Alistair Darling today unveiled the budget for 2009. Below, I, Mr Eagle Eye, shall disect each segment with snappy anger, for I am in a particularly aggressive mood this evening Victoria Line on strike and signal failures suspending the Overground are the napalm to start tonights forest fire on UK finance!At a Glance as per BBCEagle Eye ReactionCigarettes, Alcohol and Fuel• Alcohol taxes to go up 2% from midnight - putting the price of the average pint up 1p
As someone who consumes little alcohol, doesn't smoke, and takes the train, my wallet couldn't give a toss about tax increases on these. However, Eagle Eye says this:
Taxing alcohol will not solve alcohol misuse problems to the degree many people suggest. Much of the drunken youth these days choose super-market assisted 'pre-drinking' before hitting the town and acting like knuckle-dragging neanderthals. Instead of taxing specifically on alcohol, Eagle Eye suggests illegalising ludicrously cheap alcohol promotions. That way they will go drink in the pub instead (and 'Save the British Pub' which they pretend to be so passionate about), and not drink as heavilly because they can't buy as much booze for their money. More forceful policing would also help. Ok, I'm going off on a tangent here and I can go on about this subject for ages, so I'll make it the subject of my next post.
• Tax on tobacco to go up by 2% from 6pm - equivalent to an extra 7p on a pack of 20 cigarettes
Tobacco, tobacco, tobacco... Tax it to oblivion! 7p tax for a pack of 20? Eagle Eye suggests £7 if not more! Smoking is a fucking bane for the Health Service, costing £billions yearly. Perhaps if these weak-minded nicotine guzzlers coughed up more cash for their fags, they would help pay the NHS bills for their ill-deserved treatment. Or better yet, they can quit, and spare themselves and their families from the haze.
• Fuel duty to rise by 2p per litre from September, then by 1p a litre above inflation each April for the next four years
Not a driver, my wallet has dodged this bad boy. Moving onwards!
Car Scrappage Scheme
• From next month until March 2010 motorists to get £2,000 discount on new cars if they trade in cars older than 10 years
What in the name of?! The plan here is to get us to buy more cars. Isn't the government wanting us to not use cars? What about the increase in fuel duty? All this is doing is to try and help the car industry. Hypocrisy! Hypocrisy I cry with a wide Eagle Eye!
Failed industries fail on merit and do not deserve bail-outs in any shape or form!
One thing positive about this is that it will get older, dirtier cars off the roads? That is debatable. But Eagle Eye suggests this; if this is to be implemented, only allow the £2,000 discount for cars that are at the green end of the spectrum of miles to gallon, emissions etc.
• They will have to show they been the registered keeper of the vehicle for the previous 12 months before ordering the new car
Big whup, common sense. Moving swiftly on
• The government will provide £1,000 with the industry expected to provide the other half
So I am expected to pay up for someone else to trade in their care for a nice new flashy one, and support a doomed industry in the process? Because let's face it, we'll be paying the industry half with bail-outs. Eagle Eye says this; F*** OFF!!
Tax
• Income tax for those earning more than £150,000 to rise to 50% from April 2010
Sniff, sniff, I smell a Taxodus! Punishing the rich and successful is a stupid, stupid move, all in the name of typical Left-Wing, socialist-bleeding-heart commie populist propaganda. Unlike the poor, the rich have a greater choice of options due to, well, being rich obviously. Would you rather stay in the UK and see your deserved money get taxed off you in the name of dole-scroungers and the 'disadvantaged', or get the hell out. People who are rich are generally smart, so the latter is a no-brainer.
The rich might be unpopular or unfair in the eyes of the masses, but it is better to tax them a little and have them stay and spend their wealth in our economy, than have them sod off and spend their coffers in someone elses economy.
• Tax relief on pensions to be reduced for people on more than £150,000 a year from April 2011
As above. Shaft the successful, and they will shaft you by leaving the country, leaving an empty hole where their money used to be!
UK Economy• Economy forecast to shrink 3.5% in 2009
IMF says 4.1%. Darling is a twat.
• Growth expected to pick up in 2010, expanding by 1.25%.
IMF says economy to shrink again by 0.4%. Darling is still a twat.
• Economy to grow by 3.5% annually from 2011
No IMF projection yet, but it is highly likley that Darling is still a twat, but even more likley he will not be chancellor.
• Public borrowing to increase to £175bn this year
Disastrous. Uttherly disastrous. An enlarged public sector makes as much sense as a four-sided triangle. All borrowing has to be paid back at some point, and being saddled with burrowing, plus intrest, we'll be tied down with financial rope whilst other economies are recovering and going 'Is that Britain? Ha! F**k You!'
• Borrowing levels to be £173bn, £140bn, £118bn and £97bn in years after
This could all have been avoided by allowing failed businesses to fail and let the private sector sort itself out. Keynesianism has NEVER worked and it NEVER will. Keynesian stimulus is not very stimulating at all to Mr Eagle Eye.
• Consumer price inflation to fall to 1% by end of year. Retail Price Index to go to -3% by September.
UK prices dropping for the first time in 50 years. This is a disaster. Before you celebrate that prices are going down, remember that wages will fall too as companies will look to recover that lost revenue. Labour must never be allowed to take power again.
• Capital investment to continue at historically high levels until 2012
Labour must never, ever be allowed to take any kind of power anywhere ever, ever again, ever.
Jobs and Training
• Government support for economy to protect 500,000 jobs
What kind of jobs will these be? Will they be private-sector positions in an economy where competition is encouraged and not distorted by bail-outs, and not off the back of the tax-payer, in British Economy that welcomes foreign companies instead of barking protectionism back at them? Fat chance. These 'protected' jobs will be for the rafts of people working in bloated public services departments, on the back of the tax payer.
• Statutory redundancy pay up from £350 to £380 a week
Another £30 a week in a deflating economy?
• Extra support for people who have been out of work for 12 months through the flexible new deal
'Hello, my name is the British Government! Have you been out of work for 12 months claiming dole? Excellent! You are just the person we are looking for, and have a great new deal for you!'
Punish the successful to feed the 'needs' of the underclass. Socialists, Labour, New Labour, whatever the fuck you want to call yourselves, I cannot wait to see you annihilated at the next general election. Sureley have a successful economy is to encourage people to be successful. Seems like common sense to Mr Eagle Eye.
However, socialists react to common sense in the same way a vampire reacts to sunlight.
• From January all under-25s out of work for a year to be offered a job or training place with extra money on top of benefits for those in training
If the aim is to get people back into work and train them, why wait for them to be on the dole for a year? Instead of allowing them to dole-scrounge, why not just shove them into training placements or jobs immediately if it was going to be done anyway?
• £1.7bn extra funding for Job Centre network
Or, we could try something really quite radical and dramatically cut benefits! Once these work-dodgers realise they will be no longer be paid to sit at home smoking fags and getting pregnant with their latest offspring, perhaps then they'll realise they'd better start pulling their own weight, or get screwed!
• £250m funding to help people get work experience in growth industries
And what does Labour denote as a 'Growth Industry?'. The only thing socialism can look at as the future; the Public Sector...
• Funding to create 54,000 new places in sixth form education
Well, let's see about this one. But if the juvenile in question is already an illiterate chav by the time they are done with the primary and secondary education system under Labour, sixth form will not save them.
Get the Primary and Secondary education system fixed first before putting the youngsters through another load of Labourcation.
Housing
• Scheme to guarantee mortgage-backed securities to boost lending
'Yes, let's lend money stupidly to people who cannot pay it back. It's just like the boom years, but even better, because we know the UK government will pay us if they go tits up!' The stupidity of Labour is just absoultley incredulous.
• Stamp duty holiday for homes up to £175,000 to be extended to end of year
Not too familiar with what Stamp Duty is, so I cannot pass fair judgement on this one. Mr Eagle Eye is temporarily blind! Moving swiftly on!
• Extra £80m for shared equity mortgage scheme
Again, not something I am too knowledgeable about. Moving even more swiftly onwards!
• £500m to kick-start stalled housing projects - including £100m for local authorities to build energy efficient homes
One of the more positive things in the budget, but still, Eagle Eye is not blinded to the flaws! Housing is lacking in quantity in the UK, so having more available for use would be a huge bonus for the economy. However, either due to over-regulation or other reasons, many new 'affordable' homes are just simply too expensive. The UK has seen a boom in premium-level housing and penthouses, but these are not the solution to overcrowding.
• £50m to upgrade housing for the armed forces
Whilst the government is utterly shameful for bandwagoning on the 'our boys' mentality in order to get a cheap rise from voters, I do agree that the armed forces to deserve better. Mr Eagle Eye approves.
Government SavingsMr Eagle Eye is laughing so hard his feathers are nearly falling out. Savings? Joke of the Year, that is!• Tax loopholes and schemes identified which could provide £1bn of extra revenue over the next three years if closed
So Labour have been in power for 12 years and have only just discovered these loopholes? Perhaps it covers parliamentary expenses? It would certainly help getting the likes of Jacqui Smith weaned off the teat
• An extra £9bn in efficiency savings is planned
Public Sector expansion does not go in-hand with efficiency. Total crap. Eagle Eye needs to clench his beak for the smell of crap is getting too intense!
• Public spending growth to be cut from 1.1% next year to 0.7% from 2011-2012
You won't be in charge 2011-2012 you delusional child. Mr Eagle Eye suggests you busy yourself with alternative things to do in 2011-2012, like writing your highly anticipated biography 'New Labour, same old Failure'Benefits• Child tax credit to rise by £20 by 2010
I am not personally in favour of encouraging people to breed when they cannot financially afford to raise their children. To have children is a responsibility, not just a right.
• Child trust funds for disabled children to rise by £100 a year, £200 a year for severely disabled children
Child trust funds should be equal for all children. I'm not picking on the severly disabled here, but I believe that all children should be treated equally. Plus, there will be so many dole-scroungers trying to make out that thier children are severley disabled, totally screwing up their educational years as a result.
Savings
• Annual limit for tax-free ISAs to rise to more than £10,200 for over-50s this year and for everyone else next year. Of that amount £5,100 can be saved in cash
Mr Eagle Eye nods his head here, but why must everyone else wait until next year? However, it is doubtful many people will actually benefit from this.
Environment
• Britain commits to cut carbon emissions by 34% by 2020
How, when we are bailing out a failed car industry by buying new cars? As unrealistic as Mr Eagle Eye learning to fly!
• An extra £1bn to help combat climate change by supporting low-carbon industries
What kind of low-carbon industries? Elaborate, my Darling!
• £525m for offshore wind projects over the next two years
Wind Power = Fail. It produces sod all electricity in comparison to the energy and cost involved in construction and green-lighting as far as setting them up is concerned. Nuclear is the best energy option at present, but there are alternatives to building those monstrous three-armed clusterfucks off our coastlines.
• £435m support for energy efficiency schemes for homes, firms and public buildings
Given that we are burrowing hundreds of £billions each year, hundreds £millions a year on this hippie-crap? Drop in the ocean! Go ahead.
• £405m to encourage low-carbon energy and advanced green manufacturing
As above
Help for Business
• Help for loss-making companies extended - they will be able to reclaim more taxes paid in the last three years until November 2010
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Mr Eagle Eye is most displeased! As I have squawked previously, failing companies deserve to fail! Successful companies should be going all kickass and predatorially competitive on that market share up for grabs, not financing the inefficiency of their competitors!
• Businesses' main capital allowance rate doubled to 40% to encourage firms to bring forward investment
One of the more positive ideas put forward today, but so long as it's money thrown at companies that are not loss-making and pissing up.
• New £750m strategic investment fund to help emerging technologies and regionally important sectors
New technologies are critical to economic recoveries as they drive innovation. However, Mr Eagle Eye will keep a close watch on this. What the government determines as an 'emerging technology' may not be what is actually most efficient and practical as a new approach in the real world of work. This will be critical.
Pensioners
• Grandparents of working age who care for their grandchildren will see that work count towards their entitlement for the basic state pension
Mr Eagle Eye has got his wings all flapped up in confusion here. Pay the grandparents to look after their grandchildren and it helps have childcare kept within the family, and would be better for the children than having them attending nursery perhaps. On the other hand, lots of nurseries will see a dip in business with subsequent job-lossess, and, of course, we'll be paying for the child-care, and the new child-carers on the dole off the tax payers back!
Ok, I have decided. Bad idea!
• Winter fuel allowance to be maintained at higher level - £250 for over 60s and £400 for over-80s - for another year
Fair play.
• The basic state pension will be increased by at least 2.5%, regardless of inflation
Nods to that
• From November the limit on savings pensioners can have before their Pension Credits are reduced is to be raised from £6,000 to £10,000 to help those hit by low interest rates. It will mean an average of £4 extra a week, says the chancellor
Not likley to have much of an effect really.
Ok, Mr Eagle Eye is quite puffed out from that rather long and insidous rant at the budget, but hopes you enjoy! Remember, Mr Eagle Eye is watching, laughing and who knows what else! Haha!