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The below chart illustrates just how bad this Parliament is for household income growth. So much for the Tories being the party of sound finances.
The richest 1% of people are responsible for as much carbon output as the poorest 66%, research from Oxfam shows. Luxury lifestyles including frequent flying, driving large cars, owning many houses, and a rich diet, are among the reasons for the huge imbalance.
Jason Hickel, an economist, argues: “We have to think about the rich in terms of how much they are depleting the remaining carbon budget. Right now, millionaires alone are on track to burn 72% of the remaining carbon budget for 1.5C. The purchasing power of the very rich needs to be curtailed. We are devoting huge amounts of energy to facilitate the excess consumption of the ruling class – in the midst of a climate emergency, that is totally irrational.”
The problem goes far beyond the greenhouse gas emissions arising from these lifestyles, substantial though they are. The polluting elite have an outsized influence on the climate in many ways. Hickel notes: “While personal consumption-related emissions are important, what matters most is control over investible assets. When we account for investments in polluting industries, we find that each billionaire is responsible for a million times more emissions than the average person in the bottom 90%. Who is making the decisions about investment and production in the world economy? About energy systems? When it comes to the question of responsibility, that’s what we need to be focusing on.”
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It is simply impossible to have a polluting elite and a livable climate, argues Farhana Sultana, professor at Syracuse University and fellow at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh. Along with many developing country economists, she regards the high emissions of rich people in industrialised countries in terms of colonialism. “Carbon inequality is effectively a colonisation of the atmosphere by the capitalist elite of the planet through hyper-consumption and pollution, while the cost of that climate coloniality is borne disproportionately by the marginalised and vulnerable communities in developing countries.”
The culture of rich people, and rich countries, built on use and discard cannot continue in a world of finite resources and planetary boundaries. “What the 1% do is overuse the earth’s resources through extraction, hyperconsumption, a discard culture that produces enormous amounts of waste and pollution – all these processes together create significant strains to planetary systems,” she says.
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Ever keen to portray themselves as the party of sound finances, the Tories have squandered £100 billion of taxpayers’ cash in four years on ‘crony contracts’ and ‘duff deals’, a new report has found.
The shocking waste of money all occurred when Rishi Sunak was either Prime Minister or Chancellor and includes the £140 million on the failed Rwanda scheme and £2.3bn on the scrapped parts of HS2.
The report was compiled by campaign group such as Best for Britain, looking at figures since 2019, which found that just under £15 billion vanished on unused or unusable PPE, storing it and ending contracts – and up to £10,000 of furlough cash went to Koru Kids, a childcare firm in which the PM’s wife, Akshata Murty, has shares.
Naomi Smith, CEO of Best for Britain, said: “The notion that the Tories are safe with money has been blown out of the water.
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/this-is-not-a-plan-for-rebuilding-britain
TAX cuts for business while squeezing the most vulnerable are at the heart of the Tory re-election strategy, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement revealed today.
The Chancellor focused on placating angry Conservative activists but offered little to millions struggling with the cost-of-living crisis in slow-growth Britain.
He took particularly aim at benefit claimants suffering sickness or disability with draconian measures designed to force them off welfare if they do not accept jobs that may be either unsuitable or non-existent.
Mr Hunt said that if, after seeking a job for 18 months, a claimant has still not found work they will have to take part in a compulsory work placement and if they “choose not to engage with the work search process for six months, we will close their case and stop their benefits.”
Clearly showing the class nature of his calculations, Mr Hunt boasted that he was ordering “the biggest business tax cut in modern British history” by making permanent a 25 per cent tax deduction for companies that invest in plant and equipment.
In other business-ordered moves, he extended tax relief on firms in special freeports or investment zones, which are themselves to be increased in number.
Desperate to revive the Tories’ bleak electoral prospects, the Chancellor surprised MPs by ordering a 2 per cent cut in employee National Insurance payments, to 10 per cent, which will save the average employee around £450 a year.
Nevertheless, the overall tax take in the British economy is still heading towards a post-war high of 37.7 per cent of GDP, according to the Office for Budget responsibility (OBR).
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/this-is-not-a-plan-for-rebuilding-britain
This blog has featured articles by Morning Star often. Morning Star is imposing a paywall system in an apparently inconsistent manner so that it is uncertain whether this blog will continue featuring it’s articles. 24/11/23 No further Morning Star articles will be featured unless they are accessible without charge. Paywalls are avoided for myself and this blog’s audience.
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has outlined a 10-point plan of distinctive tax and spend policies aimed at delivering a fairer, greener country. She will dismiss the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, saying it will be “another failed opportunity to end the cost-of-living crisis, tackle the climate crisis and restore crumbling public services on which we all rely.”
Denyer said:
“Our 10-point plan identifies around £30 billion of additional funds that would be available from simply rebalancing the tax system so that the super-rich pay their fair share and both people and planet benefit.”
“The extra revenue raised would enable the government to pay NHS staff an inflation-matching pay award, increase access to NHS dentists, increase Universal Credit, abolish the two-child benefit cap, improve bus services and help small businesses take advantage of the opportunities offered by greening the economy.
“Instead, the chancellor’s Autumn Statement will be another failed opportunity to end the cost-of-living crisis, tackle the climate crisis or restore crumbling public services. It’s clear that as the Tories continue to languish in the polls, Jeremy Hunt has more interest in electoral gimmickry that he has in creating a fairer and greener country.”
The Green Party’s 10-point plan would:
Championing the Green’s alternative Autumn Statement, Carla Denyer said:
“These fairer, greener alternatives give just a flavour of what could be done if we had a Government willing to tackle the long-term crises we face. They would start to remove the fundamental injustice that means that wealthier people who own more assets often see a lower effective tax rate than less well-off people.
“Everyone deserves easy access to a dentist, improved public health, properly paid and supported doctors and nurses working with decent facilities, reduced poverty and homelessness, and accessible public transport.
“There is enough money in the economy to make our country fairer and greener. What is lacking is the political will to change priorities. And Starmer’s official opposition seems no more ready to offer this than the Government is. That is why we so desperately need more Greens in Parliament to make the case for the common-sense changes that can deliver a fairer greener country.”