Welfarism

Why a wealth tax is a terrible idea

philmullan Debt, Economic policy, Politics, state, Welfarism

The wealth tax cure-all is having its day. Long time a favourite of the ‘progressive’ left to ameliorate the evils of capitalism, it has gained extra exposure from Gary Stevenson, the City trader turned bestselling author, YouTuber and leftist poster-boy. This self-acclaimed “very, very good economist” puts taxing the rich at the centre of his crusade for a fairer society. More recently, with the Labour government’s fiscal plans in tatters, their former leader Neil Kinnock floated the expediency of a 2 per cent tax on assets valued above £10 million. Subsequently at Prime Minister’s Questions the current leader Keir Starmer refused to rule out a new tax on wealth. 

Little better illustrates today’s political and cultural barriers to economic growth than these voguish proposals for a wealth tax. The suggestion of taxing the super-rich to address the government’s fiscal hole is another lily-livered evasion of the tough decisions required. It expresses the cultural and political elites’ prerogative that there is always some other group who can pay for social needs and for their own privileges.

Governments need to stop assuming there is always someone to pay for their spineless overspending. 

Read the full article here.

The dystopian truth about a universal basic income

philmullan Economic policy, Employment, state, technology, Welfarism

Proposals for a universal basic income (UBI) are rarely out of the news. UBI is regularly championed, but rarely criticised. If it’s true that it’s an idea whose time has come, as some suggest, we should be very worried indeed.

The basic idea of a UBI is that the state would make a regular guaranteed payment to every citizen, regardless of their means and employment status. It would be set at a level sufficient to cover the ‘basic’ necessities of life: food, shelter and clothing. Its advocates, from the left and from parts of the free-market right, claim that this would simplify the welfare system, tackle poverty and improve recipients’ mental health.

The enthusiasm with which UBI is now being advocated by certain sections of society tells us a lot about how these left-leaning think-tankers, academics, journalists and even some free-marketeers view work, individual autonomy and the potential of automation.

Read the full article here.