Shocked!

George Osborne, our world renown millionaire Chancellor of the Exchequer, claims in a Telegraph interview today that he is 'shocked' to discover how the richest millionaires do not pay enough tax, using a variety of legal loopholes to keep their cash. I am somewhat taken aback by this.  If George, who has around £4 million to his name, was unaware of the £15-20 Billion tax avoided by his rich friends can we conclude he is either lying in his private dentist teeth or just too stupid to do his job?  Has he forgotten already how that nice man in charge of the Tax Office, after a decent lunch, gave the boss of Vodafone leave not to pay his £6 Billion tax bill?  "Just give us £1:25 Billion, and take your time in paying this," he said, "and that will be fine."  He even let one of your Tory donors off with a few million also, have you forgotten this too George?  Has George not noticed the Cabinet is full of millionaires just like him, does he think they pay all their taxes, really?  


In spite of his fathers successful business a privileged education and a Modern History degree,   George joined the real world by data entry, at the NHS he entered the names of the recent dead into the computer.  He moved on to a solitary week at Selfridges folding towels for ungrateful customers, who can blame him for leaving that shop?  I worked there in the early eighties and the nickname 'Selfishes' rings a bell still.  Joining Conservative Central Office Osborne soon found a home and gradually worked his way up, until becoming the MP for Tatton at the age of 30.  Like David Cameron PM, and so many other members of both sides of the house George was from the 80's youth.  These privileged young, a very different generation from mine, have no experience of the war, the "Never had it so good 50's," or the problems of the 70's, and I do not refer here to the music of that time!  Osborne and the rest have a mindset far from any 'Babyboomer.'  Their nation has always been wealthy, and not just because of their good fortune, everyone had enough, no-one appeared to starve, the UK, indeed the west, spoke of 'good times.'  How can someone with that outlook understand the needs of the nation, economically and 'spiritually?'  What does Osborne's nation stand for?  Can he really appreciate what his statement implies?  


I confess, as if you had not noticed, my mindset was reared in a working class family of the 50's.  A left leaning, but voting Conservative if they were better, family, and Scots nationalist when they arose in the late 60's.  Of course a quick perusal of the bible changed much of my thinking, but that leads to a natural left of centre approach.  (Thatcher in the 80's turned the evangelical church from right of centre to left of centre by her hard hearted attitudes.)  For George to say he is 'shocked' by something I heard about when I was 15 or so, and from those able to practice such tax avoidance, I find it hard to accept he really understands the responses to his every utterance.  Maybe he ought to go back to the towel department and ask a few questions of those rifling through the stock?


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