George Osborne in his Conference speech, which had all the hallmarks of trying to shore up the Tory leadership's position in the Party, rather than offering the people of Britain anything reasonable to deal with their problems, has stamped on any hope the Liberals like Vince Cable might have had of getting even the measliest crumbs from the Tory Government, in return for their cringeing subservience. Osborne has said a determined "No" to the idea of any kind of Wealth Tax, or mansion Tax, as proposed by Clegg and Cable. They will just have to be satisfied with having ridden in their own Ministerial Limousines for a few years, before their political careers were brought to the end they so richly deserve.
At the same time Osborne defended the tax cuts for the rich they have introduced, and their increasing attacks on ordinary workers, including all those unfortunate enough to be sick or disabled, or to have been thrown out of work due to the irrationality of Capitalism, amde even more irrational by the incompetence of the Liberal-Tory economic policies.
In opposing the idea of a Mansion Tax, Osborne made clear exactly what a narrow range of who the people are for this bunch of millionaires. It could not be introduced he said, because once the Tax Man had his foot in the door, everyone would find their house became a mansion and subject to be taxed. Really? So, why on that basis do they not oppose every other Tax? After all, when the tax man got his foot in the door to over VAT, why did they not oppose it, on the basis that the things that ordinary workers buy would then be taxed? Instead, they raised the rate of VAT to 20%, which hits the poorest in society hardest, precisely because they have to spend if not all their incomes, the vast bulk, whereas a millionaire like Osborne or Cameron, has to spend a very small proportion of their income on the basic needs of life.
But, also 40% of people in Britain live in rented accommodation. The Tax man could not define their house as a mansion, and thereby impose higher taxes on them. Osborne said they would not impose a Mansion tax, because they are the party of home ownership, and such a tax would make it more difficult for people to become home owners. In fact, the very opposite is the truth. The reality is that many people would like to buy a house, many would like to buy a better hosue than the one they have. They are unable to do so because house prices have been bubbled up to an astronomical level by historical standards, due to the policies that Thatcher introduced in the 1980's, and which Governments, including the current one have continued. That is the policy of printing large amounts of money, keeping interest rates artificially low, and via deregulation of the finance markets, encouraging people to borrow money they cannot afford.
In fact, as Fathom Financial Consulting pointed out some time ago, a precondition for resolving Britain's economic difficulties probably requires a significant crash in house prices, so that people can once again afford to buy them. A mansion tax, would have the effect of putting downward pressure on house prices at the top, with a ripple effect downwards, which would make home ownership, thereby more not less achievable. The Tories policies to artifically keep house prices high, are an obstacle to home ownership.
But, of course, for the small number of rich people who the rich boys of the Tory Party see as comprising the entire population, their very own "One Nation" of the rich, this is not a problem. Multi millionaires will not be put off buying houses they want because of a bit of additional tax, or by high prices, if they think they will go higher. Many of them will already own several homes, some of them left empty, whilst thousands are homeless. It is the real "One Nation" that stands in opposition to the rich nation, it is the one nation of the rest of us that suffers from the Tories policies in respect to housing, just as it is in relation to tax, to incomes, to pensions, and everything else they lay their incompetent hands upon.
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