Paul

A reminder that can object to raising taxes on the rich even if you aren’t rich because you think it’s a bad policy, just as you can object to tariffs even if you aren’t an importer.

Until someone bites the bullet, slashes spending, and does the difficult pro-growth reforms this country desperately needs, we will continue to have a ridiculous carousel of Prime Minsters. The truth is the Prime Minister could have survived the Mandelson scandal if people felt better off in their pockets. While there’s no growth, there’s no longevity of political tenure. Blair survived plenty of scandal, and plenty of Mandelson, ultimately because everything in life’s wider context didn’t feel so desperately shit. Until we have a political class brave enough to end the overspending, liberalise the labour market, and *actually* overhaul the planning system - we’re going to be stuck in this same psychodrama of doom.

everyone loves to point out renting is "just dead money" until you point out they'll spend £240k in mortgage interest over 30 years

Are we 100% sure nothing can surpass light speed?

A minimum wage of £15 would end my coffee shop, it would have to close, as would many other businesses. I’ll explain for the economically illiterate. Staff costs are currently half our costs, a £15 minimum wage is actually more than £15 an hour for the company, because you have to add: - 12.07% holiday - Sick pay - Maternity pay if and when required - National insurance - Pension contributions These costs would mean the shop loses money because remember, energy costs are up, rates are up, regulations are up. Now you can pass these costs onto the consumer - that would mean charging a lot more for coffee, people won’t pay it. The likes of Starbucks and Costa can, because they have economies of scale. The independent doesn’t. Now the little socialist will say well this is your fault, if you can’t run a business that can afford to pay its staff properly, but the little socialist has never run a business and does not understand the dynamics. Now I could pay some staff off and fill those hours myself or reduce us to one staff member during certain periods - but this proves the point that a minimum wage costs jobs. There was a time when these jobs were done by kids, perhaps on the weekend, paid a lower wage, no holiday and no silly employment rights. Perhaps they were even paid cash. The dynamic worked and small businesses like this could operate. It was also a great first job. Sadly now it isn’t worth employing entitlement youngsters at this level of pay. So alas, I don’t need the stress, the business would close, a number of jobs would be lost. Economics is about understanding these dynamics, no vibes. The cost of living is not solved through passing on inflation to the business, it is solved by ending high inflation and creating prosperity. This is what socialists don’t understand, they can’t create prosperity, they can only destroy it.

If you’re going to go on strike you should really be forced to go for the whole day, striking for half days to get 4 days of disruption for 2 days of lost pay isn’t in the spirit of fair play.