National Insurance hikes for social care are a reverse Robin Hood picking the pockets of the young and poor The Health Secretary Sajid Javid is pushing for a 1% to 2% rise in national insurance to fund social care and the NHS. The Cabinet are reportedly split on the size of the increase, but not on the idea itself. A manifesto-breaking tax rise of some proportion is expected to be announced next week. The [...]
Is the government brave enough to let markets fix the social care crisis? We have all seen, with the direst of consequences, the deficiencies of the current social care system. As Covid-19 has raged through the UK, tens of thousands have died in under-resourced, under-invested, and ill-designed care homes. With the focus in those early weeks on protecting the NHS at all costs, central planners sent potentially infectious [...]
DEBATE: Does the UK need to address the fact that it reportedly has a ‘particularly extreme form of capitalism’? A new British Academy report argues that the UK has a ‘particularly extreme form of capitalism’ — is that something we need to address? Professor Christopher McKenna, co-director of the Global History of Capitalism Project at Oxford University, says YES. The proliferation of environmentally damaging industrial practices, the social divisions arising from monopoly power, and [...]
DEBATE: Should companies link executive pay more closely to that of ordinary employees? March 27, 2019 Should companies link executive pay more closely to that of ordinary employees? Rachel Reeves, Labour MP and chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, says YES. When a business does well, workers should share in the rewards, not just the boss. Too often, superstar salaries are waved through by remuneration committees that pay too [...]
