Privatisation And Tax

In 2013 the government is making it compulsory for companies to provide private pensions to everyone; individuals will be automatically subscribed (thereby receiving monthly deductions from their wages) unless they opt out. This has the long-term intention of phasing out state pensions, allowing the government to save money. But will people who take up the offer of a private company pension - or rather, don’t make the effort to opt out - therefore pay less tax as it will no longer be required to pay for the state pension scheme? … Doubtful. The Tories tend to only cut taxes for rich people and businesses. The extra money saved will probably be re-invested into ‘infrastructure’ projects that affect national and international trade rather than local communities. Rather than saving hard-working people a bit more cash, we will instead see further developments of a third runway at Heathrow and high-speed rail that will demolish a great deal of countryside. Don’t be deceived by David Cameron saying that he will stick to his manifesto pledge of no third runway; the two year consultation period would allow him to reconsider his position by the time the next election (and new manifesto) comes around. There is a chance that I’m being overly cynical, I do have bouts of that! But I don’t like the way that pensions are being forcibly privatised, it smacks too much of Thatcherism.

 

Financial Responsibility

In a week where Labour have quite rightly trounced the Tories in elections (with the exception of mad Mayor Boris!), I have actually found myself agreeing with a Conservative MP. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said that consumers and home-owners who took out loans, spent on credit cards and accepted large mortgages were "consenting adults … Households were spending more than they earned. That's why household debt rose … there were two consenting adults in all these transactions, a borrower and a lender, and they may both have made wrong calls. Some people are unwilling to accept responsibility for the consequences of their own choices." I wholeheartedly concur with this opinion. People who borrow money without considering their financial situation are reckless and should understand that their actions contributed to the financial crisis just like the banks’ actions did. A person should only spend what they can afford; it’s that simple. Monetary speculation is economic naivety. So in future, I strongly suggest that everyone only buys what they are able to purchase. It really isn’t difficult.