The State is Mother, the State is Father – with apologies to the creators of Babylon 5.
Firstly, the Jewell robber takes us to Chicago where the local criminals Alderman thinks that what people imbibe is somehow his business…
Burke not only wants to ban their [energy drinks] sale in Chicago, but their distribution as well. And not just for minors like Health Committee Chairman George Cardenas proposed last month.
“Kids are drinking more and more of them. And so Chicago ought to be on the forefront of public awareness and education about the potential dangers of these products,” he told NBC Chicago on Thursday evening.
Jeebus! As is usual with these charlatans, we get the old “think of the children” canard used as the way in. And, yes, to be sure, some folk who have over indulged have paid a price. But over indulgence is the, er, indulgence we are allowed as individuals. We go to hell in the hand basket of our choice. That is personal responsibility. And it is not up to the Alderman of Chicago to make parental decisions – it is up to parents (the clue is in the word “parental”). If the Alderman doesn’t like energy drinks, then he may abstain – that is the extent of his authority – or, at least, that should be the extent of his authority.
But if that isn’t bad enough – the sate being little more than a racketeer dictating our lives and screwing us in the process – the Italians have a whole new nasty lurking in the u-bend of their tax system that is about to burst into life.
The Italian authorities have been accused of resorting to police state-style tactics with the introduction of a new weapon to hunt down the nation’s many tax dodgers.
The new procedure makes it possible to scrutinise any family’s spending pattern, and compare this with what it says it earns.
The possibilities for this going horribly wrong are obvious to anyone with a functioning brain cell – but not, it would seem, to the Italian tax authorities who will inevitably screw the little people to the wall on the pretext of evasion, despite evidence of their errors. Oh, no, “computer says” will be the order of the day and if the computer says you earn more than you actually earn, then the tax is due, irrespective of whether you have the funds. Just you wait and see.
Did someone say this was Orwell day? Oh, the irony…
Ta for the link. I hadn’t seen the Italy story, though – that’s a bit scary.
However, we’ve got our own subtler version on its way in the form of real time information from HMRC. It is implemented in April and will generate a lot of anger from PAYE employees once they realise what it entails. I am planning to write a little about it when I get time.
Information seems to be fairly sketchy – all I can find seems to be either neutral in that there is information for employers or positive in that it will make the payroll easier to handle; although I can’t see how.
So, yeah, some more info on the implications would be useful.
I run our payroll and can assure you it makes it far more difficult (about twelve times more). Looking on accountancy forums, they are apoplectic. Only HMRC are saying it will be easier, it’s classic government spin. There is absolutely no information for emplyers whatsoever.
It does, however, help the state – and their light-fingered helpers – to peer into our earnings more closely than they have ever been able to before.
When even the kids can see that Prohibition is a total non-starter, you know we aren’t as doomed as some might think… 🙂