Brown, stop robbing bereaved
Wealthy people are good for the nation. They pay their way. They don't draw state benefits. They spend their money, creating wealth for others.
Wealthy people are good for the nation. They pay their way. They don't draw state benefits. They spend their money, creating wealth for others.
In a sane world, any government would encourage the creation of wealth.
Instead, at the very moment when Joe Average has the opportunity to acquire money by inheritance, Chancellor Gordon Brown swipes vast amounts of it.
No-one denies that inheritance tax (IHT) once played a useful role in redistributing the wealth of fantastically rich aristocrats.
But today it is estimated that a whopping 40 per cent of British families face IHT.
They are not to blame. They are ordinary people who bought their own home and, thanks to a combination of cheap loans and a housing shortage, have seen their investment rocket in value, taking their estates through the £285,000 IHT threshold. Above this level, Gordon Brown confiscates 40 per cent of an estate.
Also today comes a government adviser's warning that 80 per cent of pensioners are heading for a retirement of abject poverty.
We have an unfair tax. We have widespread poverty among the elderly. So surely the sanest and simplest way forward is to let people hang on to their own wealth and concentrate benefits on those with no inheritances.
Thousands of heirs would have quite enough money to make their own pension arrangements, if only Gordon Brown would let them keep what is theirs.
But he will not. He wants the nation's inheritances because he is a control freak who cannot believe ordinary people can use the money better than he can.
Inheritance tax is a burning issue. The Conservatives should be hammering for reform. Instead, David Cameron seems more interested in hugging hoodies.
Robbed by Labour, ignored by the Tories, the bereaved of Middle England are being betrayed on a monumental scale. It must not go on.
We give the power to supermarkets
Today's report by the Competition Commission reveals the power of the big supermarkets to acquire land, force down prices paid to suppliers, and drive smaller rivals out of business.
But ultimately these massive organisations have only as much power as we, the customers, give them.
We may be shocked at some of today's findings but beware of hypocrisy. We talk fondly of little corner shops, markets and delis - but how many of us actually shop there?
Supermarkets are open all hours, offering cheap goods and cash-back and plenty of parking. They thrive because we use them. It's as simple as that.