Listening to the radio before returning from Brussels to London (assuming that Eurostar is running again) after a lovely evening concert at LArchiduc. Now looking forward to my birthday gig in London on 30th January at St. James Theatre. This morning, theyre talking about democracy on BBC Radio 4. More than once theyve mentioned that the main parties have ignored peoples worry about immigration (hence the rise of UKIP). I ask this question. WHEN does the question of immigration raise its head? Answer: usually when people are going through a hard time economically. Those who dont think straight start saying Those foreigners are taking our jobs/housing etc. In times of general prosperity the attack on immigration tends to fade away. I think that the real problem, therefore, is not immigration but the increasing movement of wealth to a tiny over-privileged elite. If 1% of the population of the world is about to own 50% of the worlds wealth, some countries will be increasingly living in poverty and within even a rich country like the UK, unless youre in the top elite, youll struggle badly. Its not immigrants fault. They were probably leaving their country because of this obscene concentration of wealth in few hands and are now being blamed for others problems. The solution is HUGE re-distribution of wealth. Im not an economist but I have in mind a temporary top rate of 95% income tax. That might help straighten thing out together with lowering VAT on ordinary things and raising and ENFORCING a minimum living wage. Re-introduction of controlled rents would also help!
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:44:14 +0000
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