Mailwatch(ed) Forum

It goes back a long way. I can remember criminals being regarded as an anti-capitalist vanguard in some academic circles back in the 70s.
Of course, in those days, it was assumed that only the bourgeoisie had anything worth nicking.

The Weeping Angel wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 10:28 pm

Crabcakes wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 10:12 pm That has got to be a piss take, surely? It makes fly tipping sound like some sort of heritage industry like basket weaving. What next, a push to legalise pickpocketing as a noble working class activity since Victorian times??!?

No, it's real. There does seem to be a growing pro-disorder element on the left, see the reaction to the Lib Dems' proposal to playing loud music on public transport.

It's getting back at the Man. You're all so bourgeois.

I had a text this afternoon asking me to spread the word about another - don't all yawn at once - proper grassroots socialist party. This was followed by a What'sApp message saying the same thing but with added Dave Nellis. Did anyone else get the same? And how the hell did they get my private number?

Richard Murphy here. In response to a perfectly reasonable point that places with bigger states raise more money for it (sometimes much more) from average incomes, explains this away by saying everywhere in the OECD is "neoliberal". Chris Dillow points out that this doesn't sit very well with MMT, which will depend on a lot of consumption taxes on ordinary people to restrain inflation where necessary.

Murphy's attitude is baffling here. To his credit, he opposes a Wealth Tax. So God knows what his version of "let's get all the money off other people" is.

Usual rules about attacking the person, or their perceived stance (as opposed to their arguments) apply, it seems.

Mandy Rice-Davies really did give a gift to bad faith debaters with that reply of hers.

A nice sighting of the "person with actual heavyweight experience is a vested interest" trope too.

We don't have to agree automatically with anybody, but it might be worth at least allowing that they probably know stuff. Murphy's experience of tax is studying it as part of the chartered accountancy course and doing his own research.

Murphy was very good on closing the IHT loophole* controversy as he could pull rank. As a former business accountant in East Anglia, he's well versed in farmers' dubious financial jiggery pokery claims.
* Sorry 'Family tax' according to farmers who once had Brexit signs in their fields.

Youngian wrote: ↑Fri Jun 20, 2025 7:29 pm Murphy was very good on closing the IHT loophole* controversy as he could pull rank. As a former business accountant in East Anglia, he's well versed in farmers' dubious financial jiggery pokery claims.
* Sorry 'Family tax' according to farmers who once had Brexit signs in their fields.

I've seen a few of those signs on my commute on the northbound A1.

Murphy's against the wealth tax too, and favors other tax rises on the rich, some of which positions he shares with Dan Neidle. In a previous spell of dishing it out, the bone of contention was that Neidle would have a "normal return allowance" on Capital Gains Tax (the headline rate would be the same as income tax), which he explains here.

https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/10/16/how ... dium=email

He reckons this would bring in an extra £6bn a year, very progressively which would be fairly handy and not obviously shilling for the rich.

Boiler wrote: ↑Fri Jun 20, 2025 7:38 pm

Youngian wrote: ↑Fri Jun 20, 2025 7:29 pm Murphy was very good on closing the IHT loophole* controversy as he could pull rank. As a former business accountant in East Anglia, he's well versed in farmers' dubious financial jiggery pokery claims.
* Sorry 'Family tax' according to farmers who once had Brexit signs in their fields.

I've seen a few of those signs on my commute on the northbound A1.

One of those near Worcester. Haven't been towards Hereford or Leominster, but would be surprised if there aren't a few of them- Ellie Chowns was sufficiently discomfited to oppose the tax.

What will be the actual impact of IHT? As opposed to what the NFU and the Government will say.

Mike Galsworthy continues the slide into clicks machine. The court case here has been brought by one of the Larouche bunch.

Didn’t have high hopes for Byline Times when it stated it's aim to promote 'citizen journalism' (activists with a blog writing for free). Doubt they'll be seeing a citizen dentist about a painful tooth ache.

Reminds me a bit of Eric Pickles and his "citizen auditors" for local government. Strangely, the disasters we've seen in Woking and Thurrock weren't prevented by somebody at home on their laptop who'd taught themselves about investment risk. But I'm sure the biscuits budget was kept under control.

Question, is Yorkshire bylines part of byline times?

Yes

Killer Whale wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 10:50 pm It goes back a long way. I can remember criminals being regarded as an anti-capitalist vanguard in some academic circles back in the 70s.
Of course, in those days, it was assumed that only the bourgeoisie had anything worth nicking.

Bits of the left got uncomfortably close to the "anti-colonial" IRA.
History shows the loudest among them performed a left-right switch and got ennobled by dishonest Alexander Johnson.

Bits of the left were less keen on Sinn Fein once they had to step up to government. I recall John Pilger kicking off at them when they called for Corporation Tax to be cut in Northern Ireland. This was neoliberal sell out, you know. Or, as some of us might put it, a sensible response to companies being able to set up a few metres down the road in the Republic and pay far less tax.

For the sake of balance, I have to give Richard Murphy some credit here. He's broken with the Tax Justice Network for what he (and others not particularly aligned with him generally) says are exaggerated numbers about tax havens. Of course, there's still a big problem, but big steps have been made in recent years internationally. It seems like some NGOs went along with the nonsense figures too.

https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/202 ... yet-again/

I was wondering where the strange contention that water companies could be renationalised for "almost nothing". It's... Richard Murphy.

The Greens put this nonsense on Facebook.