The Tories are due to release their proposals tomorrow. I trust that
they will listen to the views here. The CH: Blog below looks at it
from a partisan point-of-view - ie: what would be most profitable
for the Tories electorally - as they would be expected to do.
But in that, is the message has clearly reached that blog’s
readership that they do not, from the nation’s point of view, want
to see tax cuts funded by more borrowing. To do that, as Brown-
Darling are expected to announce they will, would be the most
cynically irresponsible act of that devious and calculating political
team . There is plenty of fat to be cut from government spending
ranging from the grandiose - and unpopular - big projects costing
tens of Billions to the smaller ones like the bonanza for some MPs
being paid extra to sit on new regional committees costing a ‘mere’
£1,5 Million
xxxxxxxxx cs
===========================
CONSERVATIVE HOME Blog
The Tory tax cut must not be a mouse
The Telegraph reports that "Alistair Darling will announce measures
worth several hundred pounds to every family struggling to cope in
the downturn." The Conservatives, meanwhile, will announce a fully-
funded tax relief that, the Today programme reports, will be targeted
on people in danger of losing their jobs.
Although small tax cuts can work electorally (see the experience of
Canada) it is vital that tomorrow's Conservative tax reliefs are
proportionate to the scale of the economic challenge facing Britain.
Tory members agree with the leadership that indebted Britain cannot
afford even more borrowing but tough spending restraint could afford
large tax reliefs [68% of members want lower taxes. 57% want tax
cuts funded by tighter spending control (also to be used to reduce
borrowing) and 11% are content for lower taxes to be financed by
higher borrowing ] (a position supported by today's Daily Mail) [qv] .
Trevor Kavanagh uses his Sun column [qv] to attack the "sloppy
assumptions" of the Conservative position - particularly on economics
but the most important warning to David Cameron and George Osborne
comes from Fraser Nelson. Writing at Coffee House he points to the
experience of America where Barack Obama 'stole' the tax issue from
the Republicans:
"McCain didn’t think for a moment that the tax-cutting agenda could
ever be stolen from the conservatives. He was wrong. Obama put tax
cuts at the front and centre of every speech he made, even if this
wasn’t much reported in Britain. Look at www.obamataxcut.com to see
the power of the message he was sending American voters. You enter
your income, and see how much better-off you’d be under Obama than
under McCain. Obama placed tax cuts at the start of his
“infomercial,” he ran two-minute television adverts on tax cuts. He
stole the issue from under the noses of the conservatives. Just like
Bush did with education in 2000 and Clinton with welfare reform in
1992."
===========================
DAILY MAIL 10.11.08
Comment: It's time to cut taxes AND public spending
By DAILY MAIL COMMENT
So what exactly is the Government’s strategy for steering us through
the looming recession?
Last month, the Treasury was said to be preparing a series of
‘gentle’ tax rises and spending cuts to help plug Britain’s
terrifying budget deficit.
Now, we are told that Gordon Brown proposes to boost the ailing
economy with a multi-billion-pound package of tax cuts.
The theory is that taxpayers will spend their handout on domestic
goods and services, breathing new life into the economy and giving
business a kick-start.
Spurred on by Labour’s munificence, the Tories, who have been groping
for something distinctive to say about the economic crisis, are
preparing a rival programme of tax cuts, designed to create so-called
‘fiscal stimulus’.
Now of course, everyone would like to pay less tax, but these cuts
can only be funded by yet more borrowing. Despite 11 years of growth,
all the money Labour collected in the good years has been spent. The
Treasury cupboard is bare.
So prudence must be replaced by profligacy and some time soon, we
will all have to pay the bill.
Next year, Britain’s budget deficit is predicted to top £100billion.
This means the Government will have to borrow ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND
MILLION pounds just to pay its annual bills – an average of more than
£2,000 for every taxpayer.
Eventually the money will have to be paid back – with interest – and
that can only be done by increasing taxes.
Based on pure economics, the decision to borrow yet more to fund
cosmetic tax cuts therefore seems insane.
Politically, however, it has a distinct, if cynical logic. The
Government clearly hopes to cushion the electorate from the worst
effects of recession until after the next election. If they win, they
have five years’ breathing space.
If they lose, they leave the Tories with the most poisonous financial
legacy since 1979, when Mrs Thatcher inherited a basket-case economy
from Labour.
Instead of short-term political manoeuvring, ministers should focus
on finding a long-term solution, starting with a programme to reduce
public spending, which has mushroomed since 1997.
If this is not done now, and a plan is not formulated to curb
borrowing, recession could become slump and the pain for hardworking
families would be unbearable.
===================
THE SUN 10.11.08
Brown drowns but Tories are all at sea
By TREVOR KAVANAGH
THE Tories are leading in the latest poll by 13 per cent. Can you
believe that?
If so, with the Conservatives virtually mute on the world’s worst
economic crisis, Labour really is finished.
The International Monetary Fund says Britain is rudderless, with few
lifeboats and no rescue in sight.
Last week interest rates were slammed into reverse — but too late to
save this sucker going down.
Yet as jobs and homes start sinking, it is Gordon Brown who looks
like a real skipper, with David Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George
Osborne just bit players in Titanic.
We can see their faces on TV, but the words are muffled.
It was left to the Queen to ask the question on everyone’s lips: “Why
didn’t anyone see this coming?”
The economy should be home turf for a party of commerce and high
finance. Yet it is Lib Dem Vince Cable who makes us sit up and
listen, not Mr Osborne.
It’s not as if the Tories are short of ammunition — or targets. Last
week’s emergency 1.5 per cent rate cut was an admission of failure.
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has bungled his job —
controlling inflation — and condemned us to a deeper slump than need be.
But he was acting on the orders of Gordon Brown, who set the Bank’s
terms in 1997 and has been basking in approval ever since.
It was also Mr Brown who abolished its watchdog role over High Street
banks, leaving them free to lend recklessly then expect taxpayers to
bail them out.
If the SS Great Britain is holed below the waterline, these were the
two torpedoes that caused the damage — not a “Made in America” iceberg.
It was also Gordon Brown who loaded the ship with debt, tax and high
spending, leaving us to wallow in treacherous waters.
Spiked
The Opposition has made these points — but with nothing like the
effect Labour mustered in the 1990s recession. Back then, Shadow
Chancellor Gordon Brown was a roaring lion, ripping shreds off
hapless Prime Minister John Major.
It was this forensic triumph that paved the way to Labour’s long run
in power.
David Cameron cannot do the same because he has spiked his own guns.
He could have trumpeted Labour extravagance, promised to cut spending
and taxes and establish the Tories as the party of economic competence.
Instead, he not only ruled out tax cuts but promised to match the
Government’s spending spree. Cuts of any sort, he feared, would
revive the image of the Tories as the Nasty Party.
Now, as voters face meltdown over jobs, pensions and homes, they have
little to say that really hits a nerve. That is why, even after
giving Britain’s recession an extra kick, Gordon Brown remains ahead
as an economic manager.
Belatedly, Mr Cameron is now talking about cutting tax and putting
money back into hard-pressed family budgets. But this is not cutting-
edge thinking. The whole world is doing the same to stop the economy
seizing up. Even Gordon Brown, who at any other time would rather
swallow poison, is ready to use this month’s Pre-Budget Report to cut
tax.
The speed of this downturn has exposed lots of sloppy assumptions.
One was the belief that, with Tony Blair gone, the Tories could sit
back and wait for Gordon to hand them the keys to Downing Street.
And it almost worked. Six weeks ago Gordon looked doomed.
Today, he has turned a pig’s ear into a silk purse, winning accolades
for saving Europe’s banks. He is President Obama’s new best friend
and competing ferociously with French President Nicolas Sarkozy as
the main man in the EU.
And to cap a good run, he shocked everyone by winning last week’s
Glenrothes by-election. [He didn’t - the SNP lost it in this crisis
as the Scots became scared of independence -cs] !
In the end Labour will probably lose next time simply because they
have been around too long.
By next spring — the earliest time Mr Brown can call a General
Election — unemployment will be starting to soar as firms go bust.
He should carry the can for turning a safe ship into a potential wreck.
But right now, neither Mr Cameron nor Mr Osborne have captured our
imagination with a reassuring alternative.
they will listen to the views here. The CH: Blog below looks at it
from a partisan point-of-view - ie: what would be most profitable
for the Tories electorally - as they would be expected to do.
But in that, is the message has clearly reached that blog’s
readership that they do not, from the nation’s point of view, want
to see tax cuts funded by more borrowing. To do that, as Brown-
Darling are expected to announce they will, would be the most
cynically irresponsible act of that devious and calculating political
team . There is plenty of fat to be cut from government spending
ranging from the grandiose - and unpopular - big projects costing
tens of Billions to the smaller ones like the bonanza for some MPs
being paid extra to sit on new regional committees costing a ‘mere’
£1,5 Million
xxxxxxxxx cs
===========================
CONSERVATIVE HOME Blog
The Tory tax cut must not be a mouse
The Telegraph reports that "Alistair Darling will announce measures
worth several hundred pounds to every family struggling to cope in
the downturn." The Conservatives, meanwhile, will announce a fully-
funded tax relief that, the Today programme reports, will be targeted
on people in danger of losing their jobs.
Although small tax cuts can work electorally (see the experience of
Canada) it is vital that tomorrow's Conservative tax reliefs are
proportionate to the scale of the economic challenge facing Britain.
Tory members agree with the leadership that indebted Britain cannot
afford even more borrowing but tough spending restraint could afford
large tax reliefs [68% of members want lower taxes. 57% want tax
cuts funded by tighter spending control (also to be used to reduce
borrowing) and 11% are content for lower taxes to be financed by
higher borrowing ] (a position supported by today's Daily Mail) [qv] .
Trevor Kavanagh uses his Sun column [qv] to attack the "sloppy
assumptions" of the Conservative position - particularly on economics
but the most important warning to David Cameron and George Osborne
comes from Fraser Nelson. Writing at Coffee House he points to the
experience of America where Barack Obama 'stole' the tax issue from
the Republicans:
"McCain didn’t think for a moment that the tax-cutting agenda could
ever be stolen from the conservatives. He was wrong. Obama put tax
cuts at the front and centre of every speech he made, even if this
wasn’t much reported in Britain. Look at www.obamataxcut.com to see
the power of the message he was sending American voters. You enter
your income, and see how much better-off you’d be under Obama than
under McCain. Obama placed tax cuts at the start of his
“infomercial,” he ran two-minute television adverts on tax cuts. He
stole the issue from under the noses of the conservatives. Just like
Bush did with education in 2000 and Clinton with welfare reform in
1992."
===========================
DAILY MAIL 10.11.08
Comment: It's time to cut taxes AND public spending
By DAILY MAIL COMMENT
So what exactly is the Government’s strategy for steering us through
the looming recession?
Last month, the Treasury was said to be preparing a series of
‘gentle’ tax rises and spending cuts to help plug Britain’s
terrifying budget deficit.
Now, we are told that Gordon Brown proposes to boost the ailing
economy with a multi-billion-pound package of tax cuts.
The theory is that taxpayers will spend their handout on domestic
goods and services, breathing new life into the economy and giving
business a kick-start.
Spurred on by Labour’s munificence, the Tories, who have been groping
for something distinctive to say about the economic crisis, are
preparing a rival programme of tax cuts, designed to create so-called
‘fiscal stimulus’.
Now of course, everyone would like to pay less tax, but these cuts
can only be funded by yet more borrowing. Despite 11 years of growth,
all the money Labour collected in the good years has been spent. The
Treasury cupboard is bare.
So prudence must be replaced by profligacy and some time soon, we
will all have to pay the bill.
Next year, Britain’s budget deficit is predicted to top £100billion.
This means the Government will have to borrow ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND
MILLION pounds just to pay its annual bills – an average of more than
£2,000 for every taxpayer.
Eventually the money will have to be paid back – with interest – and
that can only be done by increasing taxes.
Based on pure economics, the decision to borrow yet more to fund
cosmetic tax cuts therefore seems insane.
Politically, however, it has a distinct, if cynical logic. The
Government clearly hopes to cushion the electorate from the worst
effects of recession until after the next election. If they win, they
have five years’ breathing space.
If they lose, they leave the Tories with the most poisonous financial
legacy since 1979, when Mrs Thatcher inherited a basket-case economy
from Labour.
Instead of short-term political manoeuvring, ministers should focus
on finding a long-term solution, starting with a programme to reduce
public spending, which has mushroomed since 1997.
If this is not done now, and a plan is not formulated to curb
borrowing, recession could become slump and the pain for hardworking
families would be unbearable.
===================
THE SUN 10.11.08
Brown drowns but Tories are all at sea
By TREVOR KAVANAGH
THE Tories are leading in the latest poll by 13 per cent. Can you
believe that?
If so, with the Conservatives virtually mute on the world’s worst
economic crisis, Labour really is finished.
The International Monetary Fund says Britain is rudderless, with few
lifeboats and no rescue in sight.
Last week interest rates were slammed into reverse — but too late to
save this sucker going down.
Yet as jobs and homes start sinking, it is Gordon Brown who looks
like a real skipper, with David Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George
Osborne just bit players in Titanic.
We can see their faces on TV, but the words are muffled.
It was left to the Queen to ask the question on everyone’s lips: “Why
didn’t anyone see this coming?”
The economy should be home turf for a party of commerce and high
finance. Yet it is Lib Dem Vince Cable who makes us sit up and
listen, not Mr Osborne.
It’s not as if the Tories are short of ammunition — or targets. Last
week’s emergency 1.5 per cent rate cut was an admission of failure.
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has bungled his job —
controlling inflation — and condemned us to a deeper slump than need be.
But he was acting on the orders of Gordon Brown, who set the Bank’s
terms in 1997 and has been basking in approval ever since.
It was also Mr Brown who abolished its watchdog role over High Street
banks, leaving them free to lend recklessly then expect taxpayers to
bail them out.
If the SS Great Britain is holed below the waterline, these were the
two torpedoes that caused the damage — not a “Made in America” iceberg.
It was also Gordon Brown who loaded the ship with debt, tax and high
spending, leaving us to wallow in treacherous waters.
Spiked
The Opposition has made these points — but with nothing like the
effect Labour mustered in the 1990s recession. Back then, Shadow
Chancellor Gordon Brown was a roaring lion, ripping shreds off
hapless Prime Minister John Major.
It was this forensic triumph that paved the way to Labour’s long run
in power.
David Cameron cannot do the same because he has spiked his own guns.
He could have trumpeted Labour extravagance, promised to cut spending
and taxes and establish the Tories as the party of economic competence.
Instead, he not only ruled out tax cuts but promised to match the
Government’s spending spree. Cuts of any sort, he feared, would
revive the image of the Tories as the Nasty Party.
Now, as voters face meltdown over jobs, pensions and homes, they have
little to say that really hits a nerve. That is why, even after
giving Britain’s recession an extra kick, Gordon Brown remains ahead
as an economic manager.
Belatedly, Mr Cameron is now talking about cutting tax and putting
money back into hard-pressed family budgets. But this is not cutting-
edge thinking. The whole world is doing the same to stop the economy
seizing up. Even Gordon Brown, who at any other time would rather
swallow poison, is ready to use this month’s Pre-Budget Report to cut
tax.
The speed of this downturn has exposed lots of sloppy assumptions.
One was the belief that, with Tony Blair gone, the Tories could sit
back and wait for Gordon to hand them the keys to Downing Street.
And it almost worked. Six weeks ago Gordon looked doomed.
Today, he has turned a pig’s ear into a silk purse, winning accolades
for saving Europe’s banks. He is President Obama’s new best friend
and competing ferociously with French President Nicolas Sarkozy as
the main man in the EU.
And to cap a good run, he shocked everyone by winning last week’s
Glenrothes by-election. [He didn’t - the SNP lost it in this crisis
as the Scots became scared of independence -cs] !
In the end Labour will probably lose next time simply because they
have been around too long.
By next spring — the earliest time Mr Brown can call a General
Election — unemployment will be starting to soar as firms go bust.
He should carry the can for turning a safe ship into a potential wreck.
But right now, neither Mr Cameron nor Mr Osborne have captured our
imagination with a reassuring alternative.
Posts
