Darling Tries, but Misses the Mark
Darling's problem is that he has inherited an economy facing perhaps the worst downturn for decades, but given the Government's neo-liberal monetarist agenda can do little about it when public borrowing is already at £40bn. The Budget is therefore a deflection of attention to other more innocuous areas.
There are small, but welcome, measures to reduce child poverty. But the reduction in the number of children living in households with incomes below 60% of the median (the conventional definition of poverty) is only from 2.2 million to 2.1 million. Pensioners will get a higher winter fuel allowance, but nowhere near enough to compensate for the 50% rise in energy prices for the poorest households over this last year.
Over climate change the Chancellor is full of good intentions, but there is no smack of firm action. He is 'examining proposals' for an 80% carbon reduction target, yet the evidence is overwhelming that this is necessary - so why doesn't he say he'll do it, especially since it would win him billions in extra revenues which at this moment he desperately needs? And plastic bags are going to come under the cosh if the retail industry doesn't deliver reductions in use within a year. But why pussycat around when we already use a staggering 13 billion a year and when voluntary action will never deliver the 90% cut needed?
And high-polluting cars (Whitehallese for gas-guzzlers) will be dealt with - but only with higher rates of road tax unspecified and not until 2010. Why not in 2008, and why not £1,000 for the SUVs if he really intends to discourage their use, not merely make a gesture?
At least Darling has kept to his annual £30,000 fee for non-doms, but again not till they've been staying in Britain for 7 years. Why wait 7 years rather than, say, 3 years, and why not a 2-tier rate with a higher rate of perhaps £100,000 per year for the really big boys, the multi-millionaires and billionaires? That's still a snip for the ex-pats in Monaco.
One of the biggest indictments of Britain today is that inequality has grown hugely under New Labour and we are now the most unequal society in the Western world apart from the US. Not much change then in this budget.
- Published on The Independent's Open House forum 12 March 2008
Comments
I agree we need to tax the wealthy oil and energy companies who are exploiting the ordinary customer. They cannot have it both ways one minute they claim they need to invest, so they need raise prices, well if they need to invest why are they making such big profits. If they will not invest the government should by taxing the companies. .
Posted by: dirty european socialist | March 20, 2008 05:33 PM