Yesterday, I read every word (at least once) of your ten year Fracking Nirvana to give us untold blessings of wasteful and greedy gas consumption at the present rates that the UK uses up gas reserves. Impeccable facts and figures that are undeniable. However, shale gas is simply very short lived. Also undeniable? And, we are short of water, too?
I heard on Radio 4 that our new three rates of income tax will give the richest taxpayers a bonanza of yet more money to waste on greedy, selfish living. Most will be worse off, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Only those earning over £155,000 will be better off by 2026. The richest 10% will be £700/year better off. Prior to the measures unveiled yesterday, they were due to be £3,500 worse off. The rest of us will see our living standards drop, according to the IFS.
"From April 2023, there will be a single higher rate of Income Tax of 40 per cent, rather than an additional 45% on annual income above £150,000 ... three rates (0%, 19% and 40%) ... all annual income above £50,270 will be taxed at 40%". (https://www.gov.uk/
government/publications/the- growth-plan-2022-factsheet-on- income-tax/income-tax- factsheet)
The government's 2.5% economic growth/greed year on year means that production and consumption is doubled by the beginning of year 29. This is unsustainable, selfish, foolish and stupid. This economics wrecks ecology and accelerates ecocide - the sixth extinction episode in the history of the planet over the last 500 million years.
Reward for the wealthy - turbocharge the economy - live off and depend even more on fast depleting resources, like oil and gas. This is cloud cuckoo land economics/ecology. Get 2.5% growth every year for evermore so we can stuff our homes with more stuff, have 'em bigger and two or three homes each, at home and overseas as the magic money tree allows greedy growth.
Sir Jonathon Porritt said, in the 1980s, that 3% growth every single year for 25 years builds up nicely to production and consumption having doubled in those 25 years from a planet that is not expanding in line with our ever greedy demands placed upon it!
My concern is that our funding to kill Ukrainians and Russians is also immoral when it is only about where the boundary is to go.
My further concern is how our Feb 2020 £15 billion for 150 miles of tramlines is also economically and ecologically unsound. Quite apart from being immoral spending, as trains and buses get duplicated/replaced for lovely luxury trams.
Do put me right.
