Green is the colour

What is the purpose of green taxation? I’m not arguing the importance of preserving the environment; I’ll take that as read. What I’d like to know is how a green tax helps in this respect? This sounds like a pointless question until you look at those taxes implemented to date and ask whether they’ve done anything to improve the situation.

Has the energy tax on power generating companies changed people’s habits?

Has a huge level of tax on petrol stopped people from using their cars?

Will a tax on air travel stop people from taking holidays abroad and is it fair?

The problem with many environmental taxes is two-fold. The first is that unless there is a way to avoid paying the charge whilst still obtaining the goal, they don’t actually achieve anything. I need energy to keep me warm in winter; an energy tax only hurts the poor and elderly. I travel to work by car every day not because I want to, but because there’s no viable alternative. Whilst an air tax might feasibly make travel abroad too expensive for some, in reality all that’s been achieved is to make such holidays elitist; leaving them firmly in the grasp of the middle classes who will appease their guilt over the next skiing trip by buying into some carbon-offsetting nonsense.

The second problem with environmental taxes is psychological; a lot of people seem to like paying them. It’s the equivalent of confessional time at the Church, you pay your tax and all is forgiven. It may make us feel better but it doesn’t actually do the environment any good. It hasn’t stopped me from driving to work, because I have to drive to work; I haven’t been provided with a choice.

Whilst the government may applaud people’s willingness to be fleeced of their money, this kind of taxation is dangerous as it encourages the public to continue with their non-ecological lifestyles, it might even make some feel better in the mistaken belief that their money is being put to good use. Green taxes have resulted in many environmental groups taking their eye off the ball and consequently the pressure off the authorities.

The real issue, as it always has been, is the requirement for integrated policy from central government. But an integrated transport policy, for example, would require a consistency of thought that doesn’t give itself easily to sound-bites and, judging from the mad re-positioning of the main political parties, doesn’t win votes. The real problem, as it always has been, is us.

It all came toppling down

Many years ago, more than I care to remember, when I still believed in 'that kind of thing', Mrs R commented on how commercial Valentines Day had become. I distinctly remember her saying that buying flowers was such a waste of money considering how long they lasted.

Result, I thought. Somehow, purely by accident, I had a partner who would be able to recognise the real essentials of life; such as a flat screen television, multi-media PC and a subscription to the sports channels.

In my defence I did recognise my mistake, though it came far too late. In the spirit of originality, or perhaps desperation, I bought her Jenga. Whoops...

Blind faith

A blinding light
To colour my hope
With a faith that might
Fulfil me

Preceded by grey
Of all the days
You reeled me in
Abused me

Was I an easy mark
Like my trusting mother
Am I just another

The angels lark

I am your misplaced sentiment
A romantic fool
A tool
For your amusement

Reality 3 – 0 Romance

After waxing lyrical to a friend the other day on the current state of Newcastle FC (it was more of a grind than a wax), they duly completed the story by getting whooped 3 – 0 by Arsenal. I never was any good at stories. Never mind, there are a number of factors that mitigate this disappointment. One being that they were beaten by a fabulous team; Arsenal play football the way you dreamt about it being played as a kid.

There is another game starting shortly (in about 15 minutes), Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur. Good people the world over will be saying a prayer (and it will probably take a prayer) in the hope that Tottenham can somehow overcome their opponents. Bad people the world over will be praying for another victory for the red menace so that darkness can descend upon the land.

But in the interests of fair play, and also because I'm a Liverpool FC fan and can't take any more disappointment, I shall remain neutral...

That was the year that was 2007

Moving house. Company taken over. Redundancies at work. Economise. Move out of house. Detached. Harry Potter. Move in with parents (temporary). Redundancies at work. Move into new house. Semi-detached. Bigger mortgage. Atonement. Economise. Wife quits work. Redundancies at work. Lose my car keys. Economise. Christmas.

Dr Who Christmas cash-in

Every year I watch the Dr Who Christmas special and every year I am left gob smacked at the fiendish misuse of the word 'special'. Terms such as 'cash-in' or 'rip-off' would have been more appropriate. The trouble is I know that Dr Who, despite occasional moments of brilliance, isn't really that good. I might have been tempted to blame David Tennant consistently gurning at the camera; but Christopher Eccleston did exactly the same thing in his turn as The Doctor and he's a brilliant actor. The problem lies in sloppy direction and some really inconsistent writing. The good stuff is good enough that you forgive the dross that is all too frequently meted out. However Christmas episodes of Dr Who are rather like the entire first series of Torchwood (I'm a software developer so I had to watch it all); they take the worst bits of Dr Who and put them into an extended episode cunningly timed for just after the evening meal.

Think about it; it's Christmas day and those people with a social life will by that time have consumed enough alcohol to view the whole thing through rose-tinted spectacles. Those with their critical faculties intact, and therefore without a social life, are going to watch it regardless. I suppose it's quite clever but just once I'd like a Christmas special that lives up to the name; an episode with original characters, without the usual clichéd dialog. This episode, just to rub it in, indulged in visual clichés that even Jerry Bruckheimer would have been ashamed of. At least next Christmas I know what to ask for from Santa.

Magic numbers

I try so hard, I really do, but then those magicians we fondly refer to as the Government attempt one sleight of hand too many. The latest Gordon Brown inspired wheeze is to reduce the value of morally binding pay settlements by delaying paying up. Don't try telling me this was all the Home Secretary's idea. Work out how much you want to pay and then delay implementing the agreed pay increase for a calculated number of months; so that by the time the increase is implemented it's only worth the amount you wanted to pay in the first place. The Government, true to form, have thrown a large number of red herrings our way.

Principal among these are pointing out the need to keep public spending low and the relatively good pay increases of police officers over the last ten years. These are good points, however they are completely irrelevant. Whether we believe the police do a good or bad job, or perhaps have some personal grievance against the police, is also completely irrelevant.

The only relevant detail in this case is that an employer and the employees used arbitration, and have done for the last 27 years, to decide on the pay rise. An amount of 2.5% was agreed upon. If the employer couldn't afford this they should have said so at the time. What they shouldn't have done is agree the rise and then subsequently renege on their agreement by delaying implementation. In this case the Government have delayed the pay rise so that the actual value is only 1.9%. Those in the Government that still claim this is a 2.5% pay rise need to take remedial lessons in mathematics... or they could learn to stop lying.

This is important regardless of whether you think the police are doing a good job or are paid enough. If the Government are free to treat employees in such a manner it’s a green light for all employers to use equally duplicitous methods to cheat their own workforce.