Friday 14 March 2008

Budget - Bull's Doo-doos

Well, well, well! No surprises in the budget are there. Tinkering, take some away, give back a little less and call it a speech.

Alcohol duty: Why present a tax increase across the board as a way to curb binge drinking? Patent, high gloss, gold plated, bollocks. Those that 'need' to drink will continue to do so. In that respect it's probably yet another tax on those less able to manage their lives. For the rest of we ale quaffers it's yet another nail in the coffin of our local hostelries. BBC Report. If the government want to do something about people drinking too much then this strategy is flawed. Your local landlord is not permitted to serve you alcohol if you're drunk. Sainsbury's or ASDA or any of the others will happily take £25 off you for 2 litres of Vodka and a mixer with or without 79p/litre more duty and you can still be in A&E with a poisoned liver within hours. This increase in duty will not reduce binge drinking. BBC Report.

Tax on Gas Guzzlers: This is pointless. If you can afford a big engined car you can afford the tax. It will do nothing for reducing pollution or encouraging the use of public transport. It's just another source of revenue for the Exchequer. Hey and guess what - You know the income won't go into improving public transport!!!

Conclusion: Overall I think this Budget demonstrates conclusively that this government(?) is bankrupt of ideas and should be ousted at the earliest opportunity. Sailing blissfully into a global financial meltdown with no attempt to got our borrowing requirement under control is a recipe for a disaster that the people of this country will have to pay for for years to come. God(?) bless us and all who sail with us!!

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