Tuesday 29 November 2011

I Hope You're Suitably Grateful For Not Being Mugged Again

While I'm on, I couldn't help but zero in on this quote from George Osborne in today's Autumn Statement.

As a result [of freezing fuel duty], Mr Osborne said the average family would save £144 a year on filling up their car.
This is the world of the gut-wrenchingly absurd politician. By not punishing us further, he is actually saving us money. D'you see?

How very fucking generous.

Thanks to This is Money for showing us how very much politicians have 'saved' us in the past decade.

They've been stealing your earnings for years - funding hare-brained schemes and disgustingly illiberal shite - but have now decided to keep their thieving fingers to themselves for a few months ...

... and we're meant to be grateful?

If they don't disgust you, why not? Serious question.


14 comments:

Christopher Snowdon said...

I saved a man's life today. I was going to stab him in the chest with a bread knife and throw him into the canal but in the end I decided not to.

The bastard didn't even thank me.

Clarissa said...

Careful Dick, or it'll be the re-education camp for you old boy.

Being slightly more serious, every time I see the price of fuel go up I count myself lucky that I decided a car was unnecessary for my lifestyle as it currently is. As a result I've avoided an awful lot of tax in the last 5 years.

Whoops, looks like the camps for me as well.

Trooper Thompson said...

Clarissa,

re-education camp, huh? Sadly, that's probably the only chance of getting all the libertarians together!

Dick,

my sentiments entirely.

Woodsy42 said...

How dare you not have a car Clarissa! You do realise that you are guilty of blatant tax avoidance which is now the same as tax evasion.

Anonymous said...

I saved money today on a Christmas gift for the olde wifey. Harrods had a big sale on winter coats, 200 pound marked down to 150. So I saved 50 pound because of the sale and another 150 by not buying it altogether. Come Christmas the olde wifey will dislike me terribly, it's true, but the money saved is worth the gamble she'll punish me somehow for my penury. If she does so by refusing me sex, then the money saved today will be lost later on for a good night on the town, including a lady of the evening no doubt. But at least I tried saving us some money.

Anonymous said...

Yep, the bastard decided that petrol prices aren't really high enough and need to go up next year.

I don't personally know a single person who believes this. Except my MP who has her petrol paid on expenses obviously.

Barman said...

It would be interesting to see that graph overlaid with oil prices.

And it would be interesting to know what %'age of the fuel tax is mandated by the EU.

Fuel here (in Cyprus) was so cheap when I arrived nine years ago I really couldn't believe it... about €0.25 per litre for diesel. Well behind the UK.

Since joining the EU the price has soared to €1.30 for diesel (still cheaper than petrol). Of course they were forced to put VAT up from 10% to 15% (the EU minimum I believe?) on joining too...

Anonymous said...

The absurd argument that by not increasing tax for a short period of time politicians are somehow doing us a favour is so often repeated and so often goes unchallenged that I fear it has won the argument. Why are people in a position to openly question this so reluctant to do so?

Neal Asher said...

Here's a handy and illuminating graphic:


http://www.abd.org.uk/taxtable.htm

Gordon the Fence Post Tortoise said...

There's been some talk of privatising the roads again to pour the money into the Treasury's black hole (and proboably an EU one too) and I was sat about the other night and we did the simple arithmetic for "toll roads".

It would seem that one pays about £7.50 an hour in fuel tax to use a motorway...

Just a thought.

JuliaM said...

"Why are people in a position to openly question this so reluctant to do so?"

Because they don't want to lose that position, of course...

Anonymous said...

Maybe I am unbelievably stupid, but why are we supposed to feel so grateful to the government for giving us some of our tax back (tax relief, child benefit, et al)?

Would it not be simpler, and more cost-efficient, not to tax us so much in the first place?

Okay, so it may result in the loss of a few (un)civil servant positions, but it may make a more “vibrant” (to use a present-day buzz-word) economy, so generating more jobs for these newly-unemployed ex-apparatchiks in the private sector.

RSP

Dr Evil said...

The do disgust me. All of the thieving bastards! Except Nigel Farrage. I like him and the way he attacks the arrogant scum in Brussels.

As for fuel. I live in the country. Fuel is a necessity not a luxury as is the car. These pols should be trying to save money by not spending it so that our outrageous level of taxation can be reduced. Fat chance!

Paul Garrard said...

Unless you are one of their friends in the ‘1% club’ Tories expect you to tug your forelock and be grateful that they allow you to breath so this language doesn’t come as any surprise what so ever.