Notices by Emeritus Prof Christopher May (chrismayla6@zirk.us), page 2

Here's the Guardian arguing for higher taxes on the wealthy & trying to convince Rachel Reeves to stop listening to their lobbyists' siren calls of social damage if the rich see their taxes increase.

To be frank, sadly I think Reeves is unlikely to heed this call in its entirety, but we can at least hope for an equalisation of CGT & income tax rates...But, the full CenTax package looks unlikely to be implemented, however much sense it makes!

#tax #inequality
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/11/the-guardian-view-on-taxing-the-rich-essential-for-economic-fairness-and-growth

Well, well, well.... guess what Lord Walney whose views on extremism seemed to be more worried about climate protestors than the Far Right (ahead of the Farage Riots) has been revealed as being in the pay of the fossil fuels firms climate protestors were targeting - as always, just follow the money!

#protests #climate

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/oct/11/keir-starmer-urged-to-sack-extremism-adviser-over-alleged-conflicts-of-interest

This made me smile this morning (and lets be frank we could all do with a smile on a Friday morning):

The Alternative Heritage Plaque for John Venn - the inventor of the Venn diagram - in his birthplace Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire.

#heritage #humour #yorkshire

The picture of the UK painted by the latest report on poverty & reliance on food banks by Trussell makes for grim reading.

This is not just about inequality, but also about absolute levels of poverty in this country.

Certainly no-one could expect a Govt. to reverse this trend in their first 100 days, but the Q. is whether Labour will go beyond declaratory politics & actually shift policies to help the poor & vulnerable?

Many fear they will not!

#poverty #inequality
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/oct/09/britons-vulnerable-reliance-food-banks-research-finds

It looks like Keir Starmer's Govt. 'will continue plans set out by the previous Conservative government to monitor the bank accounts of the 6.3 million people claiming disability benefits without their knowledge' - yep, privacy rights aren't for the disabled.

Every week brings a new disappointment with the Labour Govt. - no wonder for many after 100 days the honeymoon is well & truly over.

#disability #privacy #benefits #politics

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/plans-to-spy-on-disabled-peoples-bank-accounts-show-labour-isnt-for-change/

Say no more.....

#ElonMusk #twitter

Q. why would anyone listen to the right wing (now) demanding a referendum on our membership of the European Convention on Human Rights... these are the veto same people who told us Brexit was going to free us from the shackles of Europe & look where it got us.

Moreover, when someone tells me I'd be better off without recourse to a body whose only mission is to protect my human rights, my next Q. is:

what is in this for you & why do you need me to sacrifice my human rights to get it?

#ECHR

Those of you eagerly waiting for the Laura Kuenssberg/Boris Johnson interview will now sadly be disappointed;

she admitted (via X last night) that she 'accidentally' sent him her briefing notes; she & her staff have concluded the interview cannot go ahead with him knowting the questions in advance.

I'll leave it to you to decide whether the admission is in good faith (we all make mistakes), or forced on her when her leaking of the Q.s to Johnson was discovered by others?

#media #BorisJohnson

Two views of the rich's response to the potential increase in capital gains tax...

Nimesh Shah, tax advisor to the wealth: 'Every entrepreneur is talking about whether to move overseas...Some have done it already';

Graham Hobson, founder of Photobox: '[I'd] love to see capital gains tax rates aligned with income tax...I am a rich person & I will not leave — as many others won’t'!

So mass exodus or a few marginal migrations.... take your pick!

#tax #wealth #politics
h/t FT

Just wanted to give my regular shout out to Oxfam's Online Bookshop - they have some great stuff available, the website is easy to use & its all going to a good cause.

So if you have a book habit you cannot break, why not ensure the money doesn't go in the corporate coffers, and ends up doing some good.

the website is here:

#books @bookstodon

https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/books/category/books

The debate about the ultra-rich & NonDoms' reactions to tax rises is always shaped by what their advisors (and confidants) say they will do when they are confronted with having to pay a bit more tax.

But, what we seldom, if ever see is the data on how many actually have moved after a tax change.

So here's a report from a previous change to the tax regime for NonDoms that found very little actual relocation; in the end they'd prefer to pay the taxes (quietly) than move!

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/wp630.2022.pdf

For those of you have doubted the use of the term 'Corporate Welfare' here is some pretty strong proof.... UK corporate tax breaks will likely cost £20bn more than they generate over the next five years (even the Treasury agrees they will cost more)

Lets be clear; the UK state (taxpayers) are subsidising corporations, while also offering policy & fiscal measure intended to 'maintain' their profits.

This is welfare for corporations!

Freeloaders?

#welfare #corporations
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/22/corporate-uk-tax-breaks-to-cost-20bn-more-than-they-generate-study-finds

Simply put: If some of your shops become unviable because you are having to pay equal pay to male & female employees, then previously they were kept open earning profits that were directly attributable to gender exploitation....

Next has revealed itself to be dealing in sexism on an institutional level..... This isn't economics, its prejudice!

#workers #sexism #genderpaygap

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/19/next-annual-profits-near-1bn-overseas-expansion-boosts-sales

Next time a political turns towards the American health care system to draw inspiration for 'reforms' of the NHS, the media should point them towards the Commonwealth Fund's comparative report on Healthcare spending.

The US spends (overall, public & private) nearly double other countries do, but are in last place as regards outcomes in the comparator group fo developed countries.

Its an expensive, ineffective system driving health inequality!

#Health #NHS #politics
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024

As we sort of all knew or suspected, Big Tech has been conducting mass surveillance so that it can monetise information about our browsing, shopping & reading habits....

So what we need to do is hit them on the bottom line.

As Epic global privacy counsel, Calli Schroeder concludes: 'Companies have repeatedly shown that their priority is profit & they will only take consumer protection & privacy issues seriously when failing to do so affects that profit'!

#Bigtech

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/19/social-media-companies-surveillance-ftc

You'll likely be depressingly unsurprised by the indication that decisions by the DWP on benefits sanctions looked to be shaped by institutional racism.

Once again, while we may claim (often rightly) to be a multicultural society, our governing institutions seem unable to address issues without some from of ethnic bias...

I wonder why that is?

Could it be, a history of racism that goes back centuries is well embedded & needs more work to root out!?

#racism #benefits
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/sep/16/benefit-sanctions-more-likely-for-minority-ethnic-claimants-uk-data-shows

JD Vance says its alright to 'create stories' to help reveal the suffering of the American people.... then a bit later there is an apparent attempt on Donald Trump's life that (now) already seems to be a little less than that...

What was that people say about always being attentive when a fascist tells you what they are going to do.... perhaps we should take JD & Donald at their word on 'stories'?

#USPol

As the electrification of the Leeds-Manchester rail line is again put under review to see if 'savings can be released', what successive authorities seem to miss is that each time they delay to review (to find costs savings), they're increasing the cost, making the extent of actual savings needed to make their target cost reduction that much harder, until eventually, the delays themselves raise costs so much the project (perhaps by design) becomes uneconomic.

#railways #infrastructure
h/t FT

@GeofCox @Roadwarrior29 @CloudyMrs

Although, as I read recently, use of cycles for work trips is in decline, post-Covid... which is a pity, if unsurprising given car drivers treatment of cyclists (especially on urban commuter routes).

The landscape of the high street continues to change as retailers withdraw, in some cases consolidating business in out-of-town sites, in others though a shift to more e-tailing.

The key Q. is how quickly (or at all) can other services fill the gaps in the urban landscape, or are some town centres doomed to eventual collapse altogether.

While the shift(s) may be too pronounced to reverse (and perhaps we shouldn't try), urban planning needs an urgent response!

#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/12/chemist-pub-and-bank-closures-lead-to-2300-more-empty-uk-stores-survey-finds