Oddbean

@bd15ffd6 Agreed - the centre-left - spectacularly the UK Labour Party now - makes a big mistake in accepting the right-wig framing of 'tax and spend'. The most effective way to present taxation reform is around 'making tax fair' - rather than approaches such as 'we need the money for services' (which as you say is not strictly true - tax is only needed if services create inflationary pressures - they may not if, say, spending on health, education, etc, enhance productivity). Which leads to the second term of 'tax and spend'. Government 'spending' on public services is NOT like personal or household, or indeed businesses' spending - it is in fact more like investment, and should be presented as such - pretty much everybody agrees it is a GOOD THING, as Sellar and Yeatman might say - it always creates economic activity, future tax income, general well-being. Most importantly of all, though, supposedly 'impartial' journalists (eg. working for the BBC) need to stop using, and start challenging right-wing framing like 'tax and spend government'.

@4b816d9c @bd15ffd6 True - UK politics is in a desperate state. As is American, etc... But I do think a left-leaning party would be very popular if it kept hammering out messages like... Is it fair that unearned income is taxed less than income people actually earn? - or Is it fair that people in modest homes pay a higher ratio of their home's value in council tax than do people living in mansions? - or on the investment side, say... Providing free school meals to every child doesn't cost anything, because the country will get back more in tax revenue and other contributions when all kids become well-educated, healthy productive adults - its an investment in a better future for everybody - or simply: We don't believe governments should spend anything at all - they should only invest in their people.