[Quincy Lehr]

Let's maybe have a thread to do with Britain that doesn't start on a reactionary note.

https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/...pposed-to-them

[John Whitworth]

Good Heavens! It's ages since I saw a copy of The Morning Star. For young things who've never heard of it. it used to be called The Daily Worker. And I wouldn't scoff. It must sell more print copies than The Grauniad (nearly nil) and the Independent (absolutely nil) put together.
They give them away.

And the message is - write that left wing poetry. But hell, you're all writing it already. And getting it printed. So the article's kind of redundant.

Thanks Quincy, all the same. See you at West Chester. With your child no doubt.

Who's an ickle-pickle poo, then?

[Quincy Lehr]

It's actually about left-liberal hypocrisy, John, but whatevs.

[Aaron Novick]

Clarificatory questions: Is it a particular strike being referenced? Is it an elaborate metaphor? What is a "picket-line gig"?

[Michael Cantor]

Everything Quincy writes is about left-liberal hypocrisy, John. Keep that in mind - and pretend it's 1930 or so - and let it go at that.

[John Whitworth]

Ah Michael, you are, as ever, too intellectual for me. But I take it you are writing that left-liberal poetry.

A picket line gig is presumably a poetry reading given to a picket line. The mind boggles. I suppose you could read 'em Percy Bysshe. Those workers who like poetry (and there are some) tend to like it to rhyme and scan, in my experience.

But all left-wingers who enjoy nice salaries are hypocrites unless they give most of it away, aren't they? Of necessity. Being a right-winger, I keep what I get, such as it is.

[Roger Slater]

John, that's one of the silliest things you've ever said. Since when is it the bedrock principle of being a liberal that one must give away most one's money? It's true, of course, that liberals tend to favor policies that call for higher taxes in order to pay for things that benefit everyone, but so do you to a certain extent. I know that you are quite the fan of the universal healthcare in your own country and have no compunction accepting the outsized contribution richer people make through their taxes to buy you and your family the medical care you deserve. And I suspect that you don't mind that a portion of the taxes you pay are being used for it. Does that mean you are a liberal hypocrite because you don't give most of your money away?

Most left-leaning people I know are also capitalists. You can be a capitalist and still believe in taxes to fund a government that helps people.

[John Whitworth]

Roger, you don't know how our tax system works and you don't know how our NHS works. Doesn't stop you pontificating though.

This is our Income |Tax system It is fairly simple.

If you earn less than £11,500 (poor) then you pay nothing.
If you earn up to £45,000, then you pay 20% on yor income over £11,500.
If you earn more than that then you pay an additional 5%.

So the system of income tax is not punitive (as it would be under Jeremy Corbyn; as it was in 1947 under the first Labour government).

I am quite poor so I don't pay much tax. My wife is richer so she pays more.

As for the NHS, of course it is paid for out of taxation. How else would it be paid? Everybody gets the same doctors and the same basic care, which is very good. I got the best man there was to operate on my heart. If you are rich you can buy things like a private ward, and you can queue-jump, but you can't buy better doctors.

Our drugs are much cheaper than yours. I pay nothing at all because I am old. Children pay nothing at all because they are young. People in between pay £8.50 per prescription and grumble about it a lot.

Our drugs are much cheaper because the NHS is very big and therefore has considerable bargaining power with the rapacious drug companies.

Is our system better than yours? Yes, much better. Is it better then the French system? Debatable.

Do you want to know about Value Addd Tax? No.I thought you might not

[David Anthony]

To get it right: in the UK, from 45,001 to £150, 000 your marginal tax rate is 40%. Thereafter it's 45%.
I don't really see the logic. For everything else, if you buy in bulk you get a discount.

[Michael Cantor]

I hope you're joking, David, but I'm not sure.