Saturday, January 31, 2009

Ken Clarke: failing to punish married couples through tax 'social engineering'

Comment: when a couple marry and one chooses to stay at home to look after children, the state HALVES their collective tax allowance, at just the moment when their earnings have fallen and their needs have increased. Yet Ken Clarke tells us it would be wrong to reduce this tax on marriage even by the pathetically small ammount represented by the Married Person's Tax Allowance which he abolished when Chancellor. Liberal Conservatives, alas, have as little logic as their opponents in the Labour Party.

H-t Christian Concern for our Nation: from www.publicservice.co.uk: Calling himself a pragmatic politician who believes in free market economics with a social conscience – or "enlightened social reform" – Clarke said: "I got rid of the married couples allowance [when I was Chancellor]… I really don't think it's anything to do with politicians whether you [get married] and most of the younger people I know don't seem very keen on it. My view of Conservatism is that it's not for us to tell you [what to do through] the tax system – my wife didn't put up with me because I was getting £150 by way of tax allowance. This is social engineering for God's sake and when I joined the party we weren't in favour of it."

He went on: "But what I am in favour of is David [Cameron] setting an agenda pointing out all the social problems, the broken parts of cities, the level of family breakdown, poverty, social disorder and crime. I'm glad to see us getting into all that but the stuff I associate with the religious right in America, I think, is having too much influence on where we are."

See the full story.

1 comment:

umblepie said...

Interesting that Clarke describes himself as 'pragmatic'. My MP used exactly the same word - 'pragmatic', when asked for his views on legalised abortion prior to the recent 'human tissue and embryo Bill'. When considering moral issues, to be a 'pragmatist' seems to me basically a person -'reneging on responsibility and duty to examine the facts and reach a reasoned decision' - in common parlance -a 'cop-out'; but 'pragmatist/pragmatic' sounds good, rather like a hollow drum!

Pope Leo XIII's Prayer to St Michael

Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust down to Hell Satan, and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen