Letter 50: Show your support for #spartacusreport

Today the Spartacus Report was launched, detailing just how many people are opposed to the Coalition's disability benefit reforms and why. Discussion of the Welfare Reform Bill is due to resume at its report stage on 11 January in the House of Lords. None of us plans to get ill, become disabled or wish to become so. If those of us not yet disabled were to support those that are, imagine what we could achieve.

(You might also like to sign Pat Onion's e-petition to support disabled people and their carers. )

Letter 49: Look sweetheart, tax is for poor people

This week, a letter about the stink surrounding some big business tax affairs, allegations of the deals done with HMRC and cuts to some of most vulnerable children in society. Hats off to UK Uncut and Private Eye, who doggedly pursued the HMRC to produce the truth. I shall be nominating them for a Big Society Award, but more of that another time...  

" Dear Dave,

Christmas or not, the pressure just doesn't stop does it? You must have seen the news on Tuesday? Full of the Public Accounts Committee report and suggestions of sweetheart deals between HMRC and big businesses. I was shocked to read that HMRC is currently seeking to resolve more than 2,700 issues with the biggest companies. And could you explain to me in these times of austerity (when we are all in this together) that Goldman Sachs should be let off £20 million in tax? I already knew about Vodafone settling their tax bill dispute by paying £1.25 billion when they allegedly should have paid £6 billion(!).

Actually I took part in protests, but I am genuinely surprised at how much money seems to have gone uncollected. Thank goodness for whistleblowers, UK Uncut, Private Eye and transparency, eh? It will be interesting to see what happens following UK Uncut issuing legal proceedings against HMRC today,

requesting disclosure of all internal documents relating to the Goldman Sachs deal. Now for that, I'd personally nominate UK Uncut for one of your Big Society Awards!

Do you agree that if ordinary people have to pay tax, so should big corporations and their owners? I know that your official spokesman has reported you are confident that all taxpayers are treated evenhandedly, but not everyone agrees especially when sweetheart deals with big businesses are denied to hardworking families, shopkeepers and small families. It's starting to look like the poor are being bullied into work (Workfare), while the rich are let off tax and bribed into staying in the UK through lowering Corporation Tax. Am I the only one thinking about what a difference uncollected taxes could make to austerity cuts and reforms you say are unavoidable? Take Universal Credit - once introduced, about 100,000 disabled children will be roughly £1,400 a year (£20,000 in a childhood) through 'reforms' to their allowances. Quite callous, that all but the most profoundly disabled children will get 1/2 the support they do now. IF only there was some money that could be found...

                                                     Yours, etc"

Many thanks to Rich at http://www.creativepopupcards.com/ for the heart template.

PMQs... what does it make you think of?

As I listened to PMQs I doodled and let Dave be my muse....

           

Letter 48: Rioters and Lobbyists: where does Dave's moral compass point?

There is no need to say anything today other than watch last night's Newsnight and read The Independent : 

"Dear Dave,

There has been such a lot to think about since watching Newsnight yesterday. Did you see it? The Guardian and LSE made a film, having researched the riots that took hold this summer. A really excellent piece of work, but very troubling. I do hope you have a copy - it would be so useful to inform so many of your policies.

It made me think about money and power. As did the article in The Independent, titled:

"Caught on camera: top lobbyists boasting how they influence the PM."

Did you see it? That had a short film too, equally interesting. Gosh, it looked quite bad, Dave. And it made me think of that funny little phrase: "MONEY TALKS".

Both stories are about money and power, but from different ends of the social and political spectrum, or the "haves" and "have nots" as some call them.

And it made me wonder... Are you not concerned that your own moral compass runs the risk of appearing compromised by allowing lobbyists (and those that fund them) unregulated access to you, thereby undermining our democratic process?

                                   Yours, etc"

                                   

Letter 47: The Autumn Statement, more pain less gain.

Post Autumn Statement, the papers provide grim reading. The Coalition's austerity measures seem to have secured us the position of having the highest national debt of any of the AAA nations, apart that is from the USA. Thanks lads, not quite what you promised us 18 months ago. No wonder George pre leaked what little good news there was before he faced the House. It was said on the BBC that rarely has a budget been so prematurely or intentionally leaked - as if our Chancellor was trying to sweeten the bitter pill that was to come:

                       

Wouldn't you agree it's time for the Coalition to find the real solution to our economic woes within the banking sector and tax loopholes?



P.S.
As requested, here is the contents of the letter for those who are finding it difficult to read the writing:
Dear Dave,
Here we are, autumn, the second budget of the year and your timetable for getting the deficit down is blown off course - it's pretty dire, isn't it? Growth down, unemployment and food prices up, more pay freezes for the public sector. The UK seems to be in a much bigger economic hole than you had envisaged. It looks like things are going to be pretty grim for some of us, way into the next parliament. 
How can you think your plan is working? With growth downgraded (once more) to 0.9% for this year and 0.7% in 2012? And the borrowing figures are shocking! I can't believe that compared to figures predicted in March, over the life of the parliament, George will now borrow £111 billion!! Simply staggering. Is it true that the Coalition is set to borrow £19 billion more than Labour had originally projected? And is Labour's claim true, that while you are borrowing to meet the cost of unemployment, they would have borrowed to fund growth?
Because we so need growth. How will you pay for your plans to boost growth? Spending on infrastructure through freezing tax credits seems so wrong, when the people receiving them are so poor. And what if the private investors that you are relying on don't want to risk being involved? Remember how you were hoping that the private sector would create jobs to replace all the ones you cut through austerity measures and how they failed to materialise?
It is so distressing Dave that ordinary hard up people face YEARS of hardship because of failures of the banking system. Surely you can help George to come up with a fairer plan to get us out of this mess? 
Yours, etc

Letter 46: Robbing Peter to pay Paul

Attempts to deal with youth unemployment are to be encouraged as long as someone else is not disadvantaged as a result. The system we have rewards failure at the top, privatises gain and nationalises risk. Perks for those in power also seem to be untouched by the plans to cut the deficit. Until that is addressed, the Coalition is only tinkering round the edges:

Letter 45: Unemployment, the human consequence of Plan A

I wonder if any ministers in the Coalition cabinet have children aged between 16 and 24. Think any of them will be included in the youth unemployment figures released this week? No, I didn't think so either...