Letters to the Editor – 16/04 – Mansion tax-lite, Housing crisis, Best of Twitter
Mansion tax-lite
[Re: Why the Lib Dems’ new mansion tax-lite is just as ugly, yesterday]
Alex Wild makes some excellent points on the unfair mansion tax. It would be nice to hear some intellectual justification from the likes of Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband. We won’t, of course, because there isn’t one. The politics of envy is too appealing for fairness or practicality to be considered.
Richard Peirson
London needs more powers to stop national politicians from continually finding ever more ways of squeezing money out of Londoners.
Name Withheld
………………..
Housing crisis
[Re: Explaining London’s housing crisis with one simple chart, yesterday]
Examining the figures since 1947, it is clear that we have rarely exceeded 200,000 net new homes a year. It is unremarkable in light of this that we have had three booms and busts in housing prices since the 50s, and look likely to have another one. We simply must build more homes. Our best option is to knock down the low density, high rise estates built in the 50s and 60s, and to build low rise, high density houses and mansion blocks. In London, between 250,000 and 500,000 new homes could be provided this way.
John Moss
………………..
BEST OF TWITTER
Ukraine has resumed gas imports from Europe, via Germany’s RWE through Poland.
@zerohedge
US to extend sanctions against leading Russian figures despite their ineffectiveness. Sanctions never succeed.
@steve_hanke
Low inflation not a reason to postpone rate rises. It allows MPC to raise gradually which is best exit policy.
@asentance
Average house price in London is now £458,000 versus UK average of £253,000.
@Josh_CityIndex