A Political Thread pt. 2

[ncurd]

How British people benefitted from slavery is a very difficult thing to measure IMO. Yes some wealth/benefit will have trickled down from the crown but the country has since been through two world wars with a lot of infrastructure flattened and industries bankrupt. Like many other countries we've had to rebuild almost from scratch.

The key thing for me is who were the people in power and the decision makers re. slavery. I doubt there was a mandate from the people to crack on with it. Look at the post office investigation. It's the decision makers / ex board members being interviewed, held to account and rightly so.

If were going to do anything it would be regaining the money we (the government) paid to slave owners descendants as compensation for freeing their "property" (debt we only paid back in 2015 and was the largest loan we ever took out before the financial crisis and bailing out the banks). Give that out as repreations or build a few brilliant schools..

Fact check: United Kingdom finished paying off debts to slave-owning families in 2015

The UK Treasury continued to compensate the descendants of slave owners for decades after the abolition of slavery in the empire.

eu.usatoday.com

 

[Saintjay]

Seems a stupid argument to be having over what is a working person. It's near enough impossible to define. Heard several definitions today and all could be argued against.

Surely there is a better metric total income, total wealth cash rich vs asset rich etc or something idk.

 

[ncurd]

Seems a stupid argument to be having over what is a working person. It's near enough impossible to define. Heard several definitions today and all could be argued against.

Surely there is a better metric total income, total wealth cash rich vs asset rich etc or something idk.

Its a political argument rather than metric. Landlords who work day job argue they are working people even if their income is supplemented by the assets they own.

The government promised they wouldn't increase tax on working people so are now being attacked by rich media owners for seemingly going after them. I think in the court of public opinion capital gains tax and other taxes on assests will go down fine.

But lets judge the budget by what happens.

 

[ncurd]

It has a very why are they taxing the private schools? Vibe.

 

[General Melchett]

I think Employers NIC is also going to get it. Never thought that CGT and inheritance tax actually raised much tax revenue anyway.

Bit surprised given how Labour boxed themselves in by saying no income tax/NI/VAT rises before the election given their massive lead in the polls and the contempt felt towards the Tories. They could have said a 1 or 2% rise to the higher rate of income tax (with the money going straight to the NHS) and it probably wouldn't have had that much of an impact on their majority.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Don't give a **** about reparations for the most part, don't need it or want a part of it. Any artefacts looted from previous colonies should be returned though.