More from @RichardJMurphy

Richard Murphy

@RichardJMurphy

19 Dec

I have already suggested in a blog post written this morning that today is pivotal to what happens in 2022, and maybe beyond. Whether the government decides to lock down today will have a massive impact on lives lost to Covid in 2022, and to the economy. A thread to explain……

First, to look at the data and why I am so worried it could be worth reading my blog post on this, written today. taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2021/12/1…

If that is too long to read the summary is hospital admissions are likely to be between 3,000 and 6,000 a day in spring 2022 and deaths could be between 1,000 and 3,000 a day. These are sober scientific warnings. The high end assumes no new restrictions.

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Richard Murphy

@RichardJMurphy

14 Nov

A week ago I caused a bit of a Twitter fuss when writing about SNP policy. I wrote a blog in response. This is the Twitter thread version….and is all about whether the SNP’s leadership is serious about independence, or not, and what will make that possible.

Wanting to be independent requires a credible plan to deliver an independent country. And this is what the SNP lacks. It has no apparent route to achieving this aim at present, politically, as internal disputes show.

Worse though, it has no coherent plan as to what to do if independence was achieved. The closest we get to that plan is still the Sustainable Growth Commission report by Andrew Wilson, formerly an MSP. As far as we can tell this is still leadership policy.

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Richard Murphy

@RichardJMurphy

19 Oct

Our government always appears to do too little, too late. That might look like incompetence unless the real aim is to actively undermine the credibility of government. Suppose it is? Suppose those we have in power want chaos, because that’s what they see as their route to profit?

What we have in that case is not a legitimate government. Legitimate governments get their power from people by noting their best interests and arbitrating between them. That’s why we give them power. Our belief is that they will sort the chaos that might otherwise exist.

But suppose we have a government that is consciously seeking to undermine the people of the country by creating chaos to do so? And that it’s doing this solely in the interests of those in it and associated with it? The evidence very strongly suggests that is what we have.

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Richard Murphy

@RichardJMurphy

10 Oct

I am aware that many in tax justice are deeply disappointed by the OECD tax deal that’s just been signed. Their suggestion is it does not do enough for developing countries. And that’s true, it doesn’t. But let’s get real: deals like this are always compromises. 1/n

If this deal was ever going to overcome opposition - from the Republicans in the US to Ireland - and to still accommodate the claims of developing countries it was always going to be a compromise. And it is. But to claim it was a sell-out by the OECD is absurd. 2/n

There is no way this was anything like that. It delivers major firsts. There’s a global minimum tax rate, and countries can charge more. There is a first endorsement of unitary taxation. And there is also a right for one state to charge tax on profits misdeclared in another. 3/n

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Richard Murphy

@RichardJMurphy

27 Sep

I was asked recently to explain the fundamental differences between the economics of the right, centre ground and left of politics. That seemed to be an invitation to do a thread, so here goes……

The big difference between the political right, centre ground and left in economic terms comes down to how they think markets work. They are either true believers, naive optimists or non-believers. That’s all you really need to remember.

The true believes are on the right wing of politics. In their opinion the only reason people exist is to function within markets. Everything else in life is secondary as far as they are concerned.

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