Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? Jolly good:
UK proposes all paychecks go to state first
The UK's tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer.
There’s more here, but that’s enough. Reminds me of something Gail Collins said in the battle of the back-and-forth banalities she has with David Brooks at the Times: “The new right believes every new government program is one step forward on the road to serfdom. They’re winning. But I still don’t quite get it.” No surprise, there. Over here, where we cling - bitterly! - to the idea that it’s our money, we have people who argue for ending withholding, so people get a taste of what they really earn and have to pay. Over there, they want the opposite. It’s not really yours, as long as the state’s decided someone has a pressing claim to your property.
This idea would be shot down like Elmer Fudd putting two shells in Daffy Duck’s face over here, but some might think it merits study. There are some who would be perfectly happy going down the road to serfdom if it had electric-car recharging stations every 40 miles.
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Jun '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
How do you know when your tax rates are too high? When some idiot proposes sending all paycheques to the government first.
Aug '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Geez, stop giving them ideas!
When I start seeing a line called "Federal Witholding: Make Our Roads Better (for our children!)" on my paycheck, I'll know who to blame.
Jun '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
I think Dr. Rahe would likely agree that the British proposal is another manifestation of de Tocqueville's vision of "soft depotism."
"We're the government, so we'll manage the money of the great unwashed."
Edited on Sep 20, 2010 at 1:26pmRe: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
James, I don't understand why the UK is being so half-hearted. I mean, why stop with paychecks? Shouldn't we route our weekly groceries to a government agency that will send us the items that it "deems appropriate."
May '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
James Lileks:
This idea would be shot down like Elmer Fudd putting two shells in Daffy Duck’s face over here, but some might think it merits study. There are some who would be perfectly happy going down the road to serfdom if it had electric-car recharging stations every 40 miles. ·
Well, this would be the next step after they took control of all the 401(k) accounts and annuitized them.....
May '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
And if the government is a little short, they'll mail you an IOU instead, like California does for tax refunds now.
Sep '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
You have to look at this from a positive perspective: no more audits!
May '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Wow!
Bret, there would still be audits. You think the government would not give people "too much" and not come take back some more? :)
Aug '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Once again, George Orwell and Franz Kafka are proved correct, and even prophetic. It may be too late for Great Britain.
They have the world's phoniest 'conservatives'. All that means is that the same Statist policies will be implemented with the help of the Royal Family, traditional flouncy window dressing, and silken brocade instead of Lady GaGa techno-uniform polished titanium coldness.
It's a crying shame how badly that country has deteriorated.
Jun '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
In the case of men, maybe the lads could just deposit all their sperm with the government as well. And then, if your paycheck is healthy enough, they'll let you withdraw some from that account too. Another difficult life decision off your shoulders.
Jun '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Just where do you think sperm comes from, etoile?
May '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
So it's official. We just get an allowance and are perpetual wards of the State.
May '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Is this not the ultimate expression of social democracy?
Edited on Sep 21, 2010 at 11:39amJul '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
I lived in England for two years growing up (in the 70s). Even then, the idea that something like this would be feasible would have been deemed ridiculous. Thirty five years later and they have cameras at every crosswalk and are considering literally stealing the paychecks from the citizenry.
One of the best lessons we can learn from our brethren across the sea is how quickly things crash once the tipping point is reached. The British were the original stout yeoman, a free land of free people. Now a bunch of drunken yobs waiting for the government to toss them their crumbs.
That is why we need to draw our line now. To quote Gandalf ... "You shall not pass!"
Aug '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Is it that most Englishmen are so far gone that they don't even see what's wrong here, or is that the government is so divorced from the people that the people's anger is irrelevant? I just hope the voters here realize that if the don't make congress pay in this election that congress will stop listening to us too.
Aug '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
I just watched a movie called Dam Busters which highlighted British ingenuity and moxie in WWII. How sad to see that great country devolve into such a pathetic state in just a generation...
Jul '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
I always wondered why so many British movies deal with a dystopian future for either the entire world, the Isle of Brittania and/or just Scotland. Also, they seem to be keen on movies about a totalitarian future for the UK or the world. I guess those authors and filmmakers had a good idea of the direction the UK is moving in, what with a deeply flawed national health system, cameras everywhere and the government graciously withholding your paycheck before they can take whatever they might need this week.
Jul '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Also, thank you very much for that. We have quite a bit of Star Trek trivia going on at Ricochet, but I definitely think we need to up our LOTR references. After that we can move on to Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica (I know Jonah Goldberg will have a swell time with that last one).
Edited on Sep 20, 2010 at 8:19pmJul '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Good lord - What would be the ultimate??
Jun '10
Re: Let's just give the state all our money and make it easy for them
Humza, dystopian books and movies might be the rage in Britain, because they follow on the long tradition of authors such as Orwell and Huxley. Even Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is to no small degree a dystopian tale in that the whole of Middle Earth is at risk of falling into slavery. You do, however, raise a valid point in that as the social fabric of a country begins to fray, you get more authors extrapolating to the ugly end in store for the populace. But, I would disagree that the Brits have a monopoly on this genre, for evidence I would cite Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and The Road. Other recent American dystopian movies would include The Book of Eli and I am Legend.