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)! 

'Recession' and 'Depression'

Official figures confirmed last week that the UK economy 'contracted' once again - pointing to the fact that the country is still in recession - and it's the first time that UK Gross Domestic Product (the total amount of goods and services produced by a country) has contracted for six consecutive quarters (ever since quarterly figures began to be recorded in 1955). The pound fell further after the figures were released, reflecting the fact that many investors had expected the UK economy to 'grow' slightly in the last quarter, which would have technically taken the UK 'out of recession'.

Despite 'printing money' and generating a 'great deal of spin', the UK is one of the few G20 countries still to technically come 'out of recession' (e.g. France and Germany came out of recession six months ago). Potential investors have seen the effective devaluation of the UK's currency (through the £150bn Quantitative Easing programme), but they are also now able to see through the 'spin', and to see the fundamental weaknesses within the UK economy.

The 'stock market recovery' and 'housing recovery' are all part of the 'spin'/'scam' to artificially raise confidence, as 'assets' such as these 'appear to rise' because the 'value of every pound has been reduced'! As highlighted previously, as the pound slides against foreign currencies (nb the UK pound has already lost nearly 30% of its value against currencies such as the euro), the price of imported goods entering the UK will rise (e.g. including oil & gas), pushing up prices and affecting people's purchasing power further. High unemployment may hold back 'wage inflation', but it will not stop 'import price inflation' or people becoming 'progressively worse off'.

As import prices rise, unemployment grows, taxes increase and massive cutbacks are introduced (to pay back spiraling Government debt), the UK will start to feel the real impact of this Government's failure, their lack of prudence, their self-interest (e.g. MP's expenses) and their support of greed (e.g. diverting tax payers money to bail out banks and effectively paying for their excessive bonuses, rather than fixing the problem and helping hard-working people/businesses) - all of which will negatively impact the overall well-being of our nation for generations to come.

Gordon Brown is telling us we will come out of recession by the next quarter, but as many analysts have pointed out, this will mainly be because of a rush of purchases taking place before the Government puts VAT back up to 17.5% at the end of the year! The timing of this change, alongside the delay in addressing spiraling Government debt, are clearly linked to Gordon's own personal agenda/self-interest and demonstrates a cynical 'misuse of power' ... as he wants to say 'he was the one who brought the UK out of recession' (just before the election), as well as to 'blame others' for it all going wrong afterwards! (e.g. see my previous post on the double-dip recession) ... which shows the sheer hypocrisy of a man who is happy to preach to us about 'values' and 'prudence', despite demonstrating neither of these qualities himself.

In the 21st century, GDP is not a true indicator of a nation's 'economic success' either. The use of the word 'recovery' whilst everyone is effectively becoming worse off, and more and more people are losing their jobs, is arguably perverse too. Such outcomes not only result in 'recession', they also create 'depression'. More holistic measures are needed to assess the overall well-being of a nation (e.g. take a look at the 'BUTS' test for instance) and as the overall situation continues to gets worse, ignorance will reduce, depression will grow and anger will increase (e.g. towards the bankers who are once again 'pocketing' billions in bonuses, whilst everyone else pays for it through increased taxes, and and through more and more people losing their jobs).

Traditional economics is dead, and a new economics & politics is about to emerge (powered by the internet) ... focused on community contentment, the well-being of people, and the ability to create real value for others (founded upon fundamental values such as trust, honor, responsibility, respect) ... instead of focusing on wealth manipulation, based on poor moral values, self-interest and greed (e.g. fueled by envy, celebrity and the media).

The battle of the future is one that transcends nations, and is a battle of values:

Leanomics vs Poweromics & Ignoromics

... where values (and value creation) once again return to challenge poor moral values, self-interest & greed (and wealth manipulation)

Nations that fail to change will fail to survive ... and with the advent of modern communication people now have far more 'information', 'choice', and 'power' ... they just haven't realised, or exercised, it yet ... but they will ... and as Ignoromics reduces Poweromics will be challenged, in many different ways ...