Fed up with the cost of everything.
It’s all going to hell in a handcart! Global warming has arrived ahead of schedule, first class stamp will soon cost 60p, the Government want to put VAT on my pasty and it cost me £80 to fill up my car yesterday. To be honest I’ve taken to looking at the sky to see if it’s falling down yet. I’m not sure what concerns me most, the VAT on pasties is a bit of a red herring but the whole VAT issue is one that affects my business so I’m watching this story with care.
The postage hike is more immediately alarming, not because of the price hike which is a concern but because it is the first step in making the Royal Mail ready for privatisation. I don’t mind paying a bit more for a fairer price but I am alarmed by the idea of the postal service becoming privatised. I could be sarcastic and comment on how well privatising the rail network and the water companies worked, to say nothing of the benefits in privatising the electricity and gas companies but what would be the point. None of us actually think that it worked out for the best. Where we are stuck with a local provider as in water we are facing the highest costs in the country because we have the beaches that the rest of the country makes use of for half the year. Where we have a choice of providers such as the power companies they have ensured that the tariffs are so confusing that no one is capable of getting a good deal and keeping it. It we want to travel across our nation we run the utter headache of multiple timetables and pricing structures that can make flying to Greece cheaper and easier than taking a train to Haverfordwest. So nationalising the post office? Bleugh. Great for the cities – obviously but for rural areas, far flung areas, islands? This is going to hurt. The whole strength of a nationalised industry is that the strong helps the weak and we truly all pull together. And can you imagine the mess when a book fails to get delivered, every company along the network will be able to blame each other. At least if I put a letter in a letter box now there is only one place to turn to if it fails to arrive.
So long term it’s the Royal Mail that bothers me as it will have a noticeable impact on my online business but what concerns me the most at the moment is the ever rising cost of fuel. My tank tends to last me a few weeks and yet every single time I go back the price has gone up again. I sold my gorgeous old petrol guzzler because £50 a tank was outrageous. Now I’m putting £80 into my fuel efficient diesel and it doesn’t seem fair. I mean really £80 and I’ll need to do that again in three weeks. I could buy a lot of stuff for £80 that would last a damn sight longer, shoes, clothes and so on. I really don’t know how people are managing and that’s what concerns me the most, soon something has to give, our cars are not luxury items they are essential parts of our daily lives.
So despite the sunshine I’m a wee bit fed up today. Oh well soon it will start raining and then I’ll have something new to complain about! Enjoy the sunshine and catch up next week.
July 17, 2012 @ 2:54 pm
Assume the government doesn't charge illicit drug dealers taxes from their “profits?” You should think again. The tax law states that the dealer is able to anonymously pay taxes on the earnings they make on the sales of the illicit drugs. Which means this procedure safe guards them if the dealer is nabbed because of their illegal actions, tax evasion cannot be utilized towards them, and neither could the paying out of taxes on that activity be utilized by the criminal prosecution? You need to read this!
https://ww.tax-defense-network-tax-laws.com/tax-defense-network-illegal-drug-tax/