Second Best

I am not particularly a fan of Boris Johnson.[1] But I am particularly a fan of democracy, and that trumps personal preference. The removal by the blob of Boris Johnson from his elected office was a disgrace.  He was elected by the Conservative party as its leader, and hence leader of the opposition, and then elected by the UK electorate, overwhelmingly, as the preferred Prime Minister. The real reason for his removal by the blob was, of course, nothing to do with the odd bit of birthday cake, or how he accounted for that on the floor of the House of Commons. His removal was because he was perceived by the blob is not being sufficiently biddable to its will.

The removal by the blob of Liz Truss was also disgraceful. She was elected by the Conservative party as its leader, and hence Prime Minister, on a clear platform of

Truss Me

As expected, the blob is baying for the blood of Liz Truss. Does she have the fibre to survive? Who knows?

Unhappily for her, significant elements of the parliamentary Conservative party are among those out to get her. There was no majority for her there in the leadership contest (that came courtesy of the members of the Conservative party in the country). She stays in post as Prime Minister for a couple of years unless the Tory MPs decide to boot her out sooner. Like now. Which they might well do.

But here’s the thing. If they boot her out now, it seems overwhelmingly likely that

Pulling the Arrow

Being shot by an arrow is bad news, obviously. Especially if the arrowhead is barbed. But here’s the thing. Pulling the arrow out can do even more damage than it going in.

Thus it is with excessive taxation. If you have looked at the history of civilisation collapse, you will know that the reason civilisations have collapsed over the last few thousand years is always the same; it is complexity, and tax. The parasite overwhelms and kills the tree. Once a civilisation gets to a certain degree of excessive taxation, the rot seems to snowball, and it is not hard to see why. Once the majority of the population derives its living, not from its own efforts, but from taxation of the remaining few who are productive, that majority is not going to support any reduction of that taxation.  The few who bear the burden of tax are overwhelmed by the multitude of people who benefit from the tax.[1] As the demand for more and more tax rises, the amount of production available to produce that tax collapses. Meltdown.

But here’s the thing. Reducing taxation can be very, very painful. It’s not just the fat cats enjoying generous servings of taxpayer’s money at the top, but the poor people at the bottom, who feel the pain of reducing tax.