Tony Blair and the £8million tax mystery

[Jasandjules]

Countdown said:

Out of interest how much money are "socialists" allowed to earn / keep?

The average wage/income of course. So that all are equal. After all, they would not want to have more money than the average so they would be happy to give up EVERYTHING above the average income to others who are below that level.

[mercGLowner]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Slowly eating my words, but he is in the Unibond third division compared to Blair's Premier League ......

[Countdown]

Puggit said:

Countdown said:

Out of interest how much money are "socialists" allowed to earn / keep?

Are you going to defend his right to avoid taxes too?

Yes - he's well within his right to avoid tax. It isn't illegal.

[Countdown]

Mermaid said:

Countdown said:

Out of interest how much money are "socialists" allowed to earn / keep?

He is a politician -if the Tories had a vacancy when his time came, he would have joined them.

Definitely. He made New Labour more like the Tories. GB moved the other way allowing DC to capture the centre ground and get elected.

[Countdown]

Getragdogleg said:

It's a very blurry line, I find myself categorised as a capitalist because I run a business, make profits and pay tax yet I have a mortgage and live quite carefully with very modest savings, Bliar on the other hand is classed rightly or wrongly as a socilaist and has many millions and avoids tax yet was leader of the Labour party, a party that was supposed to represent the common man.

Same here, although by PH standards I'm probably a "Socialist" whatever that is. I'm extremely happy (in the main) with living in the UK and happy to pay taxes where they improve society as a whole. That doesnt mean I believe the rich should be soaked and benefits paid to all and sundry. Why do people assume this view means I'm a closet-Marxist?

[Countdown]

Jasandjules said:

Countdown said:

Out of interest how much money are "socialists" allowed to earn / keep?

The average wage/income of course. So that all are equal. After all, they would not want to have more money than the average so they would be happy to give up EVERYTHING above the average income to others who are below that level.

Where has he (or the Labour Party) ever suggested that EVERYBODY should get the same income/wage?

[NoNeed]

Countdown said:

Where has he (or the Labour Party) ever suggested that EVERYBODY should get the same income/wage?

Everytime one of them opens their mouth they are making those kind of statements.

[NoNeed]

NoNeed said:

Countdown said:

Where has he (or the Labour Party) ever suggested that EVERYBODY should get the same income/wage?

Everytime one of them opens their mouth they are making those kind of statements.

You must have heard the "unfair this" or "the rich that" or their new favorite " those with the biggest shoulders"

[hidetheelephants]

Countdown said:

Getragdogleg said:

It's a very blurry line, I find myself categorised as a capitalist because I run a business, make profits and pay tax yet I have a mortgage and live quite carefully with very modest savings, Bliar on the other hand is classed rightly or wrongly as a socilaist and has many millions and avoids tax yet was leader of the Labour party, a party that was supposed to represent the common man.

Same here, although by PH standards I'm probably a "Socialist" whatever that is. I'm extremely happy (in the main) with living in the UK and happy to pay taxes where they improve society as a whole. That doesnt mean I believe the rich should be soaked and benefits paid to all and sundry. Why do people assume this view means I'm a closet-Marxist?

So using the tax artifice of shell companies with preposterously inflated admin costs is ok and everything's fine? It's legal, but I'd prefer it not to be.

[Derek Smith]

Countdown said:

Same here, although by PH standards I'm probably a "Socialist" whatever that is.

Thje main point of socialism is 'common', i.e. state, ownership of the means of production and distribution. Socialism is for state control of most aspects of one's life: there is a world apsect to it was well. There are a number of socialists in this country, advocating the principles, but the figures have dropped considerably in my lifetime. The term has been taken, rather lazily, to include everything left of centre, or rather left of the utterer's point of view. It is similar to calling, for instance, Cameron a fascist despite him not professing beliefs in any way connected with it.

To call Blair a socialist is silly. He never, ever, advocated state ownership of anything. He is the most right wing of any labour leader since Gaitskill. Misses Tony Blair was brought up in a socialist household but, like many daughters, went the other way. She's very right of centre.

The Marxist definition of socialism is slightly different but that was just to be contrary.