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Original poster

Robert Peston on THAT Monbiot Tax Heist Article

58 replies

jackstarb · 02/03/2011 14:11

Finally - Robert Peston has given his opinion on George Monbiot's 'Tax Heist of the Century' article.

Is Cameron giving companies the mother of all tax breaks?.

IMO - Peston gives a balanced and pragmatic view of what's actually proposed and why.

No doubt anti-Tory conspiratory theorists will continue to prefer Monbiot's view.

OP posts:
CinnabarRed · 02/03/2011 19:36

Fraser Nelson in The Spectator is good for left-of-centre economic analysis.

Original poster
jackstarb · 02/03/2011 19:04

Glasnost - I agree economic journalists do tend to be centre right (to extreme right).

I think Paul Mason is a lefty at heart. But he puts his journalist professionalism, before his politics.

OP posts:
newwave · 02/03/2011 18:57

I enjoy Monbiots articles but he seems to be out on a limb with that one. Poor research it seems.

Still he gets much more right than wrong.

Original poster
jackstarb · 02/03/2011 18:55

Can you name any journalist who followed up on this story? You would think if it were the 'tax heist of century' it would have caused real ructions by now. Questions in parliament etc.

OP posts:
glasnost · 02/03/2011 18:46

Who are these credible leftwing journos in your opinion? Are there any left given a voice in mainstream media seeing as it's rightwing dominated? Particularly economics.

Seems that these days anyone not blatantly and overtly rightwing is seen as leftwing.

Oh for the good ole John Pilger.

Original poster
jackstarb · 02/03/2011 18:20

glasnost - feel free to comment on / criticise the Peston article if you like.

Personally, I'd be interested in reasons why Monbiot decided to write an article so obviously outside his area of expertise. Few (if any) credible left wing journalists appear to have run with his allegations, whilst several tax experts (including our own CinnarbarRed ) have found many flaws and inaccuracies.

What was he thinking?

OP posts:
glasnost · 02/03/2011 17:29

So anyone who dissents from establishment orthodoxy is a conspiracy theorist? That's an insidious way of closing down real debate right there. Especially here on MN where posters are eager to be on the side of the vocal majority.

And who takes what the BEEB and its hacks tells them as read anyway? They're government controlled and Patten being the new chairman will mean even more pro coalition bias. Hold onto your hats!

Niceguy2 · 02/03/2011 14:46

Yeah I think that's a good article. Good find Jack.

But no doubt the idea that in actual fact its better to lower taxes and keep multinationals here paying a fair chunk of tax rather than force them abroad and get £0 will make socialists brains pop.

And I wonder what our friends like Newwave will think of the principle that actually you can lower taxes and actually get more revenue like Peston says:

although the UK's corporation tax rate has been well below the average for the G7 biggest economies for more than 25 years, UK corporation tax revenues as a proportion of GDP have generally been well above the G7 average