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Originally Posted by Sephiroth
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Given that we have a nutter to deal with in the USA, and looking forward to post-Trump days, we should be doing everything to avoid being foul-mouthed by the current administration.
I buy what Chris said that for each piece of concession we make, Trump would demand more. But that can be diplomatically handled so that Trump's disappointment can be expressed in a way that lets us off the hook. At least we should try.
The objective must be to expand and develop our technology industries and avoid totally missing the AI boat. We shouldn't tie ourselves into the EU's AI straitjacket.
Domestic policy must change so that government spending focuses on economic expansion. Businesses are closing because the cost of operating them are too high and thus unempolyment is rising. Business taxes must be lowered - they are a stealth tax that enable the government to claim that they haven't increased the main personal taxes.
Once wealth is created, tax receipts rise and we can rebuild our welfare architecture.
Something like that - but don't piss off the USA who will be our largest customer. The EU will just try to stiff us - they're only interested on what we can pay in - and you know that.
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Some sensible points in there but mostly focuses on tackling the symptoms and avoids mentioning the causes that are behind the need to raise taxes - Ukraine War and the need to re-arm, the hike in energy prices due to Trump/Netanyahu, ageing population, growth in adult social care burden and the reduction in GDP when we left the EU.
I think the tax burden needs to be shifted away from taxing employers as that makes Britain less competitive but with an honest penny or two placed on income tax. I get that would be unpopular so would need presenting as a UK security tax top-up or something.
And Trump's USA is not a stable country to bet your economic growth on or your defence either. Because Trump himself is fundamentally unstable. The UK is a world leader alongside France in diplomacy (thanks to their colonial past) and has one of the best relationships with the USA that any country enjoys. But even that's not great.