Supply and Demand -

[observer]

There's now global concern about the rising cost of food and fuel etc: isn't this a natural result of increased demand from an expanding Indian and Chinese middle-class; and thus bound to get worse? In which case, OUR Government should be ensuring "the pain" falls on the broadest shoulders IE: the super-rich, rather than the majority of Joe Public.

[Mary]

Same here Observer - but thats too common sensible!

[asperity]

Who are the "Super Rich" who you want to pay??

[observer]

Think there was a list in the Sunday paper recently.

[asperity]

Very good Obs, but if you were to tax these super rich people more than they were prepared to pay, how long do you suppose they would hang about? Witness the companies that are already decamping to Ireland to avoid the higher taxes being imposed by our incompetent government.

[observer]

That's always been the claim; and the rich Russian we now have over here, screwed their Country in the same way. But with off-shore accounts and tax avoidance scams; they are paying next to nothing anyway. SO, I think we could start squeezing the pips out of them, and if pop singers, movie stars, footballers etc want to become exiles - fine; they won't be missed.

[asperity]

It would be more sensible for the government to stop wasting all those billions of pounds so they wouldn't need to tax us so heavily. A good place to start would be all the money we pay to Europe fpor the honour of being a province of that corrupt edifice.

[Paul Kennedy]

I guess the thing is Observer, whilst they might avoid pying tax, they do nevertheless spend considerable sums of money in the countries they choose to live in...sometimes not in the best interests of those countries...i.e cause house price explosions in parts of London, squander it on major football clubs rather than try and help small grassroots clubs....Warrington Town FC for example, but spend money they do.

[observer]

Certainly not going to argue with your last post Asp (perhaps a poll on the EU?!): the fact is that the wealth GAP in this Country has widened under New Labour; with obscene amounts at one end of the divide, whilst they still tax the poor end, then recycle it back to them in means tested benefits, thus ensuring their dependency on Gov. And of course, with VAT (another EU gift!); and stealth taxes on almost every commodity; the poorest, indeed most folk, are paying higher percentages of their cash into Government coffers, whilst the super-rich are paying less. With the influence of increasing global food prices and the economic downturn, things are going to get a lot harder; even more reason to share the pain on the basis of ability to pay.

[observer]

Since starting this topic, a few other snippets have surfaced: apparently most of us are paying 50% more tax than we were 10 years ago. The super-market drive for cheap foods has basically crippled our indigenous farming industry, making it difficult to return to self sufficiency; while rising global demand (caused by rising population levels) is increasing food prices globally. Though not quite at the stage of the siege of Leningrad, where they ate boiled shoe leather; it doesn't bode well for social stability in the future. PS: seems the same arguement applies to oil and gas.

[demelzadoe]

Giant agribusinesses are enjoying soaring earnings and profits out of the world food crisis which is driving millions of people towards starvation, The Independent on Sunday

 

The prices of wheat, corn and rice have soared over the past year driving the world's poor ? who already spend about 80 per cent of their income on food ? into hunger and destitution.

 

The World Bank says that 100 million more people are facing severe hunger. Yet some of the world's richest food companies are making record profits. Monsanto last month reported that its net income for the three months up to the end of February this year had more than doubled over the same period in 2007, from $543m (?275m) to $1.12bn. Its profits increased from $1.44bn to $2.22bn.

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/multinationals-make-billions-in-profit-out-of-growing-global-food-crisis-820855.html

[demelzadoe]

The IMF and the World Bank pushed countries to dismantle all forms of protection for their local farmers and to open up their markets to global agribusiness and subsidised food from rich countries. Like chiselling snake oil salesmen, they said that a liberalised market would provide the most efficient system for producing and distributing food.

 

Some 70% of developing countries listened to them and changed from exporters of food into importers. Now they can't afford to buy food because traders' asking prices are too high.

 

They have elevated food speculation to an art form, driving food out of reach of poor countries like Bangladesh, Cameroon and the Philippines.

[observer]

The joys of capitalism.

[demelzadoe]

While most governments are reacting to the global food shortage by growing more food, the Chinese have decided to grow the same amount of fruits and vegetables, but with A TWIST: giant versions of standard food staples: 210-pound pumpkins, 2-pound tomatoes, and cucumbers that are over 2-feet long -- that are currently feeding families in 22 of China's provinces, and governments in Europe, Japan and elsewhere are taking notice.

 

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/05/china-is-growin.html