How to Save the Country

Just some random thoughts on how one could save the country bring in/spend less money without having to butcher social provision and wage war against the Poor, and to introduce social justice, and fairness to things such as debt problems.

It is very simple. Don’t Vote Tory or Lib Dem. Simples.

More seriously, some ideas:

• Scrap Trident.
• Cut VAT down to about 11%. If things are cheaper, people will buy more. 1000 items @ 11% must surely bring in more money than 500 items @ 17%
  
  Other EU Nations have a higher VAT rate than us, but items are generally cheaper.
• All Ombudsmen, especially the OFT, to be given real teeth, and the ability, and indeed a legal requirement to levy far higher fines, and indeed, to be legally obliged to investigate all complaints against a company, not wait till they have 10,000 before acting.
• The complete removal and dismantling of the Bailiff system, to be replaced with the humane system of Northern Ireland. The NI System is also far more effective.
• Introduction of Local Income Tax to replace Council Tax. Under an LIT system, research has shown that most households would actually be paying a good chunk less per month, under a well designed LIT system. The savings alone in not having to administer Council Tax, to go to court, to chase debtors, contract with Bailiffs are astonishing – it would also mean no more Council Tax benefit, and the costs of administering that – LIT is removed from wage at source.
• A hefty 30% government tax on Bank Penalty charges (it has been proven that penalty charges a vastly, to the tune of thousands of % higher than the actual cost to a bank of the reasons for issuing one, the banks are making billions in free money out of them, so let the taxpayer have a slice – the banks would not be allowed to increase charges to cover this, they would have to swallow it and shut the hell up)
• Parking fines, speeding tickets – no more having to send money/pay by card. once issued you have 60 days to pay, if you have not paid within 60 days, the Court will attach your earnings instead, but at fair rates. On Benefits - £3 in Work up to 20 grand PA £10 a week and so on. No Bailiff’s remember, but this new system will be fairer, far cheaper to run, and wont cost the finee hundreds of pounds in bailiff/enforcement charges, this system would also massively increase collection rates, and speed it all up
• The end of taxpayer’s subsidiary's for bars and restaurants in the Houses of Parliament.
• The creation of Legislation specifically, and purely to deal with Local and Central government contracting. For example, far heavier penalties for failing to meet delivery schedules, a requirement that the Official dealing with the taxpayers side of the contract is fully qualified, trained and experienced in the service that is being negotiated – so a DWP Official dealing with an IT Contract to implement a new IT System, would themselves be a qualified systems programmer. Possibly the creation of a very small “Contracts Ombudsmen” to oversee taxpayer service contracts*
  
  State Contracting is a lucrative enough business, and the Contractors are taking the piss, they have so many ways of slowing down, and borking whatever they are implementing to make even more money. I would also consider “Monopoly” regulation.
• * The Contracts Ombudsmen would also have a sideline in checking out contracts offered by private corporations to the public, to ensure they are fair.
• More to come