Neath_Jack said:
Surely something can be done about the obscene profits the energy companies are making, whilst more and more of the population slide into actual poverty? Couldn’t the government put a stop to this overnight if they wanted too? Genuine question.
My view is:
The tax burden could certainly be made fairer and more progressive, and companies could be targeted with a windfall tax properly for sure, but high energy and fuel costs feed into absolutely everything. I was also thinking of the 165,000 (?) vacancies in the NHS, services grinding to a halt, the destruction of businesses and the lack of staff to do anything thanks to this ridiculous Brexit self inflicted wound. All the short term actions are a sticking plaster over a ruptured spleen, but they still should be taken. This Government will do nothing but make it all worse and Starmer is much too scaredy cat to paint and drive the bold rethink required. As I said before though, he's the only hope we've got. Another 7 years of incompetent and malignant UK self harm for the top 1%s personal gain and there's no coming back.
So to answer the specific, yes, they could do something on that specific issue of energy companies, I would suggest 100% of excess profits, but it is ideologically abhorrent to them, so they won't. They will pretend to, by saying they will do something and then do nothing. Plus they will argue it would stop those companies 'investing' - presumably in Board bonuses and Shareholder dividends. Even if they did tax properly it wouldn't get anywhere near the people or services that need it. That's the way things roll in Government at kleast since 2016 - Promise, dissemble, do nothing except damage, give taxpayers money to themselves and their mates.
IMO regarding the 3-5 year outlook, it's bad, really bad. Couple that with a prolonged dose of global stagflation and I'm not entirely sure what anyone can do, but the current lot don't even have the desire, attitude or competence to try. The only ideas they have are driving division and making populist promises they have no intention of carrying through, except a tax cut that will, as always, benefit the rich more and fuel inflation further - people in poverty don't pay tax - while centralising more and more power that makes them unaccountable for their actions.
I tend to be pessimistic - you may have noticed
- I see it as my birthright, so I'd welcome an alternative argument from those that understnd things better than I do.
