The mid-week Moan

What can I write about today? I can always moan about something…. I was reminded of buying my first computer in the 1980’s this morning. I learned how to use a word processor and I learnt some B.A.S.I.C programming. Remember B.A.S.I.C? Then Windows came out and it all got complicated…

Bill Gates learnt how to program by learning B.A.S.I.C and look where that led. Microsoft is just another money grabbing institution now. Show me a kid that can program a computer and I will bet he’s a rich kid. It’s not just money that is being confined to the few, but knowledge too. Why do you think they’re closing down libraries and dumbing down schools?

If you spend all your money on crap and build a mountain of debt, then you deserve all that you get. However, if you borrow a lot more than you earn to buy your own home, that is seen as being responsible. People were borrowing huge amounts and that sent property prices spiralling and as property went up in price, councils put council house rents up to match. We now have a huge housing benefit bill and the government wants to cut it. It is doing it in a cruel way, it’s not the people’s fault that rents spiralled out of control, it was the fault of government both national and local.

If the people can borrow huge sums to invest in their own homes why can’t the government borrow huge sums to invest in schools and hospitals? The government claim to have a deficit, more money going out than coming in. I think that can happen when you’re investing in something. But does the government invest in hospitals? No, it asks private companies to build hospitals, schools and prisons and then rents them back under a private finance initiative. Why don’t we have a PFI for the Palace of Westminster and Buckingham Palace. Sell them off and then rent them back? They won’t do that will they?

Now Labour is jumping on the Mansions Tax bandwagon. Why not just make council tax 0.5% of the value of the property per year? Then a 100K house would have a £500 council tax and a £2M pound mansion would have a £10,000 council tax a year. That sounds fair doesn’t it? No MP would vote for that, because they would have to pay £2,500 or more on their mini-mansions. Corrupt the lot of them…

Never-mind at least the FTSE 100 is at the highest level it’s been since the economic crisis began. The market is down a bit today though. Osborne hasn’t said something stupid again has he?

In France they increased taxes on the rich and some of them left for tax havens. I don’t think the French have a word for ‘goodbye, don’t come back’. Do they? They only have au revoir…

If we could stop the rich fiddling their taxes it would help. Do any of them deserve the  money they make? Should bankers get million quid bonuses when the banks are run in such a shambolic way? Should people on television make loads of money, while their viewers are penalised for having a spare bedroom? Should footballers makes millions for kicking a bag of wind around? Should pop singers become super-rich, just because they can sing?

There is nothing wrong with people becoming wealthy, but would it be better to see 100 people win a million pounds each on the Euro millions or should we have just one person win a 100 million? I read this week that people around Kensington and Chelsea, the posh end of London do buy lottery tickets. They rush to Tesco and buy thousands when there is a rollover.  The same applies to the greedy buggers of Westminster too. They have so much money they can afford to splash out hundreds and even thousands of pounds at a time in the hope of winning millions.

We haven’t had a super-draw for a while have we? What happened to those?

Dianne Thompson, the Chief executive of Camelot wins the lottery every year with her million quid salary. The Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan does well out of it too…

Do you have a moan? Please us the comment box to share your thoughts…

Related articles

• Up to 84% on low incomes will not pay council tax, local authorities believe (guardian.co.uk)
• Forget fairness. This mansion tax is ideological cowardice | Simon Jenkins (guardian.co.uk)
• Double tax hit for poor: Council tax benefit shake-up to leave millions up to £320 a year worse off (mirror.co.uk)
• Wandsworth to lose lowest council tax bragging rights…to Westminster (primeresi.com)

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