Makes you wonder why successive governments haven’t shut down tax avoidance schemes!
For the wealthy tax is optional.
We’d be able to fund education and hospitals!! No more potholes.
Yet they elect the biggest tax evader of all into office!!
Who is Scamming the System? Benefit fraudsters, Immigrants or the Super-rich?
Some numbers worth noting:
Benefit fraud: £1.6bn per year
*Unclaimed benefits: £17bn per year*
**Tax avoidance: £122bn per year**
Forget benefit fraud – the poor are not the problem.
Forget immigrants – they are not the problem.
If we could only get the wealthy to pay their fair share we’d have more than enough!!
We need to close the tax avoidance schemes and plug the loopholes. And if the exploiting, greedy rich don’t lijke it they can bugger off!! They are not paying their share anyway!!
Trump and the Degrading of America
I was reading (and agreeing) with this article written in the Guardian.
It seems to me that Trump is really nothing more that the expression of a vile attitude that has manifested itself in American culture over a long time. It is prevalent in a lot of Right Wing thinking – in the overt racism, the focus on individual rights and freedoms, evangelical Christianity and the right to bear arms. It is a way of thinking that resents all government and taxes and promotes a macho, winner takes all, mentality.
It found expression in the Tea Party with the likes of Sarah Palin, with its emphasis on small government and reduced taxes and reduction in spending on education, welfare and health care.. Then went on to produce a change in the Republican Party, a lurch to the right, and set up a populist agenda propelled by a fear of Muslim terrorism and mass immigration.
Trump, being a canny conman, tapped into this ideology, bigged it up and propelled himself into power.
Since then he has pandered to the populist agenda with his walls to keep immigrants out, harsh treatment of immigrants, support of evangelical policies, support of the National Rifle Association, banning of Muslims, support for far-right militia and white supremacists. He claims to ‘Put America First’ with his ‘Make America Great Again’ mantra while lining his own pockets, evading taxes and deploying overt cronyism and nepotism. His racist, misogynistic and crass comments have been not only forgiven but condoned as straight-talking free speech.
For me that brings shame on all who condone such behaviour.
In his attempt to put the economy above all else, putting profit and cash before people and the planet, he has denied climate change, disbanded scientific monitoring and pulled out of environmental agreements – such as the Paris Accord. He has reduced environmental constraints, opened up areas for exploitation, promoted fossil fuels, reduced environmental and health standards, reduced workers’ rights and sucked up to foreign despots.
All of which has been forgiven and even praised by his loyal following. They have accepted that the global warming is a hoax, environmental standards are unnecessary and that it is the American way to accept risks to life and limb.
They don’t care where the profits are going (usually off-shore into tax evading accounts) as long as they have jobs.
He reduced taxes (a short-term strategy to boost the economy with long-term consequences) and his supporters cheered. So the wealthy (including Trump) became a lot wealthier at the expense of the poor, welfare, education, infrastructure and health.
He claimed there was a ‘Deep State’ conspiracy involving Washington politicians and Hollywood stars that he was actively fighting. It was full of corruption, paedophiles and worse – and only he could drain the swamp.
The irony was that he was busy creating his own swamp of lies, corruption and sleaze.
His latest ploy is to deny the results of the election, claim there was widespread fraud and that he won the election. It has netted him over half a billion Dollars.
The sad thing is that, despite his continual lying, a majority of his fanatical supporters buy in to his lies. He has brought shame on America and undermined the whole democratic process.
This is what the Guardian had to say:
‘Trump has brought impunity to the highest office in the land, wielding a wrecking ball to the most precious windowpane of all – American democracy.’
‘The message? A president can obstruct special counsels’ investigations of his wrongdoing, push foreign officials to dig up dirt on political rivals, fire inspectors general who find corruption, order the entire executive branch to refuse congressional subpoenas, flood the Internet with fake information about his opponents, refuse to release his tax returns, accuse the press of being “fake media” and “enemies of the people”, and make money off his presidency.’
‘And he can get away with it. Almost half of the electorate will even vote for his reelection.’
Americans’ acceptance of Trump’s behavior will be his vilest legacy | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Poetry – Nobody likes Taxes
Nobody likes Taxes
Nobody likes taxes
But most of us like roads.
Without structure
Society implodes.
The schools are important
And we all like to be secure.
That’s what we have
The police and army for.
We like all our services
To run smooth as silk.
But moan about politicians
And people of their ilk.
We all want our freedom
But don’t like being bombed.
We expect the secret services
To stop us being wronged.
We don’t like to be controlled
Or our liberty constrained.
But we want all the terrorists
Locked up and contained.
No, we don’t like paying taxes
Until things start going wrong.
Then the daggers start coming out.
It doesn’t take too long.
Opher -25.11.2020
Once we were free and now we’re not. We have 68 million people crammed in this island. Most of them are OK, if a little awkward at times, but a minority are a real problem. We have thiefs, murderers, religious fanatics, rapists, scammers, bullies, violent idiots, crazy fools, paedophiles and obnoxious troublemakers. Without law and order we’d be in trouble.
We no longer live in little tribal groups where we can easily sort matters out. Even back then, when we could, there were always bands of brigands who rampaged around killing, raping and plundering. We had to build great walls around our cities to keep us safe.
We need to get around. We need an infrastructure – roads, train, air. It needs to be secure from the idiots.
We need safety, police and army. There are threats from inside and threats from outside. It’s sad.
We need laws, courts and justice to control the lunatics and violent people.
We need a health service to help us when we’re ill, a welfare system for those who fall on hard times, a pension system.
We need energy and water, sewage and garbage collection.
We need local services.
It needs organising and paying for.
If anything goes wrong we soon start to notice. It doesn’t take long.
It needs organising.
With 68 million that takes a lot of doing.
We don’t like interference. We want to be free.
I think it’s a question of balance.
We don’t like paying taxes but they are a necessary evil.
In Scandinavia, where the taxes are high, the standard of living is high, playgrounds, cycle paths, public baths, parks, great education, good housing, low crime. In the USA there are ghettos, poor education, an ignorant population and high crime rate, thugs for cops and armed militia.
I know which I prefer – a tolerant, liberal society with higher taxes.