Reply to: New tax bombshell: 20% VAT

[Paddy]

It's not compulsory to earn money via producing stuff in a factory. For example where I live a lot of money comes into the country from overseas students learning English or studying at the famous university. Sometimes we can benefit from having the English language. As RC pointed out, we could be earning more from tourism, or from scientific advances in say alternative energy. Problem is that a majority of the population (and I'm probably part of this majority) don't have these skills to prosper in these fields. The government (well governments, as the last Tory lot were similar) have been content to see a good proportion of the population drop out of the job market, and indeed encourage incomers from elsewhere to take up any perceived slack. At some point there's going to be a breaking point I fear.

Nearly ever Johnny Foreign country has universities teaching in English

[AtW]

So we lock up more people and get the making stuff, even cheaper than Bob Showaddywaddy and the like can turn out. Bobs your proverbial.

Good idea.

Let's start with you - please turn yourself into the nearest Peace Station.

[centurian]

I'd be suprised if Labour do it because it would hit the poor disproportionately hard.

You mean like abolishing the 10p tax rate...

[DieScum]

Given that so many regarded the effect of the 2.5% reduction in VAT as laughable, in that it only amounted to a couple of pence here and there in their day-to-day expenditure, I presume those same people will be rushing to claim that a 2.5% increase will have a similarly negligible effect on their lives, being once again a matter of a couple of pence here and there.

Yep.

I'd be suprised if Labour do it because it would hit the poor disproportionately hard.

[OwlHoot]

I have a solution to the lack of manufacturing industry!

Anyone see QI this week? Apparently the US is making a fortune by getting prisoners to do vast quantities of work at a fraction of rates being charged abroad.

The work is complusory or they put you in solitary and they have 1% of their adult male population in prison.

So we lock up more people and get the making stuff, even cheaper than Bob Showaddywaddy and the like can turn out. Bobs your proverbial.

Convicts may work for peanuts, but these days they cost a fortune to house and guard and feed. But if they're locked up anyway, they may as well be put to work.

[gadgetman]

I have a solution to the lack of manufacturing industry!

Anyone see QI this week? Apparently the US is making a fortune by getting prisoners to do vast quantities of work at a fraction of rates being charged abroad.

The work is complusory or they put you in solitary and they have 1% of their adult male population in prison.

So we lock up more people and get the making stuff, even cheaper than Bob Showaddywaddy and the like can turn out. Bobs your proverbial.

[Moscow Mule]

Given that so many regarded the effect of the 2.5% reduction in VAT as laughable, in that it only amounted to a couple of pence here and there in their day-to-day expenditure, I presume those same people will be rushing to claim that a 2.5% increase will have a similarly negligible effect on their lives, being once again a matter of a couple of pence here and there.

I agree, but I think many companies will use a VAT increase as a chance to bump prices by more than 2.5%.

[NickFitz]

I still can't work out why The Times presents this as a "bombshell". All sane people know that whoever wins the election is going to raise taxes.

More to the point: when VAT was reduced by 2.5%, everybody was rushing to say that it was a meaningless gesture, as it had such a trivial effect on the cost of things. (I remember the thread here, and will dig it up if necessary.)

Given that so many regarded the effect of the 2.5% reduction in VAT as laughable, in that it only amounted to a couple of pence here and there in their day-to-day expenditure, I presume those same people will be rushing to claim that a 2.5% increase will have a similarly negligible effect on their lives, being once again a matter of a couple of pence here and there.

[xoggoth]

We could go into the vice trade big time and turn every city into a Bangkok. Or create a huge reality theme park based on Warcraft.

[MrMark]

What could we make here?

Or more to the point - What could we make here under British owned and managed companies? We are competing with countries who have lots of cheap manpower, don't give a f*** about maiming their workers and polluting their own landscapes.

It's not compulsory to earn money via producing stuff in a factory. For example where I live a lot of money comes into the country from overseas students learning English or studying at the famous university. Sometimes we can benefit from having the English language. As RC pointed out, we could be earning more from tourism, or from scientific advances in say alternative energy. Problem is that a majority of the population (and I'm probably part of this majority) don't have these skills to prosper in these fields. The government (well governments, as the last Tory lot were similar) have been content to see a good proportion of the population drop out of the job market, and indeed encourage incomers from elsewhere to take up any perceived slack. At some point there's going to be a breaking point I fear.

[AtW]

One of the big problems with your oughts is the value of the pound. When the pound was weaker against the Euro we had more European tourists over here actually buying things.

Yes they were buying things made elsewhere, it was temporary speculative gain - it can't carry whole country.

Tata bought Corus and what do you think they will be doing - investing into R&D here? Heck, they've got plenty of cheap plants elsewhere, this buy (in my view) is primarily to shut down competitor.

[SueEllen]

Corus is still doing R&D into steel production. They have the best armour development staff in the world.

Thought they were owned by Tata Steel.

One of the big problems with your oughts is the value of the pound. When the pound was weaker against the Euro we had more European tourists over here actually buying things.

[Doggy Styles]

Well said RC.

Er, when can you start?

[RichardCranium]

What could we make here?

Or more to the point - What could we make here under British owned and managed companies? We are competing with countries who have lots of cheap manpower, don't give a f*** about maiming their workers and polluting their own landscapes.

Corus is still doing R&D into steel production. They have the best armour development staff in the world.

We ought to be providing consultancy into nuclear power stations (as opposed to helping America pretend Iran has a nuclear weapons industry).

We ought to be far more swamped with tourists than we are (but we always have been crap at attracting them).

We ought to be exporting real ale to the world, not importing lager made from maize syrup and rice starch.

We ought to be exporting education by encouraging private schools, not trying to shut them down because they are better than comprehensives.

We ought to have an aluminium industry.

We ought to have a copper industry.

We ought to be a world leader in recycling technology by now.

We could have been a world leader in alternative energy production.

We ought to have a computer industry.

We should be selling Health & Safety consultancy and Equal Ops consultancy.

But most importantly, we should be giving students grants, tax breaks to R&D departments and a simple taxation and bureaucracy system to small enterprises. That then will create the export businesses of the future.

[AtW]

Weak argument, Germany are one of the world's biggest exporters.

CEO of BMW studied Mechanical Engineering, run R&D, was Technical Director - he is a Doctor of no bull-tulip science.

And who was the last guy who run Rover? You know one of those who paid a tenner for it