Rant number 81
To begin with, I would just like to say that I am a bad mood. (And yes, I know you could argue I am constantly in a bad mood to rant so much.. That being the case, I am in a very bad mood.)
You could argue several reasons for this.
I can confirm however, that it was not: The fact that I have been some kind of idiot magnet today - having to talk to them endlessly. (Although this really, really was annoying.
It was not: The drive home, with yet more idiots clogging up the road, getting in the way and generally being annoying. (Although this was completely infuriating!)
It was not the slightly muggy weather - making everything feel grotty and miserable. (Although this was sole destroying)
It was actually something I woke up with: the knowledge that it was Budget day.
Ever since I was old enough to work, to earn and to understand these things - Budget day has put me in a bad mood.
Its that very special time each year, where our chancellor (always a man with all the charisma of a plain yoghurt,) proves to us how irrelevant our opinions are.
Each and every year, they pretend to be helping us - throwing us a shiny bone to hold, whilst they pick our pockets.
For those of you who have not read/heard/seen anything about the budget (something I suggest you all do - its good to know how we are getting screwed) I can summarise it easily for you.
They are going to increase your tax free allowance - by about £1000 per year - increasing most of personal incomes by about £240 per year.
This sounds great doesn't it, until you realise is works out at a total of £4.60ish a week. And that most things you actually have to buy will be going up!
One thing we asked for - all of us, was a relief on fuel duty - it hurts us all - getting to work, getting about, in shops - everywhere.
Luckily the government were listening.
Unluckily though, they don't give a shit.
As planned, fuel - which already hurts us so bad, will be going up by yet another 3p per litre.
£4.60 a week suddenly doesn't seem so brilliant does it, when you realise that the above will absorb half of this. (Also, those of you on public transport - don't think you are exempt from this, they are bound to be passing on any increase to themselves, to you. Thats how it works)
Oh, and - as promised - you guys are taking the brunt for some tax relief on those poor struggling super high earners (yeah, the bastards who got us into the recession mess in the first place) whose tax will be dropping by 5p - that's an extra £7500 a year in their back pockets at a very minimum.
How's the £4.60 sound now?
Yeah
I feel like I need a drink (up 5.4%(40% since 2008!)) or If I smoked, I would definitely want a cigarette (up 5%)
I would quite like to fit that fucking chancellor in his stupid red suitcase. I am sure with some creative use of a wood chipper, this would be entirely possible. Anyone with me?
Just a thought...
Rant over.
At least we're currently too young to be affected by this 'granny tax' ...
ReplyDeleteThe thing that bugs me most about the cuts in the 50p tax is that they (the conservative scumbags) claim it's pointless because it didn't raise as much money as labour forecast it would (apparently, they wanted to reduce it to 40p but Clegg grew some testicles and/or remembered he's meant to be liberal, or so he says). So you're telling me that the amount of money it raised is an insignificant amount? ("The 50p tax, brought in by Labour, raised just a few hundred million pounds rather than the £2.5billion initially estimated." courtesy of Daily Mail, purely because I like the term 'just a few hundred million'). Surely a 'just a few hundred million' pounds is a big enough value to mean something? Even to these pricks born with silver spoons in their mouths. Ok, so it only affects c.300,000 people and most of them are probably taking the taxman out for lunch/dinner/a blowjob to slash any other taxes they're paying but how can a tax prediction go so awry? These people earn this much, if we tax them this much, the government receives this much. It seems pretty simple. I'm no taxman/economist but surely to get a figure that wrong is either due some dodgy loophole or downright erroneous calculations, maybe even a mix of both. I guess I just can't get my head around the logic of a tax-cut for any demographic during a period of austerity ...
Hi Rob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment and for your sensible and articulate thoughts.
I completely agree with your points (in fact the super rich tax cut was my subject a few days ago!) and agree that 'a few hundred million' is a typically Daily mail type thing to say.
If it brings in business I suppose its an advantage - but I would really have preferred to get screwed less on fuel - rather than being thrown a pointless bone (that doubtless won't even buy me a pint at this rate!)
The granny tax I must admit was not covered properly until after I'd written this rant. Its just another way to screw those that can't fight back - something that the Tories have always done so well.
If you'd like to exchange blog links - you seem to have a similar world outlook.