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Read The Book
Before the welfare state
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The Greycoat Hospital
The Greycoat Hospital was once a workhouse. It has since been a hospital and a school. It has a very long welfare history. It has now been taken over by the state.
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The Greycoat Hospital
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Education and State
Licence
Stats
Suggested questions for Messrs Humphrys and Naughtie
Those who find the constant drip of anti-capitalism from most of the presenters on the BBC Radio 4 ‘Today programme’ aggravating now have a more bearable alternative: Radio 5 Live, despite also coming from the BBC, generally has more open-minded … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Media, including BBC bias, Tax and growth, Waste in public services
The parable of the broken window – one of the most superb arguments ever made
I visited Dartmouth College in New Hampshire recently to give a talk about The Welfare State We’re In. I was told by the professor of economics who invited me that he had told his students that my book illustrated one … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Tax and growth
The spirit of Thatcherism lives on
David Cameron’s speech this morning was the most encouraging thing I have heard from the Conservative Party in a long time. He said that a public spending splurge now would result in higher taxes later. He noted that Japan had … Continue reading
Taxing the rich more could easily bring in less money
Last night I was a speaker in an Intelligence Squared debate on the motion “Tax the rich (more)”. It can be heard on the Spectator magazine website here. I, of course, was against the motion. Our side won easily and … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Tax and growth
We shall tax on the beaches…
With the news that many more people will be liable for inheritance tax than previously and more people are now paying the top rate of income tax, I enjoyed Richard Littlejohn’s take on it in the Daily Mail: Gordon Brown … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Tax and growth
As Cameron gives up on the tax issue, it is becoming more important
The Cameron leadership of the Conservative Party has given up on the tax argument at a time when it is getting increasingly strong and important. This from today’s Daily Telegraph: Britain’s ballooning public sector will grow bigger than Germany’s next … Continue reading
The 80 tax rises under Labour
Here is the list, as published in the Mail.
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Tax and growth
Bring back 1966! We didn’t just win the world cup, we paid less tax, too.
When Geoff Hurst scored the final, sensational goal in the 1966 world cup final, it felt great. But what made that year even better was that we were paying a great deal less tax than we are now. One way … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Tax and growth
Ruth Kelly’s ‘social justice’ and taxing more pensioners
Ruth Kelly was on the Today programme this morning and asserted that, under Labour, social justice had advanced. How does Ruth Kelly define ‘social justice’? How does she measure it? The concept seems extremely vague. Does it mean giving more … Continue reading
The ‘pauperisation’ of the elderly
A parliamentary answer published by the Government yesterday revealed that between 44 per cent and 51 per cent of pensioner households were eligible for the top-up credit in 2003-4. That is from the Daily Mail today, reporting the answer to … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Tax and growth