Another year, another Budget and, ironically, another Budget for “the people”. In some ways I feel for Osborne, he has to juggle figures with one hand because the useless LibDems have got his other in a wrist lock.
Cameron must take the blame for this sorry state of affairs, if only he had the gonads to tell Clegg that he and his “Party of Few” were there to make up the numbers and not make policy. Perhaps then the country could start to get back on its feet. Don’t get me wrong, I am no great believer in Conservative policy, let’s face it, it is much the same as Labour’s which probably explains why Miliband could only babble when replying to Osborne’s Budget speech. The two parties; and I include the LibDems in this because they will side with anyone if it means sitting at the top table; when they get into power just undo whatever the previous incumbents have done. This explains why the Public Sector burgeons under Labour and shrinks under the Conservatives. No real policies, just a gang war across the floor of The House of Commons.
In my lifetime I cannot remember there being a Chancellor with any real vision for the economic future of this country. Maybe because none of them have been trained in fiscal responsibility and I’m pretty sure that not one of them had a degree in accountancy before coming into Parliament.
However, that detracts from the point I am trying to make.
All of them have toyed with what has been put in front of them. Add a penny here, take a penny there. Put one percent on this, take one percent off that. Schoolboy mathematics and its about time it stopped. Going back to the theme of ‘a Budget For The People’, It isn’t “The People”, who cause the fiscal dilemmas that we find ourselves in from time to time. Certainly not this latest, ever ongoing, one. It is Government, or should I say “bad” Government.
Decisions taken in Parliament by the elected few effect the majority. So by allowing a run on the banks and then sanctioning the banks to ride roughshod over everyone as a result, the few who made the bad decisions suddenly declare that we are all, collectively, in it together.
The Exchequer is not paying one penny towards the deficit, the ordinary people are. There is no Rainy Day Money, Labour took care of that. There are no, Gold Reserves, to fall back on, Labour took care of that as well. Osborne may not be for turning, as the popular press are saying but, he is turning this country into a nation of paupers. It is all very well using the crisis in Cyprus as a cautionary tale, the trouble is he cannot see that severe austerity policies are the reason why the Cypriots are in that position. It is a cautionary tale that he should be heeding and not us.
He needs to be bold, what would get the economy in this country moving? More houses, scream the left, more infrastructure, scream the left, more manufacturing, you’ve guessed it, scream the left. Since the banks are not lending on the scale needed then surely a radical move has to come from Osborne. How about dropping VAT by a mind boggling five percent (5%), backing it up with legislation which ensures that companies and retailers pass the full 5% on to the public? Too radical?
Ok, what about scrapping NI contributions for SME’s, say for twelve months from April 2013?
Too radical?
Cut foreign aid altogether. Too radical for the LibDems that’s for sure, as would dropping all the crazy Green schemes that they are so proud of.
I think a drastic cut in VAT would send a strong message to industry, the banks, the High Street, to the people of this country and, more importantly, to the International money markets, that the UK Government means business.
Stop immigration for the remaining term of this Government, we don’t need any more people, we cannot afford any more people and the housing stock we have barely covers the needs of our own population.
Break up the banking monopoly by breaking up the banks.
The money currently going to foreign aid could be given to Local Authorities and used to repair our badly scarred road network.
We can build houses - sufficient for our own needs, I don’t see any need to use Green Belt sites. Of the immigrants in this country, unskilled immigrants would have to be repatriated. Let’s face it we have enough unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled people out of work without adding more.
The Public Sector needs to be drastically trimmed and the unnecessary quangos that are associated with them can also go. I would also like to see Public Sector pensions capped, it seems to me that the General Public are paying extra in taxes just to support people in non jobs.
All radical thoughts, all draconian and, I can here the socialists screaming, ‘all typically racist UKIP proposals.’ Not so. The economy, everyone agrees, needs a kick up the pants. Toying with the fringes of the economy has not, is not working. Bringing people in from abroad, housing them and paying for them, all on the State is ridiculous, especially when the majority fall into the unskilled bracket. The argument that they are good for the country is wearing very thin indeed. Where is the gain for the UK economy?
Raising taxes year in year out not only depresses the economy it depresses the market. I would say to Mr Osborne, you’ve tried one end of the spectrum George and after four Budgets it obviously isn’t working. Time to go to the opposite end of the spectrum and try again. Failing that come over to UKIP and we’ll retrain you.
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