A modest proposal for George Osborne…

Submitted by Bill Kerry on 26 January 2012

This week it feels like everyone is talking about inequality. From the billionaires at Davos to Nick Clegg and Barack Obama - even Peter Mandelson is less "relaxed" about the issue these days.

However, before we get carried away, we are quickly reminded that corporate excess has not gone away. Some people still don’t get it.

Given the confluence of events, wouldn’t now be a good time for a bit of tax hypothecation? I think we can all think of better places to allocate money than dishing out bonuses to perennially failing banks and bankers. Surely now is the time that Nick Clegg should suggest to George Osborne that the way to speed up help for the squeezed middle is to take it from those who caused - and are prolonging - the squeeze?  In fact this squeeze has been going on so long it’s now beginning to feel like a death-grip.

Whether such hypothecation is the right policy for the long term is a matter for debate (personally I would prefer a proper progressive tax system) but the arguments for it would appear to be very strong at the moment. Apart from the beautiful symmetry of it, such a move would be just, popular and fiscally prudent since it involves no borrowing.

What’s not to like, George?

Photo credit: Images_of_Money