[kapuasuite]

> When it comes to growth, Britain’s politicians will the ends but not the means. They run scared of the homeowning elderly, who turn up to vote and make up a growing share of the electorate. So tax rises are heaped on businesses and workers instead, further harming the economy. The government has likewise watered down its plans for reforming the planning system—because elderly homeowners object.

This is it - over taxing and over regulating productive activity eventually leads to less growth and lower standards of living.

[scaramanga]

The article is quite inaccurate, the ruling class runs scared of precisely nobody. They own the country and they will dispose of its capital as they chose, enjoying their property rights without the ignorant meddling of marginalised outsiders. The Tory party run essentially unopposed and the political preferences of isolated elderly people are shaped largely by the deluge of lies and fantasy which stream constantly at them from the murdoch press.

Tax breaks are awarded to businesses, and tax rises are heaped on workers and the youth who are increasingly impoverished. Failing to adequately tax or regulate all of this "productive activity" results in a windfall of profits for a few who hoard it and stagnate the economy while the demand for basic goods and services dries up and actually-productive sectors wither in favour of extractive rent-seeking "productive activity". The resultant budget deficits lead to crises in basic services, crumbling infrastructure, inability to intervene to keep incomes in line with living costs (even if a political party with the will to do that existed, and could get elected, which it doesn't and can't), and a spiralling budget deficit.

[baazaa]

> The Tory party run essentially unopposed

Corbyn was completely unelectable and gained 30 seats with a nearly 10% swing towards him in 2017 because of the Tory's policy on social care, removing the triple-lock and cutting the winter fuel allowance. That's how determinative old-people are in elections.

The only reason Tories remain in power is because they're happy to destroy the country in line with boomer preferences, it's not evidence they can ignore boomers at all. We've seen what happens when they make even the slightest moves against Boomer entitlements, they get decimated in the polls.

People who think governments don't respond to voter preferences, especially the preferences of a voting bloc which pretty much single-handedly determines elections, have clearly never worked in government.

[seibelj]

Yeah just gotta raise taxes more on whatever businesses are left and that will solve it.

[imtringued]

High taxes on workers and low taxes on companies means wealth concentrates and those companies slowly lose their customer base which then leads to mergers and acquisitions and the formation of monopolies.