From: jlloyd@cc.uow.edu.au (Jonathan Lloyd)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Farewell to Kinnock
Date: 15 Apr 92 03:39:39 GMT
Organization: University Of Wollongong

pac9897@zeus.tamu.edu (SMELLS LIKE JOHN MAJOR....) writes:

>In article <1992Apr14.080615.4072@cc.uow.edu.au>, 
>jlloyd@cc.uow.edu.au (Jonathan Lloyd) writes...
>>Besides, the gutter press are balanced by the socialist types in
>>the BBC television news, which are giulty of almsot as much bias in a
>>far more powerful medium.

>You must have been out of Britain a long, long time. Since the infamous
>bullying by Norman Tebbitt of BBC news and current affairs and
>the personal bullying of John Birt by John Major and his cabinet colleges at 
>a dinner party - which must have been the least subtle softening up job in
>history.

Not that long mate, about 2 years actually.

>>Actually Philip I think you are being a bit too pessimistic.
>>There are signs of recovery on the horizon. And I believe when the recovery 
>>does arrive (say in 94-95) it will have a better base than if some of the 
>>silly ideas the Labour party have would have been passed into legislation.

>Well yes, we'll certainly be out of recession, but some of the pressures
>that have built up already under the Conservatives will be untenable - the
>educational crisis will continue unless teachers and lecturers wages are
>improved or at least brought up to the level of a police sergeant. The NHS
>is probably a write-off affair already as the "internal market" has been
>so thoroughly buggered up that some hospitals are charging parking admission
>at outpatients and sending people hundreds of miles for basic treatments.
>I also think that Scotland will no longer be with us, which I find immensley
>sad but understandable. There is something profoundly wrong with the present
>system that allows mainly the South and South East to dictate the government
>to everyone else.

Unfortunately for those that don't like it, most of the people in the UK do 
live in the SE of England. As I understand it they have felt the recession
more (relatively speaking since they are generally wealthier) than the rest 
of the UK. The Scottish problem is largely a legacy of the same sort of 
millitant trade unionism and attempts at planning the local ecconomy that
screwed up Merseyside and the Teeside areas.
You and I both know that those in much of rural Scotland and the North 
are nearly as conservative as those in the Home Counties. They don't like
being dictated to by what they perceive as the lefties in town!

>>The recession in Britain must be a miserable experience for many, but
>>what I have seen of Labour policy indicates that the incentives to work
>>our way out would be taxed out of existence.
>I'm sorry, but you should know that the Conservatives have increased VAT
>3-fold and it is part of the highest tax burden put on any British citizenry
>ever.

But Philip, it is in your own hands whether you spend your hard earned
wages on things subject to VAT or not.
Domestc fuel, food, housing and childrens clothes are all exempt.
Besides it is much more difficult to avoid VAT, so the cheats get 
away with less. Labour's taxation policy smells of the "nanny state".

BTW Philip they did increase it 3 fold on some things but not on every thing.
Do you remember Denis Healey's 25% VAT on "luxury items" incl. 
electrical goods.

>Labour's main idea was to abolish the ceiling on NI, which had the support
>of many accounting agencies. The fact is it is simply not fair that someone
>on 20,000 should pick up the same NI bill that a guy on 40,000 does.

But NI is not really NI at all it is an income TAX. The sooner some
government comes clean and calls it one the better. 
The National Insurance name suggests that those who contribute most 
will stand to gain most. The reverse is true. In fact self employed
people who pay the biggest NI charges get almost nothing out!!!!

NI is a heap of bullshit. Call a Tax a TAX. It (NI) should be abolished.
In Australia we have a "Medicare Levy" which is 1.25% of your taxable 
income. It all goes to healthcare, but they still need to take more from
other tax sources. And soon they are plans afoot to give you tax credits for 
taking out private health insurance. This is the kind of fairness that is
completely lacking in the UK system.

Finally, Philip, you will not doubt be unsurprised to hear that the total 
tax take as a % of GDP has steadily grown during the years of Tory 
government. Kinnock WAS right "High taxer Thatcher".
But the revenue was needed to maintain very high levels of public spending
in welfare and health programes as well as education etc. Indeed at levels 
higher than those of the "socialists" they followed. This level of taxation
has strangled the UK economy over the last decade. I fear a Labour 
administration with their ridiculous promises would only do more damage.

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** These views are my own and do not reflect upon the policy *******
** or views of the University of Wollongong, only of a young *******
** welshman in a land down under ---Cymru am Byth ******************
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(BTW this is fun!)