THE PIPS BEGIN TO SQUEAK AGAIN...

For over 11 years Labour Governments have refused to increase direct taxes - that's all changed with the current economic crisis we face. Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced an increase to 45 pence in the pound for high earners - and an immediate cut in VAT. As far as the VAT goes, the reduction is a small one which won't make a huge amount of difference to people facing hard economic times this Christmas. There are other caveats which mean the news is not quite so dramatic as it might be. The higher taxes won't be until the next Parliament which means they will only happen if Labour win. What is actually needed is a far more profound redistribution of wealth and a more progressive tax system as outlined here.
However, the fact that the Government is at least prepared to open up a clear divide between Labour and the Tories and use taxation as an election battleground is to be welcomed. Thanks to BBC News for the plug......... which has already tripled the number of hits I normally get . And counting.....http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7740897.stm

TILL THE PIPS SQUEAK........

Let's hope the Chancellor is heeding the calls of the unions for a more egalitarian agenda in his
comprehensive spending review. Good news. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber urged him yesterday to use today's review to close tax loopholes for the super-rich and use the proceeds to make further progress towards the government's target of ending child poverty. UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis also said that he wanted the Chancellor to release his "stranglehold" on public-sector pay. The bad news, so I hear, is that UNITE's Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson ( who are rapidly morphing into an unfunny version of Laurel and Hardy in their obeisance to GB) will be advising their members to accept the Government's pay offer and so will the GMB. How many weeks ago did the TUC pass the motion on co-ordinated strike action........and how many weeks did it take for the union barons to ignore that.......

BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME.......

Chancellor Alistair Darling resolutely upbeat this morning on Today despite the crisis over at Northern Rock.Let's hope he is right. Would the Government, as Will Hutton suggested, take the logical step of nationalising it in a worst-case scenario? One thing's for sure. The mood music in the media about snap general elections has already changed. It's suggested by the Guardian that pictures of anxious savers queuing to get their money out wouldn't exactly be helpful to our victory prospects. Indeed. And interesting, if a tad scary, to note just how quickly the apparent invincibility of the capitalist world can start to crack.

In 1929, the Wall Street Crash had terrible repercussions for the nation, despite the fact that less than one per cent of the American people actually possessed stocks and shares. The fall in share prices over just a few weeks made it difficult for entrepreneurs to raise the money needed to run their companies. Within a short time, 100,000 American companies were forced to close and many workers became unemployed. It was the start of the Great Depression. We're a long way from that. But it's a salutary lesson for companies like Northern Rock, where shares have fallen a horrific 50 per cent in just a few days