The TLW Party Manifesto

[Spy Bee]

Perhaps I'll, um...run next year.

I've only run two marathons. My first and my last. It was the same race.

 

I was totally against the capital punishment idea until you mention daywalkers! PJ's are for fucking sleeping in you cunts!

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Just scrap the dole, and give people an amount (around £200 a week) as unconditional basic income.

To all adults? There's about 50m adults in the UK. That's about £10,000,000,000.00 per week (£10bn), or £520bn per year. That's about 5 times more than the NHS budget. It's about the same as the entire amount of money the government brings in in tax (all taxes, inc NI). That said, we're spending around £160bn on welfare already, so that would come off. Still leaves a hole of £360bn though.

 

NOTE: Off the top of my head, without really thinking about it.

[Jairzinho]

Also mate let's put a stop to these big corporations like Tesco buying up all the spare land they can get and start building social housing and get the lads in the building industry in work and give people decent living conditions for there kids.

They are sitting on the land (Tesco/Asda ect ) to stop rivals building in the area and this space could be used by the local communities.

 

My local town is a fucking wasteland, anyone that used to sell anything that Tesco now covers has gone. Half the shops are empty, half of those that aren't appear to be accountants. People to manage the tiny bit of money people have left.

 

http://www.tescopoly.org/

 

Fuck knows what the answer is. Mine would involve their headquarters, machetes...possibly there are more pragmatic approaches.

[Jairzinho]

I've only run two marathons. My first and my last. It was the same race.

 

I was totally against the capital punishment idea until you mention daywalkers! PJ's are for fucking sleeping in you cunts!

 

Ah ok, I've only run one less than you.

[L19red]

Government ministers should be paid in loans just like students. If they go on to make millions from consultancy work after their time as a minister then they have to pay back the loans.

All Politicians should have to display the names of any companies who give them money on their website/letterhead/email signature etc

so we know which pocket they are in when they are making decisions.

[Jairzinho]

To all adults? There's about 50m adults in the UK. That's about £10,000,000,000.00 per week (£10bn), or £520bn per year. That's about 5 times more than the NHS budget. It's about the same as the entire amount of money the government brings in in tax (all taxes, inc NI). That said, we're spending around £160bn on welfare already, so that would come off. Still leaves a hole of £360bn though.

 

NOTE: Off the top of my head, without really thinking about it.

 

It doesn't have to be £200. It could be £150, even £100 would be an improvement on what people on JSA have to live on.

 

How much tax was avoided/evaded last year? £100 billion? £150 billion? Raise tax a bit for the rich to get the rest. If rich cunts want to leave, then let them fuck off. We'll have a more equal share of a smaller pie.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Well, I certainly have no issue with raising tax on the richest and giving it to the poorest on JSA (and similar). Actually, I don't have a massive issue giving 200 per week to everybody, I just don't think we could afford it. It is, after all, a fuck load of money.

[Spy Bee]

Of course, if people had that £200 they would be paying more taxes because they would be spending more.

[Spy Bee]

At some stage big business needs to ask the question where the consumption is going to come from... It's like that story when a CEO is walking around a car factory with the head of the workers union. The CEO shows off a new machine and says that this machine will be replacing a load of workers "How are you going to get them to join the union?" he says with a smug grin.

"How are you going to get them to buy cars?" Says the union man!

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Of course, if people had that £200 they would be paying more taxes because they would be spending more.

Yeah, but most of the money would go on items where you pay no tax, like food, and even if they are it's a small percentage. Those who'd benefit most would be Tesco. I think there would be some economic benefit, but a lot would end up going out of the country, just as it does now. All in all, it's not a massive consideration when you consider just how much it would cost. Getting about 5-10% of it back in VAT wouldn't really generate that much.

[Jairzinho]

Well, I certainly have no issue with raising tax on the richest and giving it to the poorest on JSA (and similar). Actually, I don't have a massive issue giving 200 per week to everybody, I just don't think we could afford it. It is, after all, a fuck load of money.

 

Yeah, I mean there's probably a balance somewhere between everyone and just those on JSA. Perhaps some non cunts would even wave the money. I guess ultimately there should just be better provisions to ensure that no-one is completely fucked, be it someone that has been unemployed for a long time, or recently made unemployed. It can take six weeks before someone gets a fucking penny from JSA. Its ridiculous.

 

As I said though, it doesn't need to be £200. People under 25, on JSA, are living on a quarter of that. Seven quid a fucking day. In a country with over 100 billionaires. Its disgusting.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Yeah, I mean there's probably a balance somewhere between everyone and just those on JSA. Perhaps some non cunts would even wave the money. I guess ultimately there should just be better provisions to ensure that no-one is completely fucked, be it someone that has been unemployed for a long time, or recently made unemployed. It can take six weeks before someone gets a fucking penny from JSA. Its ridiculous.

 

As I said though, it doesn't need to be £200. People under 25, on JSA, are living on a quarter of that. Seven quid a fucking day. In a country with over 100 billionaires. Its disgusting.

For sure. I'd perhaps come at it from a different angle, though. More jobs created with that money will cost in the short term but earn much more and benefit more people in the long term. More jobs, more houses, more on healthcare (employing more people). I'm definitely with you on a living wage, even if it means the government need to give tax breaks to smaller companies. Then, when the wage is being paid, much more of it filters back to the government.

 

Definitely on the same side of the fence as you, though.

 

EDIT: Just a quick note on what I said before - a lot of that 160m welfare goes to people's housing n' stuff, so that wouldn't be wiped off (just a correction on what I wrote, not and additional point).

[TheBitch]

Can we not just burn every single Tesco down?

[Jairzinho]

For sure. I'd perhaps come at it from a different angle, though. More jobs created with that money will cost in the short term but earn much more and benefit more people in the long term. More jobs, more houses, more on healthcare (employing more people). I'm definitely with you on a living wage, even if it means the government need to give tax breaks to smaller companies. Then, when the wage is being paid, much more of it filters back to the government.

 

Definitely on the same side of the fence as you, though.

 

EDIT: Just a quick note on what I said before - a lot of that 160m welfare goes to people's housing n' stuff, so that wouldn't be wiped off (just a correction on what I wrote, not and additional point).

 

Job seekers allowance and housing benefit actually take up a pretty small part of the total welfare budget. Lots of weird stuff like "drugs dependency allowance" can almost double people's total income (mate of mine smoked a bit of weed and found out he was eligible). The whole system needs simplifying with the objective being to ensure no-one lives in poverty, and/or has to spend half their life filling out pointless forms and attending pointless interviews. Just give people the fucking money.

 

I'd obviously also for spending a lot of money on creating work, and building houses. I'd nationalise almost everything that is currently under a monopoly of a small number of enormous companies. I do think that a universal income would see a huge improvement in stuff like literature/art/music, maybe even sport as well. Stuff for rich people to spend their money on further down the line.

[Champ]

Just scrap the dole, and give people an amount (around £200 a week) as unconditional basic income.

I'm going to go all Rico on you, but does that include those in work?

[Jairzinho]

I'm going to go all Rico on you, but does that include those in work?

Yes, but it could be slightly means tested I guess. Maybe over 100k pa you dont get it, over 60k only entitled to half or something. But the day someone loses their job they're entitled to it in full. The actual figures are almost impossible to estimate as the objective would be a seismic change to how we view society. After 35/40 years of an individualistic attitude to economics there would obviously be an extremely challenging transitional period. I dont want communism, but I do want a radically different system. I'm rambling ( and on my phone...and being asked tedious questions by a couple of a stoners in the room im sitting in). The hope would be that it wouldnt be a permanent policy, that it wouldnt need to be. There is no reason why this country couldnt have full employment, with everyone earning at least a living wage. Until then, however, we need more to be spent on welfare, and an end to the demonising of the poor. Millions of people in this country currently live no life at all and it is entirely the fault, the deliberate policy in fact, of the rich.

[Strontium]

I actually like the idea of a basic income. Obviously it would cost a fortune, but it's worth looking at.

 

Jairzinho, it sounds like what you're proposing is more like a negative income tax, which is similar and probably more realistic.

 

Those of you whose hobby is misrepresenting free market economists may be interested to know that negative income tax and basic income have been proposed and supported by the likes of Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Yeah, but only because of the cheap labour.

[Anubis]

Can we not just burn every single Tesco down?

 

Gets my vote.

 

As an aside, I was driving home from work at 2.30pm and saw some woman coming back from the shop in her strawberry pyjamas which were filthy.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Job seekers allowance and housing benefit actually take up a pretty small part of the total welfare budget.

Didn't mention JSA, but housing benefit is the largest section of welfare outside of pension payments. Anyway, what I really was meaning to point out was that the £17bn I said would be recouped wouldn't, that'd still need to be paid.

 

 

I'd obviously also for spending a lot of money on creating work, and building houses. I'd nationalise almost everything that is currently under a monopoly of a small number of enormous companies. I do think that a universal income would see a huge improvement in stuff like literature/art/music, maybe even sport as well. Stuff for rich people to spend their money on further down the line.

Tell you what, on the subject of nationalisation, I wouldn't be against some sort of deal to take over AstraZeneca, or at least parts of it. I think a lot of things should be in state hands, from medicine and healthcare to water, heating and telecoms. I don't want the government supplying my clothes or music or iPods any more than I want Phillip Green fucking about with my healthcare. There's a balance to be struck, and I'm not wholly against private entities, but we're not striking it well enough.

[Jairzinho]

I want people to profit for their craft, for their creation. There should always be that aspiration. But, yeah, not for essential basics of life. Profit shouldn't be the goal there

[Beansonafryup]

Free porn for everyone

[A Red]

When it comes to Defence I'd use De-creosote

[lifetime fan]

* Scrap trident

* Introduce a land bank tax - companies have 18 months to complete house building projects or they face punitive taxes.

* Scrap MP's expenses as we know them now but I would raise their salaries to £100k. MP's are provided with an assistant at Westminster and House of Commons stationary. Any travel is standard class and booked through a central pool, all other expenses like constituency assistants comes out of their own pocket.

* Start a government run house building firm. Decent wages for everyone, good standards of health and safety, plenty of overtime if people want it, everyone pays tax and NI, no chance for cash in hand work.

* Start a government run ethical bank with the ethos of lending to small businesses, free current accounts for all, investment in British based companies and not high risk corporate gambling.

* MP's sit for 4 days a week in Westminster to encourage more women but they don't have the ridiculous holidays they do at present.

* A living wage

* Introduce a new corporate manslaughter offence where the burden of proof is on the balance of probability not beyond reasonable doubt.

* Make corporate tax avoidance an imprisonable offence with directors accountable.

* Any goods, services or transactions made or sold here are taxed here regardless of where companies are based.

* Scrap the TV licence but the BBC would be funded through general taxation.

[Dr Nowt]

Vote Lifey and Jairz so far, for me.