Tom Middlebrook

@MRIRBT @peacey20 😂

@MRIRBT You literally wrote this 5 days ago…

@AmericaPapaBear “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” — C.S. Lewis

This is the MOST BASED take I have heard in a long time! She thinks that people on ANY sort of government assistance shouldn't be allowed to vote. "How can you vote freely when you are being bought?" "The left is funny. Workers who don't work. Students who don't study. Educators who don't educate. Politicians who cannot lead so they buy votes instead." "They create dependence and call it compassion. They create victims and call it justice. They create laziness and call it equality." "A bunch of dumb people fall for that." I want to hear your reaction to this one!

@TonyCottee9 Wilson actually looks decent. One thing’s for sure; he wants to be here and puts in the effort. It’s all we ask!

We are in serious trouble !! Another really poor performance. The starting line up didn’t make sense, play your best players in their best positions… We desperately need a new striker but Callum Wilson has to at least start the game ⚒️

@FFStephenK @HLTCO Put another way. I don’t mind if others rise higher than me, as long as I’m free to climb too. And no one else is trapped in poverty. Utopian, I know.

@tommiddlebrook @HLTCO Fair point — agreed, the Nordics get a lot right. Even without formal wealth taxes, they achieve redistribution through high inheritance and capital taxes, plus strong welfare. Their model works because it keeps billionaires rare and poverty low. Balance over extremes either way.

I try to keep my political views away from this platform but I struggle to see how anyone can watch this and argue with the points put forward in this video. Everyone you speak to does feel that life is too expensive, no one sees a way to change it. This at least, feels hopeful.

@FFStephenK @HLTCO Can’t argue with any of that. However, I’m not opposed to a few billionaires widening the wealth gap if poverty declines. The Nordic nations do get a lot right. It’s only Norway that still has a wealth tax, and my original point was simply that I think a wealth tax is a bad idea.

@tommiddlebrook @HLTCO Freer economies can raise averages, but OECD & World Bank data show they also widen inequality. The US ranks high on the Heritage Index yet has higher poverty & lower mobility than Nordic nations. They prove you can balance freedom & fairness — with better results for all.

@FFStephenK @HLTCO I don’t think it’d be rich vs poor. The gap may widen, but fewer would be impoverished and more would be free. The Heritage Index shows freer economies lift living standards for all. I’m for fairer taxes, not punitive ones. Reward creation, not dependence. static.heritage.org/index/pdf/2025…

@tommiddlebrook @HLTCO So you’d rather live in a world with only rich and poor? We’ve been there before — it wasn’t pleasant. I agree we need less government interference, but also a full tax reform and a stronger, fairer stance like the Nordic nations.

@RJ97__ @HLTCO Fair point on wages. They’ve stalled. But I think the cause is off. Productivity’s weak and population’s surged, so GDP per capita is flat even as headline GDP rises a little. Wealth isn’t taken; it’s created through the choices we all make in free exchange.

@tommiddlebrook @HLTCO Except the super rich are taking from others... GDP has outpaced wage growth for the last 50 years, they were reasonably correlated for a century before that... They are taking more of the pie for themselves i.e. taking from working class people

@CrowsOutside @Anstilt42 @HLTCO I’m not arguing for no government. Just a smaller, smarter one. The state should protect, not control; support, not smother. Free people and free markets create far more than bureaucracy ever will.

@tommiddlebrook @Anstilt42 @HLTCO That's hilarious! Without govt injecting £s into the economy it would simply seize up. Everyone, that's everyone, including the people he's referring to relies on govt £s.

@AndyC_88 @Anstilt42 @betswithwilson @HLTCO While my stance is firmly against a wealth tax, you have to be careful with stats like this. This stat is mostly for people on salaries, so many rich business owners don’t show up, or show up as low earners. Still, we need more opportunity, not state control.

@Anstilt42 @betswithwilson @tommiddlebrook @HLTCO The top 10% earn 35.1% of total income and pay 60.2% of total income tax. So they do infact pay more.

@Anstilt42 @HLTCO I believe in taking responsibility for my own success and well-being. I don’t want to rely on the government. I don’t believe taking from others is the answer. A wealth tax crosses a line. It expands government power, and fosters dependency rather than self-reliance.

@tommiddlebrook @HLTCO Working class people pay a bigger share in tax than the super rich (millionaires and billionaires) his solution is to tax those people, I don't understand how your principles can oppose that

@Ck94Red Why would one want to live in a world where their prosperity comes from taking from others? Why would one want to become dependent on government, trading their freedom for security and safety? We must have responsibility to truly be free.

How can anyone actually disagree with this.

@BladeoftheS This sounds clever… until you think about it. Profit isn’t spare change. It keeps the business alive and reinvests in the future. Millions of personal pensions rely on the companies you mention. Your economic illiteracy is a sure-fire way to hurt us all!

Tesco could pay every worker an extra £10,000 and still make a profit. British Gas could pay every worker an extra £35,000 and still make a profit. Shell could pay every worker an extra £300,000 and still make a profit. It is the billionaires who are ripping you off.

@narindertweets People love to say migrants contribute £83bn to the UK economy, but few mention that much of that figure comes from wealthy migrants, investors, and entrepreneurs. If you hate the rich and celebrate this stat, you might need to pick a side.

I know figures aren't your strongest point, but, again - according to the Office for National Statistics, migrants contribute approximately £83 billion to the UK’s economic output annually.

@BladeoftheS You want to be dependent on the state

I want children to be fed at school. I want pensioners to get a decent pension at a reasonable age. I want a Universal Healthcare system that is free and excellent, like it was 15 years ago. I don't want billionaires making outrageous profits they don't pay any tax on.

@PoIiticsForMe @AaronBastani Growth doesn’t come from slicing the pie differently. It comes from making a bigger one. The real question isn’t who has the money—it’s what kind of system helps the most people create more of it.

@tommiddlebrook @AaronBastani Which is better for economic growth. One person with £10m of disposable income or 10,000 people with £1000 each? Why do you think growth has been so stagnant year after year? Because ordinary people are worse off year after year.

Bernie Sanders is the best political communicator I’ve seen in person. Gary Stevenson isn’t far off. Watch this.

@DanielPriestley @jimthegiant This isn’t exactly the choice, but the sentiment is correct. A growth mindset: the wealth gap grows but everyone’s lives improve. A redistribution mindset: everyone gets poorer. Life will never be fair. But we can take responsibility for ourselves to make it fairer!

@jimthegiant If you had to choose between rising living standards but gross inequality Or Falling living standards and low inequality Which would you choose?

A fundamental mistake people make: taxing the rich isn’t about “balancing the books” It’s about reducing wealth inequality—which damages the economy. Concentrated wealth stifles demand, kills social mobility & warps politics Deep inequality is the anthesis of a thriving economy

@PoIiticsForMe @AaronBastani The wealth gap grows with economic expansion—but so does overall prosperity. Growth lifts wages, living standards, and opportunity. The real issue isn’t ‘too much wealth at the top’ but ensuring policies foster wealth creation, not forced redistribution.

@tommiddlebrook @AaronBastani Growth is irrelevant if only the rich see the benefits of it. Distribution of wealth is more important. The marginal utility of more money is far greater if it isn’t just concentrated amongst the very wealthiest.

@AaronBastani We absolutely need this conversation—but not about blaming success or telling people they’re powerless. It’s not about making everyone an entrepreneur, but about embracing entrepreneurship and economic freedom because that’s what elevates everyone. Growth is the real solution.

He’s right, of course. Hard work? Amazing. You’re entrepreneurial? Fantastic. Take on the world! But the logic ultimately means a nurse failing to feed their kids is somehow a failure. Do they need to start an Etsy store? Let’s have a serious conversation about this stuff.