I agree, I couldn't live my life based on material things, I earn money to make those around me live a better more varied life, see things, experience things and create memories.....a brand new TV, car or iPhone can never replace those
I have absolutely no doubt that your view will always remain the same Howden (ard). Is there a lot of difference between sheltered and blinkered?
Just because my personal view isn't the same as yours...doesnt mean it's sheltered or blinkered, it's my opinion the same as yours is yours My opinion is also that certain people will always have an excuse as to why they can't do things rather then admitting to themselfs that they are just lazy or don't want to! Or it will always be someone's else's fault!
But thinking everyone is like that and justifying tax evasion and tax dodging on those grounds is a terrible thing. Imagine if Lewis Hamilton and all those others who avoid tax paid it in the UK and put that into the system, the amount of things we could achieve, the amount of lives that could be saved, the number of nurses who could eventually get a payrise. Not all of it goes on some mythical bloke robbing benefits whilst he pretends to have a dodgy back and 500 children which he is getting £10,000 a year for each. Some people probably have that attitude, but a lot don't have that attitude. Read the Freakonomics series, there is a great piece in there about how pretty much everything about how a child is brought up and nurtured is decided before they are even before. So a lot of it isn't down to being lazy or someone else's fault its because they weren't given a chance.
If they super rich paid their way in taxes we might have a system were pensioners could afford to heat their homes in winter. Were pensioners are not frightened to pop to the shops at 7pm due to ferile kids on the streets. Were we might have a half decent police presence in the community. Were their is affordable housing. Also, were the celebrities (cough cough I hate that word) would not be asking for our hard earned money for Pudsey Bear. We could argue until we are blue in the face about injustice etc but lets not. Right, I better go and earn another million for my boss, see you soon
Its nothing to do with how much there is, its about how its spent, collecting more money from taxes wouldn't solve a single one of those problems because the people in charge of spending the money don't have the ability or desire to address those concerns.
I've no idea why people keep using Lewis Hamilton as an example, he's not a UK tax-payer, it's people like the Mrs Browns Boys mob that should be getting the grief.
Terrible example in Lewis Hamilton but the theory is correct, I just used the wrong person! You could no doubt put one of the hundreds of tax avoiders names in there instead of him.
I agree with the principle, although I have little faith that any extra tax money would be spent sensibly or thoughtfully.
That's what they say in Greece to justify working on the black and not paying taxes, before they move on to tell you how bad is the health system, the schools, the roads and everything else.
That debate is for a complete different topic and one I don't necessarily disagree with. However, I would rather give the government and the people of this country a few extra billion in tax revenues and hope some of it is spent in the correct manner rather than keep it in the pockets of those who avoid tax.
I was just about to say we're heading into a political discussion that we should avoid but you beat me to it!
