Comments by "Mark Welch" (@markwelch3564) on "Garys Economics" channel.

  1. ​ @PragmaticAntithesis if it doesn't tax the rich, then it wasn't really a tax the rich policy!
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  2. I prefer Gary being in a position to call out bad economics in any party that pushes them. Picking a side in politics limits your credibility when criticising policy Let's keep Gary where he can hammer all sides if they have poor policies!
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  3. If you set fire to an orphanage, they'd be more worried about the loss of property than the orphans...
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  4. So true. Next time, we need buyouts, not bailouts If the public funded it, then the public should own it!
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  5. @Sonney O'Brien  problem with most of those more intangible assets is they are unpredictable and high risk. For every megastar, there are hundreds, maybe thousands who don't make it Whereas you buy a house, especially under a government that is biased heavily to benefit property owners, that's predictable and low risk That's why rich people buy houses rather than sponsor artists and musicians!
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  6. ​@milkboccle The country is becoming a life support system for landlords and shareholders, at the expense of anything productive It's not just bad for the individuals who haven't had opportunity to grow their wealth, it's hollowing out the whole country
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  7.  @candorsspot2775  so what you're saying is we can't trust private capital, as they have been proven to be unproductive investors, and we need to look at more state investment instead?
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  8.  @RussellTurner  pretty sure it affects everyone. Tax policy is everyone's business for starters!
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  9. ​ @garyb455 how much wealth are they extracting, if their tax bill is £644 million!
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  10. I am watching the ZDF documentary, and one thing just struck me - I've now seen more of Burnley (where my mum was born) on a German documentary than I can remember seeing on UK TV Something is wrong with that, I think!
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  11.  @jamespaul6315  Knowledge is a big part of the solution. The status quo depends on ignorance. Without that ignorance, the status quo is unsustainable
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  12. ​ @RussellTurner are you trying to say the government doesn't change anything?
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  13.  @dtz1000  if you hope to retire in the future, then we need immigration. Without immigration there won't be enough workers to keep the country working
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  14. ​ @wakey87 two points - one is that society is definitely under strain from a shortage of workers. Excessive hours is far to common, because they are so stretched thin The other point is while official immigration is low, there are a growing number of foreign workers classified as "long term guest workers" - basically immigrants in practice, but kept off the official figures through administrative fudging
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  15. @candorsspot2775  private capital has had 40 years to get it right. How long do we do the same thing yet expect a different result?
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  16. ​ @warrenchu5752 only if we vote for parties that put their big donors first. We need to vote for parties that have grassroots support instead
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  17.  @scallamander4899  it means 50% + of people get most of what they want, rather than 30% getting everything they want at everyone else's expense. It's a healthier balance in politics
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  18. I'd love to see a socialist meritocracy, where there's a baseline nobody drops below, and the most talented and diligent get positions of power and responsibility We are a long way from this ideal 🙁
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  19.  @Purewalite  depends how progressive it is, and where the exceptions are. Obviously this isn't a policy proposal, if I suddenly became appointed to world king I'd get experts to cost and analyse it, but I'd propose things like an exemption for your primary residence. Alternatively, we go full revolutionary and socialise all housing. Probably to big too soon, but we need that honest and open conversation, and to start taking the safest steps as soon as possible so we can start to shake out the second order effects and respond to them
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  20. ​ @ColaSpandex I want to see it done through governmnent, but more regionally and locally, rather than all in high chambers The important thing is to do it democratically, so it works to give communities more productivity rather than giving a narrow few maximum wealth
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  21. Call his bluff then, and join the call for a wealth tax!
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  22. ​ @_melts I am in that 50k+ group, and I am happy for you to tax me more if you're fair, and also tax people a lot more if they have a lot more 🙂
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  23. So far, it looks like Labour are slowing the rate of inequality growth, but I am not convinced they have a plan to actually reduce inequality
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  24. ​ @rickknight3823  history shows that high taxes on wealth leads to strong economies - eg the American New Deal Cutting tax is a disaster - eg Liz Truss The historical precedent is clear
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  25. Maybe they are already here, but hidden and scattered amongst everyone else Would you consider three or four people sharing a one bed flat to be shanty town conditions? Because such conditions have existed for decades, and are only getting more common
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  26.  @lukaszplonka3857  but a lot of the inflation is caused by resource scarcity. When there's resource scarcity, massive wealth imbalance lets a minority outbid and monopolise those scarce resources, and thus push prices and inflation higher
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  27. ​ @claudiocravo5941 rebalance the tax burden or look at how it is spent - why or? Why not both?
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  28.  @quillo2747  we need to provide for people starting their retirement If we don't, we can all look forward to having to work til we die, and I don't like the sound of that!
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  29. ​ @maximemeis2867 design and engineering are making more than the child labourers, but they aren't the billionaires either
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  30. @bobhill4364  again, a discretionary commodity that people could stop buying if they don't like what's offered Why won't you talk about essential commodities like food, power and medicine?
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  31. ​ @iankelly8666 your definition says "all" - we're not suggesting all, merely the natural monopolies that go horribly wrong if left in the hands of someone unaccountable to the people who use that service
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  32. The real question is "who owns the bar?"
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  33. ​ @scallamander4899 it would make sense - if you need a coalition representing more than 50% of the population, you can't play to 30% of the population in a way that burns bridges with the other 70%
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  34. There will always be a lack of substantive responses. Expect them to be honing their whataboutism and personal attacks as we speak!
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  35. ​ @FreaksSpeaks that sounds like a good incentive to not overvalue your assets to me!
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  36. Don't need a compass to drop downwards 🙁
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  37. ​ @MCDONALD6969 problem is we end up with no social mobility, and an idiocracy where the important descisions for society are made by people who's greatest achievement and "talent" was "being born lucky"
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  38.  @MCDONALD6969  I'm going to guess you did that 30-40 years ago? It's a very different economic climate now
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  39. ​ @kevinsyd2012 we could tax people in equity if they can't pay in cash Then we'll collectively own a bunch of assets if we don't get the cash. Either we have money to pay for services, or we have assets to make money and pay for services Either way services get paid for 🙂
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  40.  @2msvalkyrie529  so a small elite living in opulent luxury, while the majority of the population struggles to cover the cost of living? Am I talking about North Korea, or the UK? 🤔
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  41. Nah, the reason big construction firms don't build houses we can afford is because they make more money selling houses to rich people The market won't fix that without active government intervention
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  42.  @terencemichaels  could you start them on something like Gary's channel? This could be considered documentary/analysis, and sneak past the preconception that they don't need new news as they think they've already got news covered
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  43. but that is what Bob is doing, by oversimplifying the whole tax system down to just income tax
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  44. Labour left to their own devices won't be worth much, but I do believe Labour would engage with Unions and other grassroots organisation better than the Tories ever will Vote Labour, but don't stop there. Organise elsewhere and support campaigns that advocate for the changes Labour won't make if allowed to hide unchallenged in the Westminster bubble
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  45. ​@Deborah Curtis there have been quiet revolutions, and they tend to end much better than the violent, noisy ones 🙂
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  46. @Bercilak de hautdesert I am nor seeing any entrepreneurialism or craftsmanship here - just someone who has snatched the bag of sweets and thinks giving a tiny handful to everyone else counts as 'sharing'
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  47. ​ @warrenchu5752 we're not taking on "unlimited" numbers. We're taking on the right amount to cover the difference between the large amount of people retiring, and the smaller group of people growing up and starting work
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  48. @quillo2747  warehouses, deliveries and cleaning still needs to be done if the wider economy is to be successful. You might not get rich doing those jobs, but the country suffers if they're not done
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  49. Yep, the exact timing was unpredictable, but experts predicted they would happen at some point. Unpreparedness was incompetence mixed with corruption
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  50.  @bobhill4364  I would ask if the people in her crew and running the venues have a livable wage. If they're struggling, then something is broken Swift would be popular without those crews, but can't monetise that popularity without them. They are essential to Swift being a commercial success, so deserve a decent wage
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  51. @bobhill4364  you have picked the most volatile and high-risk professions, where careers can and do disappear almost overnight. That's a justification and counterbalance for high earning potential Should someone managing supermarkets have the same pop star earnings? They aren't risking anything close to what you would in sports or music And again, these are all team efforts with huge numbers of people behind the scenes. Give them a bit of respect and pay them properly. People are a lot less replaceable than many managers assume
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  52. @bobhill4364  odd that you're desperate to frame this around just one pop star, but won't look at agrifood, pharma, petrochemicals or finance Does the music industry generalise to every field of human endeavour?
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  53.  @iankelly8666  how's small state capitalism working for us right now?
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  54. ​@bogdiworksV2 The flaw in that plan is that other people will keep voting, and the parties with the worst take on the economy are also really good at stirring up a core of voters who respond to simple solutions So we have to keep voting for the least-worst realistic option, but that's a small job you do every 4-5 years. If you have more time, focus the rest of your time outside of the Westminster party system 🙂
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  55. ​@livingart2576 it does depend how people recieve money If it's a windfall, people do tend to just blow it and party, as instinctively they know it's short-term, so spend it short-term Give people a steady, long term income, and they make long term plans and invest it to improve their lives long term
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  56. The AI "revolution" is largely hype. It's only proved viable in very narrow niches, and even then requires substantial supervision, which just changes the nature of work rather than eliminates it!
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  57.  @jamesclarke5331  he's the best option we have for the next election. We can and should be looking for someone better, but we're not going to build enough support for them to win a general election in a year or two
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  58. It's not ordinary families outbidding each other, it's corporate portfolios like Blackrock. While we blame each other, they're buying all the houses
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  59.  @catsploitation  I agree, but it's good to emphasise healthy, bottom-up socialism, when a lot of people have a preconception that it has to be top-down, centrally planned and authoritarian
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  60. Houses are the strongest example. Used to be that someone with an unremarkable wage could buy a house. Now you need to be right at the high end of the wage scale to do the same Fancier TVs don't mean much if you're spending most of your wage on rent
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  61.  @philgoddard7708  housing isn't the only measure, but it is a very good way to test how much agency you really have in society Having nice things isn't much good if they could all disappear tomorrow at your landlord's whim
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  62.  @Purewalite  which double tax is the problem?
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  63. There is no guarantee - you have to vote carefully for who will be responsible for all that power
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  64. We need both. No amount of education and hard work will get you a house if there's people who can buy a new house every week just from passive income Maybe if we taxed unproductive wealth more, we could provide more education to productive workers 🙂
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  65. Yep, I am pretty sure Hunt's Black Swans are actually seagulls with black hair dye
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  66. I have been trying the stewardship angle. Collectively we have resources which we should use to improve society. We've tried letting the mega-rich direct those choices, and the results have been dismal. Surely it is time to give stewardship to our communities instead!
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  67. @Joe Hatton  aren't a lot of the minimum wage jobs, the really critical ones that society depends on?
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  68.  @dobcsek  but we've left the EU now, so getting EU workers is a lot harder than it was Bit late to unscramble that egg 🙁
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  69. ​ @vonder7 I have one problem with your definition of socialist, but it's an important one None of the characteristics you mention as socialist are fundamentals of socialism!
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  70.  @vonder7  sounds more than a bit like the Richard Tice misinformation definition of socialism to me
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  71. If you take a view over multiple centuries, the trend is people get more educated and able to understand the systems they live in, and better defend their interests It's only in the short term that there are wobbles up and down. Recently we've been wobbling down a bit, but people like Gary are helping set up the next rise 🙂
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  72.  @limsagen  how do you relocate a house or a factory?
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  73. In your carpenter example, Gary is not after you, the carpenter. He's after the person who wants £50 from that £100 sale because the tree grew on their land
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  74. Like Gary said in this video, we need grassroots support. Any time they talk economics on a panel like this, hit the comments and ask why Gary wasn't invited. If you have the time, get into question time audiences and ask Gary questions. Keep making noise until his absence is heard louder than his presence Gary can't change things alone. Gary as the speaker for a movement can 🙂
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  75. Inflation will reduce the real value of those offshore accounts over time If we tax that money if they use it in the real economy, and reduce it's purchasing power with inflation if they don't, we rebalance the economy either way Ever wondered why rich people and their client media/politicians are so scared of rising inflation?
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  76. He's probably safe. Anyone capable of robbing an upmarket flat in the canary wharf area would be better off targeting his neighbours who still work in the city Chances are though, there won't be a robbery, because the security measures on a block like that will likely be very substantial
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  77. ​ @bobhill4364 if you don't want to talk about wealth inequality, should we talk about earning inequality instead? Are the people earning the most really 100 or 1000 times more useful and productive than the lowest paid? Should some people properly earn a bigger share of the enterprise they contribute to, and others take a bit less?
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  78.  @iankelly8666  so let's go for a nordic social democracy. Seems to be the best balance anyone has found so far (They do have quite a lot of common ownership!)
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  79.  @darthkek1953  we need to stop voting for corrupt idiots then!
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  80. @vonder7  sounds like they should vote for a better government then 🙂
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  81. ​ @bobhill4364 but what incentive is there for landlords to work, if they can literally do nothing and get paid? To achieve the society you aspire to, you'll need radical changes to incentivise work and disincentivise focusing on passive income
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  82. What makes you assume his isn't "involved in politics"? There's more to politics than party membership
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  83.  @hemtet5500  maybe OP stumbled into one of my pet bugbears, but it annoys me when people assume only MPs do politics, and democracy is something that only happens on one day every 4-5 years. I believe we'd be in a better place as a country if those assumptions changed 🙂
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  84. That is a complex question, as it could be used to cut out big banks and improve accountability and transparency, or it could be used as a tool of oversight and control Short answer is it depends who sets it up, and what their priorities are
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  85. The Greens are anti austerity and pro wealth taxes 🙂
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  86. If we get enough people, why would that not work?
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  87. @Colin Tawn  No disagreement with that! I want to know why Paul thinks a very large group of voters calling for change, won't cause change though 🙂
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  88. Obviously they pay some tax, but the real question is this After tax, can you have enough additional capital to buy more assets? If you can grow your passive income from the returns of your passive income, then society has a problem. You reach a point where productive work isn't profitable because all the profit from work has been squeezed and redirected to passive income
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  89. ​ @bobhill4364  money's value literally comes from the ends you can apply it to. That's what determines it's value, discovered via the market mechanisms of forex trading It's why crypto is such a volatile mess - it's only value is brinkmanship with other crypto traders. The lack of any stable "means to an end" behind crypto guarantees chaos and volatility
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  90. Money's wierd. You start from the simple view you state, then learn about quantitative easing, fiscal expansion, leveraged debt and all the other ways that you can apparently create money from nothing... And by learning all that, you prove that money is limited, and for one person to have more, someone else will have less. They just have fancier ways of hiding what they're doing!
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  91. If Gary answers, take his answer over mine, but my guess is this It's always a moving target. While Gary accumulates billions, the other side accumulates trillions. If it's a pure financial contest, it's very hard to catch up Turning it into a public conversation favours us more than the trillionaires 🙂
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  92. ​ @squibys2262 but it doesn't have to be terrible. We used to be a country that could support billionaires, and give ordinary people a decent life Now we can't do both, and need to pick one of the two
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  93.  @squibys2262  where does their money come from? Is it a solo effort, without the involvement of any other people?
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  94. That's actually a perfect example, as look at the media effort dedicated to distracting from the wealth extraction and the smear campaigns about green energy being unreliable etc If people were presented with a balanced informed choice, the vote would be different. That's why the presentation is rarely balanced!
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  95. ​ @stumac869 citation needed please!
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  96. You jest, but what if we called it insurance instead - paying when times are good, so there's a safety net when times are bad? You're still going to be able to afford plenty of creature comforts from a success, and have the peace of mind that you're not alone if your fortunes change
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  97. ​ @warrenchu5752 surely that depends on the tax policy?
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  98.  @warrenchu5752  Americas economic golden age was also when it had high taxes Likewise postwar Britain, all of Scandanavia...
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  99.  @Purewalite  which one? Looks like he's done quite a few!
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  100. ​ @lilscottieme  look at all the people pushing back against nurses getting a proper wage because "we can't afford it" By supporting inequality over nurses, they are feeding into the system. This behaviour will change, the more people inderstand how money works on the national and global scale
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  101. Are you renting, leasing, or buying on credit?
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  102. We definitely need to scrutinise government contracts for conflicts of interest, and whether they offer good value for money Both Labour and Conservative have suspect histories here, although the Tory history is more blatant and open
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  103.  @ColaSpandex  yes 🙂
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  104. @tonychorley4936  even in a new party, it creates the perception that you're just saying something to gain votes rather than being truly independent Journalism and analysis is part of politics, just as much as the elected representatives. I'd even say the people critiquing are more important than the people in the parliament
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  105. More houses could be part of the solution, but creating more and better work across the country is the bigger part IMHO If we don't have huge numbers of people moving to the south for work, we wouldn't have so much pressure on housing in the area
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  106. @Joe Hatton  Quick question - would you be happy getting on a high speed train, if you were told the driver is a rookie on minimum wage?
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  107. ​ @andersk I approve of taxing low earners less. Will Reform balance this by taxing the top end more so we don't see another Truss moment?
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  108. Go and vote! Even spoiling your vote has value - it shows you're willing to vote, and that parties should try and win your vote Young people get ignored because politicians think they can get away with it. Turn up this time, and they won't ignore you next time!
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  109. ​ @fridaber6069 is prices going up so terrible, if wages also increase in balance?
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  110. ​ @keithparker1346  but if there was the same increase through an increased birthrate, would there be a "baby problem"?
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  111. Patreon is a good idea! It's not just about establishing revenue - it also shows you have support and backing, so you can push back against claims that you "don't speak for ordinary people" 🙂
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  112. ​ @susanwallis7249 they'll try anything except taxing the rich, won't they!
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  113. No country has prefect equality, but some come a lot closer than others!
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  114. ​ @grievuspwn4g3  they used doctors as cover to give tax cuts to their banker mates
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  115. That sounds like step 2 after "have rich parents" to be honest
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  116. ​ @thorsrensen3162 if they're working, they deserve a fair share
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  117.  @vonder7  did your "socialism" have an authoritarian dictator?
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  118. ​@stumac869 if you could vote to give yourself more votes, how long would democracy last?
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  119. I think it is worth noting that "services" are people, doing work. With an aging population we need people from somewhere, or there won't be people to run those services
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  120. ​@Teladi-Never-Paid-Dividends yep, the fact that they try to make "solidarity" a dirty word tells you everything you need to know
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  121. Labour have already said no, but the Greens have some good policies. They don't just do environmental issues 🙂
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  122.  @ProfoundFamiliarity  which suits the people who want to monopolise and prifit from housing Not so good for people who just want somewhere decent to live!
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  123.  @rickknight3823  can't find it 🙁 Did you mention a government collection of money from those with very substantial levels of assets? I find the more natural phasing of that gets vanished a lot 🤔
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  124. ​ @warrenchu5752 maybe the people vote for are incompetent Let's not vote for the people you vote for!
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  125. I have some understanding of it's economic problems, meanwhile I can say with authority that the electricity costs of running the cryptography that keeps it validated is becoming a serious issue. For smaller transactions it's possible to spend as much on electricity to process the transaction as you do on the transaction itself. With power, and the climate impact of power, being ever more important, that is a big concern! Economically, I'll bow to more experienced people if they reply, but I believe the problem is it's volatile and prone to manipulation by speculators. The lack of a controlling authority is a weakness if you have wealthy interests deliberately creating boom and bust cycles to cash out in traditional currencies. Attempts to use it for day to day purposes would be difficult when it's exchange rate is so unpredictable
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  126.  @gungadin900  inflation (assuming it is managed properly by interest rates) doesn't transfer money to the rich, it transfers it to those actively earning. Being rich gives you more options for earning, so they still stack the deck,but it's better than the Smaugpiles that happened on the gold standard!
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  127.  @gungadin900  inflation (assuming it is managed properly by interest rates) doesn't transfer money to the rich, it transfers it to those actively earning. Being rich gives you more options for earning, so they still stack the deck,but it's better than the Smaugpiles that happened on the gold standard!
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  128.  @hariowen3840  the Greens and the Lib Dems have strong internal democracies, and depend more on their grassroots activists than on big donors It shows in their manifestos 🙂
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  129. ​ @magictrades159  if you want old people to be able to retire, immigration is a necessity We just don't have the people to keep everything working without inviting people here to help us
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  130. ​@Molsy 176 and unionisation is proven to be effective at increasing wages. That's why shareholders love union busting so much. Unionise before scapegoating migrants!
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  131. ​ @Oldmanpeace If you're trying to implement policy, that's important, but if you're on the outside just checking if it's working for you, that will be shown in the prices you pay in the shops, so the rule of thumb above still works 🙂
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  132. Capitalism is basically cancer
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  133. ​ @Ikaros23 and we can observe it didn't trickle down through small government laissez-faire policy, did it!
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