Readers Mail....

From A A Wisley....

Are Voters Stupid Accepting Promises?

2024 is a bumper year for elections. India, the United States, the European Union and let's not forget the UK. The results, so far, have not followed the wisdom of the political pundits. Mr Modi did not get his landslide re-election and the far right gains in Europe were much bigger than anticipated leading, now, to constitutional turmoil in France. Meanwhile, the unelected cabal in Brussels continues to dole out jobs to their mates whilst ignoring the message sent by the European electorate. After being told what to do for their own good, by the men and women in grey suits and skirts, voters have ignored their dictat.

What is going on in the United States is probably incomprehensible to anyone living east of Washington. Just how do you choose between one incompetent, bumbling geriatric and another incompetent, woman molesting geriatric?

What's going to happen in the UK?

Turning to the UK, voters have now been presented with the foggy manifestoes of all the main parties. Each promises that the "new" government will spend billions on this and billions on that, fill the potholes, save the National Health Service, increase pensions, take care of all those people who can't be bothered to work and so on. Little is said of the obvious fact that governments have no money. Indeed, they have accumulated more than £2 trillion of debt on behalf of the electorate. (That is £2,000,000,000,000+ or £31+k per head).

So, where does the money come from to pay for these promises?

As everyone knows, it comes from the taxpayer which is almost a synonym for the electorate. The political parties are, therefore, promising to bestow infinite largesse on their voters whilst feebly trying to hide the fact that all this can only be paid for by first, quietly, picking the pocket of the voter before recycling the cash as benefits (after a   considerable amount of it has been frittered away through administrative incompetence). Political parties think the voter is too stupid to fully recognise this.

Are they getting what they expected?

Think again! In very broad numbers about 70% of the UK population will, over their lifetime, pay less in taxes of all descriptions than the value of state and local services of all descriptions received by them. In other words, they are happy to receive as much bounty as the state is willing to provide because they are getting it at a bargain basement cut-price. The poorer you are the better the value you get!

The remaining 30% of the population may pay more in taxes than the benefits they receive but their taxes would have to be very much higher if the overall deficiency in state revenue was not covered by “government” borrowing. In other words, even the more highly taxed can see a benefit in these generous promises because part of the cost of their good fortune is being passed on to later generations.

Of course, this is a game of political smoke and mirrors, with long-term consequences. Voters are not being irrational or stupid in going along with the game for now. They understand the rules.

Nevertheless , the day will come when this Ponzi scheme will collapse. That day might be sooner than you fear.

Images courtesy of AI

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