Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

Ex Input:
Jim Murphy's mansion-tax boast is a cynical attempt to buy Scottish votes. We have now embarked on the longest general election campaign in the history of Britain . Even political obsessives quail at the thought . So I plead guilty to bringing a little genuine political debate into the process so early on in the process . The issue is the new Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy, and his vainglorious boast that he is going to use mansion tax money from London and the south-east to pay for 1,000 new nurses in Scotland . Let me stress that I support the mansion tax in principle . It is a redistributive tax , which is important , and taxes on assets are always worth considering . The complication is that it is, in effect, a tax on London, 80% of which will be paid by people in London and the south -east . And the distorted nature of London's housing market could mean a tax with wildly distorted effects . No one really knows how much it will raise . It seems likely that the people everyone agrees should pay it- the international super-wealthy - will use their expensive lawyers and accountants to evade it . But it will hit older Londoners, often public sector workers who bought houses in what were then unfashionable parts of London , as in my constituency, Hackney North and Stoke Newington . Now they are living in houses worth ? 1m and rising . They are often asset rich but cash poor . Having seen London house prices spiral in value , they are not reassured by the idea that the mansion tax kicks in only at? 2m . At the very least, a lot of work needs to be put in to reassure those voters, and to fashion a tax that will not hit those people unfairly . Fortunately the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, has an open mind on the subject . That is why it is surprising that Murphy has jumped in feet first, boasting about how he will spend money from a tax when there is no agreement on exactly how it will be levied . I am a unionist , and I understand that the Labour party has a big electoral challenge in Scotland . But I cannot believe that Scottish voters will be taken in by a crude attempt to buy their votes with money expropriated from London . If Murphy is really interested in redistributing wealth , why isn't he talking about council tax revaluation or levels of income tax in Scotland? Instead he seeks cheap applause by telling the Scots how he will extract money from England . Recently there has been a series of reports, including from the London Finance Commission and the Royal Society of Arts City Growth Commission, calling for the devolution of powers to our great cities . In particular ,  experts are saying that big cities should be allowed to keep their property taxes - I believe that this process should start with the mansion tax . Devolution cannot be for Scotland alone ; there should also be devolution of powers to the cities and regions . Murphy cannot bully the rest of the UK about a considered devolution of fiscal powers to all our cities with a pre-emptive strike on the mansion tax . It is too easy to conflate London with bankers and the international glitterati . But London is more unequal than any other part of Britain . Child poverty is a third higher in London than the rest of England as a whole . So, general election campaign or not, we need a proper debate on devolution of powers to our great cities . It is part of the battle against the poverty that still exists in the shadow of the glittering towers of the City of London . And some people need to be prepared to stand up for London in this important debate .

Ex Output:
The issue is the new Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy, and his vainglorious boast that he is going to use mansion tax money from London and the south-east to pay for 1,000 new nurses in Scotland


Ex Input:
A Greek euro exit would hurt Europe - but not as much as it would hurt Greece. When the people of Greece go to the polls on 25 January, they will face some fairly fundamental choices . Contrary to what many politicians and commentators would have you believe, this election is not about whether Greeks want to stay in the euro - a majority clearly wants to . The real question is whether this latest turn in the drama will finally force Greek politicians to act in their country's long-term interest . Opinion polls suggest that Greek voters oscillate between anger and fear: anger about the enormous costs they have had to bear in the course of the adjustment programme; and fear of what would happen if Alexis Tsipras, head of the hard-left Syriza movement that still leads in the polls, tries to force through another cut in Greece's international debt . In the last debt restructuring in 2012, the creditors already promised to help Greece reduce its debt to more sustainable levels by 2020 - provided Athens continues to improve its budget . The Greeks have a democratic right to elect a leader who wants to tear up this agreement ; just as Germans, Dutch, Finns and others have a right to elect governments that insist on such deals being adhered to . Although Tsipras says he does not want to leave the euro , the resulting showdown could force Greece out of the single currency . Today, the spectre of "Grexit" is more threatening to the Greeks than to the rest of Europe . Reforms in Spain, Portugal and Ireland have made these countries more resilient . International rescue funds and the European Central Bank stand ready to help in case panic should nevertheless spread . Five out of Germany's eight leading economic research institutes think the eurozone could now cope with a Greek exit . This does not mean, however, that Germany or the other eurozone countries want Greece to leave . Even if contagion was limited, another worsening of the eurozone crisis would undermine confidence, stunt the region's fragile recovery and make Europe's leaders - many of whom have declared the crisis over- look inept . The political and economic consequences for other European countries would be severe . Therefore , even if the rest of Europe does not want to be blackmailed , it will likely be ready to talk . The new Greek government, whether it is led by the incumbent premier Antonis Samaras, Tsipras, or a new coalition, could reasonably demand a new grand bargain under which the ECB-IMF-EC troika of lenders agrees to revisit the debt issue while the Greek government promises to make the economy fit for the future . Economic reform, however, is hardly what Greek politicians are talking about in this election campaign . Greek voters face the unenviable choice between re- electing the mainstream politicians who landed Greece in its current mess in the first place, or voting for Tsipras or other populists who make unrealistic promises of higher wages and more security . The trouble is not that Tsipras is radical ; it is that he is not radical enough . By promising state handouts to voters and protection for vested interests, he is perpetuating the dysfunctional system that plunged Greece into crisis . Over the past few years, the ruling coalition between the two established parties has tried a tricky balancing act of preserving the system of bureaucratic cronyism that since the 1970s they have helped to build, and modernising Greece's state and economy , as promised to international lenders . The result was an often agonisingly slow process of to and fro, with troika officials regularly departing in frustration about Greek foot-dragging . It is not only the troika's emphasis on austerity that has caused the Greek people so much pain . As important was that huge adjustments were foisted upon an extraordinarily rigid economy . Despite much effort to open up mollycoddled sectors since 2010, Greece is still one of Europe's most overregulated economies . Sluggish bureaucracies and exaggerated form-filling are the main reason Greece's exports have not rebounded like those of Spain, Portugal and Ireland . The absence of a reliable land registry is holding back investment . An unreformed social security system still benefits better-off households more than the destitute . While the tax burden on ordinary people has risen , wealthy individuals and companies can still often evade their dues . And wages in the public sector have fallen - but nowhere near as fast as those in the private sector, despite starting from a much higher level . Greek politicians must get serious about removing the shackles from the economy . Economists think the benefits of structural reforms could materialise quickly in Greece's inefficient economy, and would be substantial . The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that Greek businesses could save hundreds of millions of euros a year if the government scrapped burdensome regulations . The Greek thinktank IOBE calculates that improvements to the business and investment environment could lift GDP by more than 2% in just two years , while steps to increase competition in industries and services would have an even bigger impact . Greece has started building a sounder economy on the wreckage of a public sector bubble and a strangulated private sector . The costs have been exorbitant . It would be a real Greek tragedy if the country's next government squandered the potential gains and reversed the process .

Ex Output:
Contrary to what many politicians and commentators would have you believe, this election is not about whether Greeks want to stay in the euro The real question is whether this latest turn in the drama will finally force Greek politicians to act in their country's long-term interest


Ex Input:
Ho Ho No: School bans Santa from winter concert. A Massachusetts school that advertises itself as an "inclusive community" banned Santa Claus from its annual Christmas concert in the hometown of Harvard University after someone complained . "I am writing to you today to inform you of a change in our concert series this winter," wrote Principal Jennifer Ford in a letter to parents of the Peabody School in Cambridge . "Our first through fourth grade concert as well as our kindergarten concert will not include a visit from Santa Claus this year." The principal did not explain why Santa was banned from the December 12 concert . Could local environmentalists have taken issue with his carbon footprint? Did animal rights activists complain about the welfare of Prancer and Vixen? Did the milk and cookies violate the school's "Let's Move" food rules? It's hard to know for sure -- but I'm going to take a wild guess and say they probably thought Santa was the "Reason for the Season." CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSERVATIVE CONVERSATION . Moms and dads around Cambridge, Mass  say the principal's ban is naughty, not nice and some are ready to jingle somebody's bells . "I come from a city that celebrates diversity and tolerance," parent Robert Thompson told Fox & Friends . "At its base this decision reeks of intolerance." Instead ,  Jolly Old Saint Nick has been relegated to a family sing-along on the day before Christmas Eve . Thompson said as if they are saying Santa is not "good enough for the main show." The school was afraid even that even the presence of Old St  Nick overly sensitive residents . "I am sensitive to the fact that you may not want your child involved in this event," Ford wrote in a letter obtained by the Boston Globe . "If you prefer that your child spend time with me that afternoon , please let me know . I will be in the library, playing games and reading books with the children." How's that for an unadulterated does of liberal lunacy? It's enough to curdle your egg nog . Jeffrey Young is the superintendent of this calamitous mess of public education . He told the Globe he doesn't understand why Santa needs to visit the Peabody School . "There's no anti-Santa sentiment," he told the newspaper . "It's just that there's no pro-Santa sentiment either... Santa's not on the top of my list" . I'd be willing to bet a pound of fruitcake the superintendent is at the top of Santa's list . Mr  Thompson said the school celebrates all sorts of cultures - so why not his? "They are telling me mine is not acceptable," he said . Of course ,  this is the hometown of Harvard University - so it's fair to say they have a disproportionate number of certifiable citizens . This is the same town that in 2007 stopped a Boy Scout troop from collecting care packages for American soldiers . They scouts were accused of making a political statement . And how can we forget about the city's war on carbonation? The mayor wanted to ban any bottled soft drinks larger than 16 ounces . They also wanted to decide how much popcorn citizens could pop and how many milkshakes citizens could slurp . And if you need further proof that Cambridge is to the left of Vladimir Putin , consider this item from the 2006 edition of The Harvard Crimson . A member of the Cambridge Public Schools Committee compared a law mandating the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to a "post 9/11 ultra-patriotism push." School committee member Luc Schuster told the newspaper that "pledging blind allegiance" to the United States stifles the intellectual capacity of children." You just can't argue with that kind of ignorance, folks . Sounds to me like they've been smoking too much mistletoe . As they say back home in Tennessee- the cheese has done slid off the cracker . Ho, ho, ho, America!

Ex Output:

A Massachusetts school that advertises itself as an "inclusive community" banned Santa Claus from its annual Christmas concert in the hometown of Harvard University after someone complained "Our first through fourth grade concert as well as our kindergarten concert will not include a visit from Santa Claus this year."