Poll: General election voting round 5 (final one)

[Dolph]

Irrelevant - we're discussing coalition tax cuts here and you can't just look at one tax (income) and say 'yay I'm better off thanks to the coalition' if rises in another tax (consumption) has meant that you're worse off.

Income taxes are not avoidable, consumption taxes are. The difference matters to people without an irrational thinking disorder.

 

[Tunney]

"Should We Re-elect the Worst British Government for 75 Years?" by Dr Simon Duffy, Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform

Dr Duffy has an interesting perspective on the current government. I'm not sure if I totally agree that the harm has been 'carefully targeted' but he does back up his claims with clear evidence.

 

[Mr Jack]

My own tax bill came down significantly thanks to Tory policies.

I doubt that unless you're so short sighted that you only manage to count the taxes you pay through income tax.

I'm sure there are a few people for who it is true but, on average, across the entire household income spectrum almost everyone is worse off. Even then, the total collapse in wage growth under the coalition has meant that those paying less in tax are losing it through inflation.

 

[Dolph]

"Should We Re-elect the Worst British Government for 75 Years?" by Dr Simon Duffy, Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform

Dr Duffy has an interesting perspective on the current government. I'm not sure if I totally agree that the harm has been 'carefully targeted' but he does back up his claims with clear evidence.

He is falsely ascribing malice. The lowest decile lost the most propprtionally due to cuts in government contributions because they had received the largest proportion of their income from government contributions. He also ignores the rapid increase in state spending on certain groups in the decade prior.

His NHS point dishonestly compares the uk and us while ignoring the fact that pretty much the whole of Europe does it differently (and with much better results) to us.

The problems go on. He seems to have prefaced the article with 'I am not a partisan man' in a similar way to people preface their views with 'I am not a racist' before they go spouting a load of racial hatred.

 

[cupidstunt]

https://youtu.be/jIaGWURONRU

Why we should control our boarders and keep any more of this lot out.

 

[kindai]

Income taxes are not avoidable, consumption taxes are. The difference matters to people without an irrational thinking disorder.

Well said.

 

[413x]

I doubt that unless you're so short sighted that you only manage to count the taxes you pay through income tax.

I'm sure there are a few people for who it is true but, on average, across the entire household income spectrum almost everyone is worse off. Even then, the total collapse in wage growth under the coalition has meant that those paying less in tax are losing it through inflation.

I'm pretty sure I'm better off but it's probably too close to Call with Council tax etc

I don't think I'll manage to get to the station this year but I'd vote conservative if I did
They still are and always have been closest to my views

 

[scorza]

Could have actually been the tories. Probably will never know who sent them.

Could have been the SNP in a false flag - you'd have to be monumentally stupid to work for the Labour party and send a letter like that, then again they are the party who opened our doors to uncontrolled immigration.

 

[Destination]

I doubt that unless you're so short sighted that you only manage to count the taxes you pay through income tax.

I'm sure there are a few people for who it is true but, on average, across the entire household income spectrum almost everyone is worse off. Even then, the total collapse in wage growth under the coalition has meant that those paying less in tax are losing it through inflation.

Indeed, and you will tell us again how magic growth would have made us accelerate faster than any other country on the planet. With us vastly overspending and refusing to admit to it under Ed, a point Ed laboured last week, saying that labour had NOT overspent! Ed's answer is now to overspend, but call it capital expenditure, and not label and lump it in with the rest of the spending, so it is over spending under a radically different name, but the same people will end up paying the same debt interest off.

 

[scorza]

https://youtu.be/jIaGWURONRU

Some nice truth bombs in that vid.

 

[scorza]

I'm pretty sure I'm better off but it's probably too close to Call with Council tax etc

I don't think I'll manage to get to the station this year but I'd vote conservative if I did
They still are and always have been closest to my views

Though it's true that under the Tories Council Tax was capped, I would argue it actually costs me more as the service has clearly diminished. Good example, garden waste collection used to be included in the CT bill, now I have to pay an extra £40 a year to receive that service. So while Eric Pickles was crowing on about his achievement about freezing council tax, I was looking at my bill and thinking it'd gone up by 4%

 

[Destination]

He is falsely ascribing malice. The lowest decile lost the most propprtionally due to cuts in government contributions because they had received the largest proportion of their income from government contributions. He also ignores the rapid increase in state spending on certain groups in the decade prior.

His NHS point dishonestly compares the uk and us while ignoring the fact that pretty much the whole of Europe does it differently (and with much better results) to us.

The problems go on. He seems to have prefaced the article with 'I am not a partisan man' in a similar way to people preface their views with 'I am not a racist' before they go spouting a load of racial hatred.

Indeed I agree, his point regarding student debt, you won't get saddled with debt if you do not attend. Your education has to be paid for some way, and although I think the current system is a ticking bomb waiting to detonate, some method of funding third tier education needs to be found, and if they don't do it income tax, they will do it in student debt.

The final point on housing is relatively moot, suggesting the government are to blame for low interest rates, and the rates are subsiding those in houses. As opposed to stated the actual obvious, that a 50 year high on interest rates would leave the vast majority of the country homeless.

He may not be partisan, but he offers no solutions, and interprets certain factors in a manner to twist and corrupt.

 

[Dolph]

Though it's true that under the Tories Council Tax was capped, I would argue it actually costs me more as the service has clearly diminished. Good example, garden waste collection used to be included in the CT bill, now I have to pay an extra £40 a year to receive that service. So while Eric Pickles was crowing on about his achievement about freezing council tax, I was looking at my bill and thinking it'd gone up by 4%

It isn't central government's fault your local council is crap and money grabbing. My local council is no more crap than it was before, they just haven't been able to price gouge the residents to fund pointless expenditure or feather the nests of their employees the same. I would suggest yours has chosen service cuts rather than cuts to the nest feathering budget.

 

[do_ron_ron]

So what you're saying is, one of the world's most influential men is supporting the Tories and the SNP? Nicola Sturgeon said that the SNP were completely opposed to the Tories, they are against each other aren't they?

He is doing what is best for Rupert Murdoch and his papers. You are not trying to tell me newspapers hold any loyalty to anyone(apart from themselves). Remember the "it's the Sun what won it" headline. All they did was reflect what the people were saying. The two different stances in Scotland and England were on the BBC news so it is a matter of record rather than my opinion. They are playing to different audiences. Murdoch knows what happens when the people turn against him. Think Liverpool and the Sun.
Merely business.

 

[robgmun]

My god, did anyone see this piece of stone Milliband wheeled out??

Can't be real, It's beyond parody, this must be his Kinnock moment where he's so sure he's going to to win he does something this brazen.

The mames are brilliant, the NS one is my fav

 

[scorza]

He is doing what is best for Rupert Murdoch and his papers. You are not trying to tell me newspapers hold any loyalty to anyone(apart from themselves). Remember the "it's the Sun what won it" headline. All they did was reflect what the people were saying. The two different stances in Scotland and England were on the BBC news so it is a matter of record rather than my opinion. They are playing to different audiences. Murdoch knows what happens when the people turn against him. Think Liverpool and the Sun.
Merely business.

All I'm doing is pondering the answers to questions - why is supporting the Tories and the SNP good for Rupert Murdoch? What are these two political parties doing to make sure of Rupert Murdoch's support? Is Rupert Murdoch the enemy of ordinary UK citizens or a friend? Is the enemy of my enemy not my friend?

 

[Slam62]

This is an interesting question, does he act through genuine belief or the self interest of making money.
Seems very odd to me that it should be anything but money, however these egotistical types are strange.

 

[robgmun]

Nothing like the BNP I see

Seems so

 

[thebennyboy]

Seems so

So much irony in that video.

 

[Mr Jack]

He is falsely ascribing malice. The lowest decile lost the most propprtionally due to cuts in government contributions because they had received the largest proportion of their income from government contributions. He also ignores the rapid increase in state spending on certain groups in the decade prior.

Nonsense. They had plenty of money to lavish on the much-larger state depending spending on pensioners and on tax cuts that mostly go to the middle and upper income deciles. The same tightening could have been achieved in a progressive fashion. That is was mostly regressive was an entirely voluntary choice on the part of the coalition backed by some of the ugliest rhetoric of recent times.

His NHS point dishonestly compares the uk and us while ignoring the fact that pretty much the whole of Europe does it differently (and with much better results) to us.

The NHS performs considerably better than almost every health service in Europe after you account for the fact that our country spends less on it than our neighbours. Some of this is down to the lower productivity of the UK; but mostly it's down to our unwillingness to elect governments that will actually collect taxes at sensible levels for the services we desire.