I’m not given to authoritarianism but if I were, this chart from the report of the 2020 Tax Commission would be in every MP’s office: I would have thought anyone, with a moment’s reflection, would understand that limited government was another casualty of the world wars. As I have said […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "Statism"
This is a crisis of state intervention
In the past few posts, I reproduced the economist Ludwig von Mises’ 1949 explanation of “the crisis of interventionism”, which insisted that the “third way” is a system of economic organisation which cannot last. We must choose between either state socialism or a free society. State socialism would be chaos but […]
Read MoreThe average family pays £656,000 in tax over their lifetime
The TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) shows that the average family pays £656,000 in tax over their lifetime. After years of the state overspending and misusing our money we now have a greater idea of how far this legacy cripples the finances of British families. The TPA’s latest research shows the total amount of […]
Read MoreVia Detlev Schlichter: Deceits and delusions – Some thoughts on the euro-crisis and democracy
Anybody with any knowledge of economics should feel uneasy at the sight of a country where half of recorded economic activity is conducted by the state. Are such semi-socialist societies operable, and if so, for how long? Read the article via Deceits and delusions – Some thoughts on the euro-crisis […]
Read MoreAutumn Statement chart of the day: tax and spending
The economic facts behind the Autumn Statement, in as far as they are known or forecast, are available in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook from the Office for Budget Responsibility. Table 4.7 provides forecast current receipts. Table 4.18 provides total managed expenditure. So, here’s a chart of current receipts (i.e. tax) […]
Read MoreRemarks on the Eurozone crisis at the People’s Pledge Congress
At the People’s Pledge Congress today, I appeared on a panel discussing the political implications of the Eurozone crisis. I would have loved to focus on democracy, freedom and the rule of law but the cause of the crisis was the key theme. As ever, I blamed our statist, inflationary […]
Read MoreBig ideas for Britain’s future
Yesterday, I gave a presentation which sets out: What Conservatives have always sought to conserve – liberty against the onslaught of socialism, of state control. How the war of ideas has been won by the statists over the course of a century, leading to our present crisis. What the Coalition […]
Read MoreEquitable Life Update
Recently, my researcher Tim attended the APPG on Equitable Life. The biggest issue discussed was that of pre-1992 policy holders who have been excluded from the compensation mechanism. The group heard from Honor Blackman, who is set to receive a full 100% compensation, while two other victims of the Equitable Life collapse […]
Read MoreTory MP says HMRC ‘menacing’ letters show state is using ‘sinister’ psychology | News | Money Marketing
Updated. A story on Money Marketing, reporting my comments to them on a letter that two of my constituents received from HMRC as a first demand (notwithstanding HMRC’s claim in the article that it is only sent as a third reminder): A Conservative MP says recent letters from HM Revenue […]
Read MoreOn the EU, social thinking and local democracy
The People’s Pledge offered me the chance to supply a guest blog post, in which I argue that the EU should be abolished: I detested the European Constitution. It was palpably statist and bound to produce an unaccountable bureaucracy. It was everything Hayek warned us about in The Road to […]
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