How would you fix the economy?

[Sheff]

Invent a time machine, go back 5 years.

Cut all government spending across all departments by 10% in one financial year.

Lower VAT to 15%

Increase personal tax allowance to 10k in one financial year.

National Insurance holiday for employers the first 2 people next employed by small and medium businesses.

Use half of the money raised by QE to build social housing without the "right to buy" clause, use the other half for infrastructure and nuclear and renewable power.

Or failing that, offer to sell the Falkland Islands to Argentina for a Trillion pounds.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Use half of the money raised by QE to build social housing without the "right to buy" clause, use the other half for infrastructure and nuclear and renewable power.

Don't think you quite understand what QE is.

 

[Sheff]

Don't think you quite understand what QE is.

BoE buying short term government bonds, which are in turn used to buy long term government bonds?

 

[elmarko]

Ok, so you have bought 10,000 Dell servers. Now what?

 

[neodude]

Not an expert in any way shape or form. But...

Flat Rate Tax of 25%
Stringent Points immigration system, including for euro-citizens (or get out of Europe)
After 3 job offers JSA cut to zero. You are unemployed, you can't afford to be picky.
More strictly controlled Disability Benefits. I know people with "A sore back" that say they can't work, yet know people in wheelchairs that manage 40/week just fine.
Benefits replaced with food/bill vouchers. If you are on benefits you shouldn't be able to afford Sky TV, Cigarettes, 60 inch Plasmas, makeup or holidays (and maybe it will encourage you into work).

...Would be a good start. Can probably think of loads more but those are the main ones.

 

[The Running Man]

Ensure the wealthy pay tax.

Id run an advert campaign, Hero / Villain. Lewis Hamilton ... You decide.
things like that which target he wealthy who have undoubtedly benefitted from being brought up in the UK only to pay financial experts to best avoid taxation that should be due on that kind of income.

Perhaps force them to renounce UK citizenship on non tax payment etc,

 

[Hatter The Mad]

BoE buying short term government bonds, which are in turn used to buy long term government bonds?

The Bank creates new money and purchases government bonds largely from private entities.

Because they're buying bonds and increasing the market price of those bonds, this indirectly reduces the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, increasing the supply of money in the economy; it's an indirect lever which produces smoother influences.

I think what you're suggesting is that the Bank of England would simply create new money and transfer it to the Exchequer? Wouldn't this really screw with markets and literally jerk them around?

 

[One More Solo]

Ensure the wealthy pay tax.

Id run an advert campaign, Hero / Villain. Lewis Hamilton ... You decide.
things like that which target he wealthy who have undoubtedly benefitted from being brought up in the UK only to pay financial experts to best avoid taxation that should be due on that kind of income.

Perhaps force them to renounce UK citizenship on non tax payment etc,

Yeah, great idea, let's victimise the people who still contribute the most tax revenue in the UK (even if they avoid some of it).

 

[Biohazard]

Hope is but the first step on the road to disappointment...

I'm not so pessimistic.

 

[arc@css]

Something higher will fix it.

 

[Number_25]

• Increase tax across the board. (35% for basic rate, 50% for higher rate and 60% for additional rate).
• Increase NI.
• Stop the privitisation of the NHS.
• Nationalise all the banks and create a singular national bank.
• Nationalise all public transport.
• Forced nationalisation of gas and water suppliers.
• Increase in Fuel tax.
• More inclusion in the EU (possibility of joining the € for the benefit of both us and the European people)
• Cut spending on military.
• Increase spending on schools and healthcare.
• Ban private schools. (Incentive for tax dodgers to pay tax).
• Free tuition fees for University to achieve higher social mobility.

It's more of a long term game than just a quick fix.

 

[elmarko]

Yeah, great idea, let's victimise the people who still contribute the most tax revenue in the UK (even if they avoid some of it).

They pay most the tax because they hoard most of the income.

It's not a very strong argument against it.

I'd suggest the following changes.

1. Large scale house building (desirable homes in desireable areas - not cheap apartments in places with no jobs) to reduce our reliance on the private rental sector for people in receipt of housing benefit - with the purpose of A - bringing down house prices (to encourage public spending in our local economy) & B - bringing down our benefit bills.

2. Expand social programs such as sure-start, with the intention of prevent children growing up into criminals/unmotivated people to save money in the long-run.

3. Put in place plans to change our criminal justice system to mirrow that of nations with much lower reoffender rates (Such as Norway), again to save money in the long-run.

4. Create a national UK bank, one which offers little in the form of interest but guarantees the funds put in by the public - profits generated go into funding low cost loans for first time buyers to get onto the housing market/or new business start-up loans.

5. Renationalise our rail & energy industries, the rail industry has failed at bringing lower costs to the public & by the energy sector having the additional element of competition/uncertainty in customer size has added additional levels of market risk (which further results in higher costs for customers).

6. Conduct a wide scale study with the intention of legalising & taxing cannabis - to provide further income for the government & take money out of the hands of drug dealers/reduce the cost of policing crime related to cannabis usage.

All of the above would have to be backed by independent peer review evidence to be put in effect.

 

[Sheff]

The Bank creates new money and purchases government bonds largely from private entities.

Because they're buying bonds and increasing the market price of those bonds, this indirectly reduces the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, increasing the supply of money in the economy; it's an indirect lever which produces smoother influences.

I think what you're suggesting is that the Bank of England would simply create new money and transfer it to the Exchequer? Wouldn't this really screw with markets and literally jerk them around?

Transferring by buying bonds, with the income generated by rent on the new houses used to pay back those bonds.

To be honest I have no idea - but I think my first proposal was the most absurd!

 

[The Running Man]

Yeah, great idea, let's victimise the people who still contribute the most tax revenue in the UK (even if they avoid some of it).

Do you avoid paying UK tax? Most people i.e 95% of the population cannot dodge the tax, they cant afford to. And generally get taxed directly on their wage.

Im not saying that what he is doing is illegal, but he should not be fete'd as some UK hero when he hasn't lived here or paid these kind of taxes in 6 years.

 

[One More Solo]

They pay most the tax because they hoard most of the income.

It's not a very strong argument against it.

They don't "hoard" income, someone else deems that they are worth receiving that income. If you disagree with that valuation of their skillset then that is immaterial really.

Highly mobile groups like sportsmen, big business figures etc will use that mobility to pay less tax and their is nothing we can do about it as a country because we can't influence the tax policies of other nations.

Do you avoid paying UK tax? Most people i.e 95% of the population cannot dodge the tax, they cant afford to. And generally get taxed directly on their wage.

Im not saying that what he is doing is illegal, but he should not be fete'd as some UK hero when he hasn't lived here or paid these kind of taxes in 6 years.

He's a "UK hero" because of his driving ability, not his tax affairs.

Edit: and, like all of us, he still pays tax on what he earns in the UK. Why should he pay tax on everything he earns around the world by virtue of being born here?

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Just print more money so everyone has enough. The complexities of Economics, if they even exist, are overplayed.

 

[One More Solo]

Just print more money so everyone has enough. The complexities of Economics, if they even exist, are overplayed.

Sounds great, as long as poor people don't get any.

 

[elmarko]

They don't "hoard" income, someone else deems that they are worth receiving that income. If you disagree with that valuation of their skillset then that is immaterial really.

If only that was how it worked in the real world.

 

[TJM]

Kill everyone.

 

[No1newts]

• Increase tax across the board. (35% for basic rate, 50% for higher rate and 60% for additional rate).
• Increase NI.
• Stop the privitisation of the NHS.
• Nationalise all the banks and create a singular national bank.
• Nationalise all public transport.
• Forced nationalisation of gas and water suppliers.
• Increase in Fuel tax.
• More inclusion in the EU (possibility of joining the € for the benefit of both us and the European people)
• Cut spending on military.
• Increase spending on schools and healthcare.
• Ban private schools. (Incentive for tax dodgers to pay tax).
• Free tuition fees for University to achieve higher social mobility.

It's more of a long term game than just a quick fix.

Unfortunately we don't have a smiley which can summarise my feelings on the above.

But suffice to say I'm sure you would have fun in your socialist utopia by yourself up until it fell in on your head.