Author | Lightnews

Hunt The Economist

@hunttheeconomist.bsky.social

1.9K followers 770 following 2.2K posts

Same profile as I had on Twitter. Local Government Officer. Economist. Left Leaning. Politically engaged. Cat owner. Fish owner. Lego enthusiast. Video Gamer. Board Gamer. My receptions are more exquisite than the Ambassador’s. Not much else to say.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 2h

It’s the kind of world we should live in.

It’s shameful of our political class that we don’t.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 2h

Baby steps. 😉

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 2h

I agree entirely with this.

Ethical employers and the companies they run, are exactly the businesses we should be supporting.

It’s scandalous for Tesco to announce record profits when most of their staff get tax credits. Every penny of those tax credits should be repaid to the government.

1 5

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 2h

Out of desperation.

UBI would be tricky to implement and would still rely on making companies and billionaires paying their fair share in tax.

I think UBI will be needed in the long term as automation grows, but as a first step I would set our country on an ethical trajectory, focused on fairness.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

I don’t believe that the billionaires would actually leave, so there would be no reason for other countries not to follow suit.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

a close up of a person 's arm with the words stream tumblr on the bottom right

ALT: a close up of a person 's arm with the words stream tumblr on the bottom right

media.tenor.com

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

I’d probably be banned from Bluesky if I suggested the location I have in mind 😆😝

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

Wherever they go, they can’t take their assets with them anyway.

1 1

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

Exactly. Parasites can’t survive without a host…*

*may not be biologically correct 😆

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

America is an oligarchy masquerading as a democratic republic.

Sadly, I think you are stuck with it until you take the French approach and rise up and overthrow them.

From the outside looking in, I’m amazed at how much the American people are tolerating.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

In the U.K, local government use social value as part of our procurement scoring (to determine what businesses we work with).

Sadly, the American right wing is investing heavily in Reform and Nigel Farage over here, with the hope of infiltrating our politics. 😭

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

If they all ended up on an island together, it would end up more like Lord of the Flies than a circle jerk… although I guess once a pecking order was established it could be a conga-jerk? 😆

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

If they choose to not pay tax and leave, then their assets (which they can’t take) can be heavily taxed or forfeited, they would need to give up citizenship, and they wouldn’t be able to run a business in our country or even visit anymore.

That would be my policy 😉

1 1

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

The very first step is a wealth tax. Dozens of nations are exploring this option at the moment, including the U.K.

Billionaires can’t take their assets with them if they leave, so those can be taxed or forfeited.

And if their businesses leave, ethical entrepreneurs can take their places.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

Exactly. I have no problem at all with ethical entrepreneurs.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

Massachusetts. And you’re spot on.

1 2

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

Our Green Party in the U.K. are talking about a 2% wealth tax, and the right wing media is raging about it.

They’re now polling higher than our current government, for the first time in history.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

In the U.K. we have our right wing media saying “you need to pay politicians more so that you can attract the best”

And

“We need people with experience of running big businesses to run the country”

Which is the opposite of what we need. I want politicians who care about communities, not wealth.

1 1

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

The only reason politicians don’t close them down already is because those billionaires have extreme lobbying power and keep the politicians in their pockets.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

If they left to avoid tax contributions, I wouldn’t let them back in.

So that wouldn’t even be an option for them.

1 1

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

I’m not an expert on American law or tax legislation, but have you tried gathering with a throng of acquaintances, and all going to a dockyard and emptying the imported cargo into the sea?* 😆

*may not be an option in land-locked states.

1 1

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

If they all end up on a tax haven island, with nowhere to run and nowhere willing to play their game, their “wealth” becomes no more valuable than Monopoly money.

1 2

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

I completely agree. I think it can make sense for small start-ups as a short term measure, but it should be seen as a business subsidy, not a benefit for individuals, and it should taper off over time.

Any business making huge profits while staff receive WTCs should also be made to pay them back.

1 5

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

Precisely.

Hunt The Economist @hunttheeconomist.bsky.social · 3h

I’m in the U.K., and we don’t want them fleeing to here when the uprising happens 😆