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Businesses For Sale Online Newsletter > Political News > Brown or Black the Economics of Truth
Brown or Black the Economics of Truth

Brown or Black the Economics of Truth


12 Nov 2008

Browns Policy Proposals Just Don’t Add Up

Gordon Brown & his crossed Poodle/Rottweiler Tony McNulty MP for Harrow East have been very quick to critise & ridicule Cameron’s attempts at economic policy & at times with justification.

However they continue to ask how the Tory policies would be funded, no doubt in an attempt to disguise the fact their own proposals do not add up.

Brown has hinted that tax cuts maybe part of any economic “plan”? Along with an increase in public sector spending. But this is plainly no plan at all, but a gamble on a short term fix in the hope that the cavalry will ride over the hill and save the UK economy not only from meltdown but Gordon Brown’s failed 10 years as Chancellor.

How he proposes to put in place tax cuts without increasing taxes (its called a conundrum) nobody really knows, as attempts to increase government borrowings are not feasible without the International Monetary Fund (IMF) & the European Community (EU) holding some kind of moratorium on what is an international agreement on government borrowing. This would be difficult to change as many western governments have plainly managed to keep to the guidelines whilst Browns boom to bust, bust again & double bust policies have finally surfaced in all their grandeur.

If Gordon Brown & Alistair Darling cannot persuade the IMF & the EU to alter the principles & its limitations on any governments ability to continue its tenure through irresponsible fiscal policy then the truth of their busted flush will be hard to disguise.

Rumours the Bank of England (BoE) may lower interest rates to zero in 2009 do not make a great deal of sense, after all the taxpayer has just underwritten the refinancing of the UK banking system & expect the banks to make sound & sensible monetary decisions. The mutual building societies have proved that banks need savers to underpin their products & growth. If savers realise their money will become worthless in accounts & do begin to spend there is no guarantee the spending will benefit the UK, unless of course Gordon takes that decision away from us along with so many others.

Lower interest rates may assist business, but if businesses are in poor shape the banks cannot responsibly lend to them as the governments demand for due diligence will prevent this, as will any bank manager worth his salt, so low interest rates may assist those businesses who do not need assistance ie supermarkets, but will be of little use to the business that is struggling, which are legion.

One of the main problems to small & medium size businesses has been the ‘Gordon Brown Effect’, with so many pieces of government legislation affecting them either in entirety or by default, he has altered taper relief on businesses, introduced a minimum wage that is now clearly unattainable when job market needs fluidity, increased business rates to a point where they alone have been the deciding factor in closing businesses, brought in so much new UK & entirely separate EU legislation they have handcuffed the UK business sector with unwanted & unnecessary dictat. Added to this has been the number of government/civil/public/council sector workers who are empowered to interfere/meddle in the running of private businesses, yet they have no real understanding or indeed experience of how business works or its needs & yet their powers are so draconian these individuals can destroy businesses unintentionally or indeed otherwise.

The government’s lack of understanding in business is shown by their many knee-jerk reaction to poor economic data, it appears to many their only thought is to ensure the public sector & its unaffordable pension are safe, whereas the real truth is this is the very area that could be massively downsized with little to no noticeable negative effect on private businesses & employment. With public sector spending so far out of control it would be easy to save 15% just by demanding a cost effective service that’s around £52 billion, & is in fact the only way to introduce a fully funded tax cut for all.

If Gordon Brown & his Chancellor are really serious about helping business then cancel business rates, cut the swathe of legislation & those that enforce it, cancel (regrettably) the minimum wage structure, & cut value added tax (VAT) to 10%, with a further cut to 5% for internal investment in any business ie new plant, refurbishment, staff schemes/benefits etc. Offer ascending tax incentives to those who reinvest annual profits directly into the business. Demand the banks cut the premium (average 2% above the norm) they add to any business loan over & above standard lending rates. Rid the business world of the responsibility of their STAFFS CHOICE to have children, it is almost impossible for small & medium businesses to fund maternity/paternity leave & find/fund cover whilst they have time away, the fact is if their good enough most businesses will offer them future employment & that should be the litmus test in a fluid employment market.

If the government really does want to kick start the economy without borrowing or “printing money” then they must address the size & scale of the public sector & their unaffordable/chasm pension. There is little doubt that any government through downsizing & demanding value for money for the UK taxpayer could cut its tax demands by £100 billion/ann or to put the money to better use in ways that benefit all.

Further cuts to the cost of government itself, its numerous expense based lifestyle, & the ridiculous situation with the cost of the EU & our own MEP representatives would fund many a NHS trust or county education or police force budget, again not one penny borrowed or note printed, we do not need inflationary policies to fund genuine services what we need is money targeted to the right areas rather than “thrown” in the general direction, this is not investment it is criminal damage to the UK economy & its taxpayer.

The national pension basic rate is still around £90/wk with the male entitlement still not available until 65 years of age, surely the public sector pension becomes immoral when they can retire from their forties onwards, with the knowledge that on their 60th or 65th birthday they become (rightly) entitled to the Old Age Pension the disparity seems plain to all except, one Gordon Brown who often seems more concerned about the underprivileged of other countries rather than those of the UK.

The savings could fund a government/private capital programme of works throughout the UK, with new rail & road systems/routes connecting the whole of the UK to the European markets & personal travel, whilst finally repairing the damage of the wonderful Dr. Beeching although in fairness he did manage to increase the number of gravy trains arriving at political platforms.

The list is endless of genuine affordable policies to assist the UK economy and its people of all ages & the alternative funding is the only way to turn around the UK economy after so many years of financial mismanagement.

The UK does have all the world economists predicting it will take us far longer than any other developed economy to recover from the global financial tempest, & this is true if we continue down the same claustrophobic economic corridor of the previous 11 years, where a certain Gordon Brown took all the plaudits, the very same man who now blames everyone else for the problems of today. That’s the measure of a man who now demands further acclaim for the international banking rescue plan, when in fact it was the idea of the Swedes, once again the sham of a P.M. who some would say has more of a grasp on the economy of the truth & little of reality.


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