed it to the rich) ... and it turns out to be the elderly!!

He has subtly introduced a "Granny Tax", by freezing personal allowances for the elderly ... as their personal allowance will no longer increase in line with inflation, which means more of their already meagre pensions will be subjected to tax.

If you steal £100 from a lone pensioner then you are called an immoral, cowardly criminal ... but if you take £100's from millions of pensioners it's called Government policy!

This Government, along with their 'friends' in the City, have already been fleecing the elderly every year, through £10bn's in lost interest that they would have otherwise received from their savings.

Osborne clearly thought this could be sneaked through without anyone noticing ... but by leaking everything before the budget, attention has naturally focused on those areas he didn't (e.g. this)!

And the consequences could be huge ... previous Government's have always been particularly careful not to upset the elderly, as they are one of the few groups of people who like to exercise their right to vote! Cameron is clearly reeling, and has tried desperately to deflect attention away from this (e.g. by saying he wants to bring in a minimum pricing for alcohol - which looks like he cannot legally do)!

Watch out for announcements on how they will try to limit the damage of Osborne's actions in the future ... as being seen as a party who 'robs a granny' to 'reward the rich' will come to haunt them (just like the NHS reforms will) ...

On a separate level, David Cameron and the Conservatives have been repeatedly 'spinning' the idea of the 'Big Society' (building upon charities and more people volunteering), to fill all the gaps created by their 'slash and burn' policy for public services.

The flaws in this idea are both numerous and clear (e.g. massive cutbacks to the budgets given to local councils mean they can no longer support local charities in the ways that they have in the past), and many of its initial high-profile backers have resigned because of the hypocrisy.

And in the budget the Government hammered yet another nail into their 'Big Society' coffin. The Government have now slashed tax relief on charitable giving, restricting it to £50,000. This will dramatically reduce charitable giving; cutting off yet another vital source of income for charities. Charities are not surprisingly up in arms about this ... but will their voices be heard? This Government hasn't listened to anyone to date (e.g. the ignored all the healthcare professionals about their NHS reforms) ... so why do charities think they will listen to them?!

Destruction of the NHS ... and 'a mockery of democracy'

The current Government are hell-bent on destroying the NHS ... a NATIONAL health service set up in 1948 by Aneurin Bevan and created out of the ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of any wealth, and based upon three core principles:

* that it meet the needs of everyone
* that it be free at the point of delivery
* that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay.

Prior to gaining office the Conservative party deliberately kept secret their radical plans for the NHS from the people of this country. Their plans for the NHS were cooked up by Lansley over many years in opposition, and yet they failed to tell the people anything about their plans prior to the election (as no-one would have trusted them, and no-one would have voted for them)! 

Worse still, the Conservatives continually lied and made use of copious amounts of spin (nb David Cameron is only trained in PR) to persuade the country that they could be trusted with the NHS and that the "NHS would be safe in their hands". What irony and hypocrisy. The NHS reforms introduced by this manipulative Government therefore had no mandate from the electorate, and on entering Government they have consistently (and deliberately) circumvented any democratic right/process. In summary, they have made a 'mockery of democracy'.

And what about their continual spin ... that the NHS is 'Safe in their Hands?' What a joke! On being told by the Information Commissioner (and the High Court) to publish the risk register associated with these reforms, the Government have steadfastly refused to do so, whilst continuing to rail-road the reforms through.

The reforms are highly toxic and designed to deliberately destroy the very foundations/principles of the NHS. They open the doors to mass profiteering, by commissioning groups as well as private providers, which will taking money out of the system that would have otherwise been spent on healthcare. 

They will also destroy the 'doctor-patient' relationship and any trust patients have in their doctors, due to clear conflicts of interest (made clear by the Royal College of GP's) that have not been addressed! Doctors will now have to balance any diagnostic decision (and any decisions about subsequent treatment) with reduced budgets and a new found ability to profiteer (e.g. from withholding/limiting any diagnoses/care provided). The reforms deliberately try to bribe GP's to ration healthcare (e.g. by offering them bonuses for doing so). Yet despite this, the vast majority of GP's directly oppose the bill and want to see it dropped, some out of 'principle', and some from the fact that they know they are going to effectively become a scapegoat and the focus of people's anger (as people realise that care is effectively being withheld by them, unless they can afford to pay). 

Indeed, this Government has been careful to deflect any blame on the future lack of healthcare provision away from themselves and onto local groups (a divide and rule strategy). GP's are clearly the main target but the Government have also effectively removed the world NATIONAL from the term 'National Health Service', as there will no longer be a national standard for the type, or level, of care offered across the country (with no-one taking overall responsibility for this). This will result in a "post code lottery" health service; destroying the concept/principles of a NATIONAL health service ... And if anyone thinks they'll be able to simply move doctors if they're not happy, think again, as the Government have not allowed this (you will effectively have to move house to change your GP surgery - and even then, it will still depend on you being able to find a different, and more caring, commissioning group)!

If offered treatment, patients are also seeing waiting times dramatically increase, with Government officials desperately trying to remove any remaining waiting time measures/targets (n.b. people are also seeing appointments offered, but repeatedly cancelled too). Increasing waiting times are also a crucial (but toxic and hidden) ingredient of these reforms, as they are needed to pressurize people into paying for health insurance and/or paying to queue jump (NB they will now be able to jump the queue, as NHS hospitals will be able to allocate up to 49% of their time/resources to those who pay, and those willing/able to pay will be treated first, by exactly the same NHS doctors and nurses ... which in turn will make waiting lists/times even longer).

This destroys the very foundations of the NHS, in that healthcare should be "based on clinical need and not the ability to pay". With these reforms this will clearly not be the case in the future. Indeed, it is noticeable that Government ministers are always careful not to use this particular phrase when defending their reforms, and only say the NHS is about care still being 'free at the point of delivery'.

With the destruction of the core principles of the NHS, what we are seeing is the dismantling of the NHS ... and a list of 'the guilty', who should be charged with 'crimes against humanity', can be found below, along with their respective roles:

David Cameron, for his lies, deceit and hypocrisy. Andrew Lansley, for cooking up this immoral plan to destroy the NHS. Both parties are guilty of pressing on regardless, ignoring fundamental issues/concerns raised by every healthcare professional group, and systematically manipulating/ circumventing democratic processes (e.g. publication of the risk register).

 

Nick Clegg, for allowing these reforms to progress at all (with no electoral mandate) and forcing Liberal Democrats to ignore all concerns/principles in order to vote for these reforms. Shirley Williams for selling her soul to help Clegg and switching from 'protector' to 'cheerleader' (NB Lord Owen, a previous Democrat along-side Shirley Williams, is still desperately trying to stop the bill without the publication of the risk register demanded by the Courts). 

 

Ed Miliband for 'throwing a sickie' and not attending a rally against NHS reforms, so he could accept a VIP invitation to watch Hull City play football instead.

Andy Burnham (and John Healey), for failing to articulate a clear (and proven) alternative to these reforms ... based on engaging and empowering the workforce to radically improve the service ... and in the process making the NHS more seamless and efficient (i.e. 'lean') ... n.b. the complete opposite of this Government's approach, which focuses on fragmenting (and destroying) the service, ignoring any advice and/ or concerns of healthcare professionals, and handing over the money to those seeking pure profit (e.g. McKinsey's, commissioning groups, insurance companies and private providers), and not those on the front-line who are passionate about the NHS and want to create better healthcare for all (i.e. the healthcare professionals).

and finally, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, for ditching socialism (in favour of crony capitalism, self-interest and 'spin') and for abandoning all the 'ordinary', hard working, people they were supposed to represent. Their failures (e.g. bank deregulation, bank bailouts and the subsequent pressure to slash public services to pay back all the resulting debt) in effect created an 'open door' for the Conservatives to step into, impose a slash and burn strategy, and blame the Labour party for having to do it! 

RIP NHS ... a casualty of self-interest and greed, and a lack of real democracy ...

and why ... well this is down to a combination of ignorance and apathy.

RIP Britain ... and watch out for impending riots.

Aristotle once said ...

"Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers"

"In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme"

Those currently in power are desperately trying to ensure that this will never happen ... and indeed the opposite remains true ... by wielding all the power at their disposal (including the deployment of paramilitary forces armed with water cannons, tear gas, tasers and plastic bullets) ... and the answer to this ... mass protest ... withdrawal of labour ... and the use of 21st century technology.

Are we really 'all in this together'?

Government announces tax free saving and inheritance plan for the ultra rich

The Government, with the use of a clever mix of smoke and mirrors and spin, is telling us it wants to sell off 15% of our national forest-land to private owners ... and says it is needs to do so to cut the deficit, but the real reason could not be further from the truth ... !

In reality this move is being done so the super-rich can profit from it, and at the same time have their tax bill reduced ... by expanding a unique tax free investment/savings loop-hole only available to them ... as investments in land are free from capital gains tax ... and are uniquely free from any inheritance tax too (which is why many ultra-rich landowners, bankers and football players have been quietly 'cashing in' and buy more land).

This carefully crafted move exposes the 'double standards' that currently exist and the real hypocrisy lying behind the 'We are all in this together' spin, as this move comes at the same time as ordinary hard-working people are being disproportionately forced to pay higher levels of tax as a result of the recent VAT hike!  

As I have said on this blog before, one of the most fair/just taxes we should be introducing as a country is a Land Value Tax, in order to replace unfair property taxes, to reduce VAT, to reduce tuition fees and to reduce the tax on jobs. The loophole on inheritance tax should also be closed too (so why have the Government, and indeed the last Government, failed to do such things ... well it's obvious really isn't it - i.e. just follow the money ... and look out for all the self-interest and greed).

Vince Cable (Business Secretary) understands the importance of introducing a Land Value Tax, as he held a summit on the subject in the House of Commons recently, so it's a disgrace that this Government, which he and the Liberal Democrats are a part of, are now actively pushing such immoral/unjust changes through ... especially after the immoral tripling of tuition fees and the scrapping of the EMA. Vince Cable must not care or he has become quickly corrupted - see my Homer Simpson post earlier. (NB Today his department also come under fire from the CBI, saying it needed to be 'less of a talking shop' and 'more of an action-oriented growth champion').

It's clear the Liberal Democrats are providing a convenient smoke-screen for the Conservatives, who are taking every opportunity to quietly reward their ultra-rich families/backers (e.g. landowners, bankers) ... and the quicker this smoke screen is removed the better!

It is worth noting that any potential benefit gained from selling off land is going to be short-lived, as any one-off revenue claimed will be quickly offset by large reductions in capital gains tax and inheritance tax bills for the ultra-rich (for generations to come). 

This proposal highlights how 'ignorance is not bliss', because it's young people, pensioners and hard-working taxpayers that are having to pay for these tax cuts to the super-rich, whilst also bailing out bankers (who are still paying themselves obscene bonuses)! 

Hypocrisy, corruption and the 'battle' ahead

Bankers have profited greatly from trading/gambling with other people's money and creating, packaging & trading 'dishonest' & 'socially worthless' financial products. The bankers were also closely aided & abetted by an incompetent & corrupt government - who proactively relaxed the rules so that bankers could act more recklessly and gamble using ordinary people's money (so they could build short term 'economic growth' upon it).

They allowed banks to integrate traditional high street banking with banking focused upon trading/investing securities (through the removal of previous barriers put in place following the last great depression). The Government also adopted a laissez-faire approach to the types of products & securities created/traded, whilst they also talked up (and profited from) the housing market (e.g. do you remember all the flipping of MP's second homes?) and allowed self-certification/120% mortgages to be introduced. Yet the Gordon Brown keeps telling us our crisis was caused by America!

As all the gambles of the corrupt bankers started to fail, and all the toxic assets created by them became clear, the Government bailed them out with tax-payers money, to reduce the risk of such banks collapsing and to avoid millions of ordinary people (i.e. voters!) losing their savings. The rest is history, and will arguably condemn the UK to history for generations to come - as an indebted and devalued nation, struggling with spiraling debt, unemployment and an ever increasing tax burden (targeted mainly at the hard-working middle class - as the rich pay huge sums of money to avoid any paying any tax at all).

Government leaders have ignored the fundamental issue (e.g. the integration of 'gambling' with 'traditional' banking) and have failed to solve the problem. To me their explanations for not doing so are clear - denial, self interest and greed - and the bankers are once again paying themselves massive bonuses, buoyed up by taxpayers money given to them in bails outs (which will have to be paid back through increased taxes, for instance covering the toxic assets left over from the bail-out of Northern Rock), and due to the Bank of England 'printing money' (QE) only for them to use it to start a spiral of gambling once again (rather than lending it to otherwise viable businesses)! Spin counts for little, action counts for a lot ... and this Government has done lots of the former but very little of the latter. It has largely ignored the advice of the Governor of the Bank of England, and the head of the Financial Services Authority too!

In China 'economic sabotage' is a major crime which warrants the death sentence, yet here in the UK no bankers have been challenged, arrested or had their assets seized! In fact we have seen quite the reverse - as they once again receive billions of pounds in bonuses as they rebuild their 'house of cards' with tax payers money. The few heads of banks who left office and were made the 'scape-goats' of this corrupt industry also left with massive payoffs and pensions too (Sir Fred Goodwin, RBS).

Bankers, supported by the politicians, have enacted 'economic sabotage' on the UK, yet none of them face criminal charges (never mind the 'death sentence') or have had any of their 'assets seized' (n.b. yet most of their wealth could be classified as 'assets from crime'). Gordon Brown likes to create the illusion of talking tough, but has done nothing to address the sabotage and daylight robbery that has taken place*. One might think this is something to do with the pressures of sorting out the economy, but this could not be further from the truth. The Government has been looking to extend the "Proceeds of Crime Act' (an act brought in to deal with 'organized crime' and to seize assets) ... but it has not focused on those seeking to 'profit' from the nation whilst creating 'economic sabotage' ... and our hypocritical & corrupt leaders in their 'wisdom' have decided to quietly (and underhandedly) use it to give more power to Councils to seize assets from 'minor offenders' instead!

Hypocrisy, corruption and double standards ... and whilst such people continue to be in power 'economic sabotage' will continue to go unchecked, with laws designed to protect them & allow them to pillage, and more laws introduced to stop & punish ordinary people for any minor misdemeanor (e.g. late paying a parking fine) ... nb even the Police Federation has raised concerns about this! However a great many politicians entering Parliament are a part of the lucrative & thriving legal profession, and are there to serve their own self-interest, as well as the existing justice system and political system (and all the bankers & landowners who 'bankroll' them).

More people need to 'wake up', 'take a look' and 'smell' what's 'all around them' ... and as they do, and they take responsibility for changing things, unrest will start to grow and the 'battle' of the future will begin ... a 'battle of values' ... and a new form of 'politics' and 'economics' will emerge ...

'For evil to flourish, all it needs is for good men to do nothing' [Edmund Burke 1729 - 1797]