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I try and pop onto "underdogs bite upwards"
on a daily basis as the writing tends to be about the
best in the blogosphere.
He can successfully do indignation without resorting
to swearing (usually), which is a skill I greatly admire.
I also like the names he gives to the Rt. Hon. clowns
in Westminster.
Leg-iron
3rd Dec, 2008
As a small business, it's in my interests to watch
out for new and sneaky ways people might use to steal
money from me. The people in question being politicians,
since they are the hardest thugs on the block these
days.
Today, the speech Mrs. Queen was forced to read out
included the announcement that any policeman can now
stop me whenever he likes and demand identification
- and if I dont happen to have any, off I go to pokey
(not a police state, oh, nooo. Not yet, but a step closer
every day). That law only applies to those who are visiting
this country. So that's okay. Oh, and those who have
been abroad. Ever. Except... how would the police know
who's been abroad and who hasn't until after they have
stopped and demanded papers be shown? I have a passport
but the last stamp in it was a visa for China, and the
passport's been renewed since then. Travel in Europe
no longer gets your passport a stamp. So even if I show
my passport, which in its current form is stampless,
that still won't tell them whether I've been abroad
or not. Are we to have our foreheads branded on the
way into the country next? Otherwise, the only way to
tell if someone's been abroad is to stop them, get ID,
and check it.
In which case, the law necessarily applies to everyone.
Everyone. We have to show our papers to the police on
demand, and failure to carry ID is now an arrestable
offence. But we're not turning into a police state,
ooooh, noooo. Just ask all those immigrants who fled
from police states. They'll tell you. If you have nothing
to hide, you have nothing to fear, as long as you can
prove you have nothing to hide and as long as you never
get accused wrongly and as long as no policeman takes
a dislike to you and as long as you don't forget or
lose your wallet or have it stolen...how would you go
about reporting that, I wonder?
Sounds bad, and it is, but it distracts from other
issues.
Mrs. Queen also brings news that small businesses are
to be hammered harder with new local authority taxes,
and the local authority can decide how much to charge.
The bill would give local councils the power to
raise revenues directly from businesses.
Another hand in the wallet. This doesn't seem to be
'instead of' anything. It's 'as well as' the rest of
the taxes and charges.
The British Retail Consortium has been calling on
the government to make sure that the new powers can
only be used by local authorities to pay for genuinely
business-boosting infrastructure projects, not simply
to fund general expenditure.
It seems the current wording is such that the council
can demand what they like, when they like, and use it
for whatever they like. Isn't that great? No, it won't
be abused. The councils aren't run by ravening lunatics
hell-bent on bankrupting local economies so they can
have lunch in Ibiza and retire wealthy. It's just a
little vague in the wording. Just needs a bit of common
sense and restraint in its application. Like RIPA and
anti-terrorist laws. Like the new ID on demand law.
So we're done for then. Whenever the council fancy a
jolly trip abroad, they'll just go and shake down a
few businesses. Government by the Kray's law.
The Ripper says there's a risk crime might rise as
a result of the recession. Well, I'm considering dumping
honest business and going back into the black economy.
I'm not the only one. So she's right.
Labour will drive more and more out of legitimate business
practices and into illegal ones because it'll be the
only way to stay alive. Well done, Labour. Cameron won't
fix it either. What we need are politicians who have
spent a bit of time in the real world, and there aren't
many of those now.
Best stock up on stuff you can barter.
Comments can be left on my
blog.
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