andrewducker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
andrewducker) wrote2008-05-26 11:15 pm
andrewducker) wrote2008-05-26 11:15 pm
Oh for fuck's sake
There's a BBC News story here saying that the government shouldn't put up petrol taxes...because theey'll hit the poor harder than the rich.
OF COURSE THEY WILL!!!!!
All taxes, except for ones that are (in some way) means-tested, hit the poor harder, because the poor have less money.
If the tax didn't affect people by making it harder to drive everywhere all the damn time, it would be a tad pointless, especially when this is something the government has said it's supposed to encourage.
Oh, the stupidity.
OF COURSE THEY WILL!!!!!
All taxes, except for ones that are (in some way) means-tested, hit the poor harder, because the poor have less money.
If the tax didn't affect people by making it harder to drive everywhere all the damn time, it would be a tad pointless, especially when this is something the government has said it's supposed to encourage.
Oh, the stupidity.
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Like many people, i'd like to own my own home one day but the way house prices are in Edinburgh, that looks less and less possible with each month that goes by.
Consider the fact that I could buy a house (not a flat, a house) in a commuter town for a good chunk less money than a small fat in Edinburgh, it makes financial sense to move there and commute to work rather than buy in the city.
The main attractions of the city are the social and cultural attractions that simply cannot be matched by commuter towns and if I value those things (which I do) then I have little choice but to live in a city and commute.
Seems like it's somewhat hard to win either way.
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I expect the rises in petrol prices to swing things somewhat away from commuting.
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Given the lack of any desire/space to build houses in cities seemingly, more commuter specific and relevant bus and train services would be a wise move. Right now, the rush hour trains to Edinburgh from Stirling are full each day. What does this tell Scotrail and the government about demand? People are put off coming by train -because- they are full, people I work with get annoyed by the full buses because people are travelling at the same times, on the same routes, day in and day out and these are all predictable events. Right now there is a tacit assumption in transport policy at a local and national level that the car is a sensible alternative for people. You can do X and leave Y as it is because people can drive and oh hey, hopefully they'll car share. Stop that. Do not see cars as an alternative. Ensure that, excluding car travel, you can get people where they need to be. If the links are there, people will use them. Rush hour buses and trains are not travelling half empty.
If you want people to stop driving and be happy about it, you need a good alternative, not a make-do alternative. The government coming out and suggesting that people work from home, but not giving businesses any incentive to do it - you can't just go to your boss and say "I'll work from home, to save the earth" unless you're at a certain level or in certain roles. Force is required for all these things. Force, however, will not be applied, because people don't like it and complain. And so things get put off until it is too late.
Thinking about it, maybe that is the best policy. To make such sweeping changes beforehand is, realistically, unlikely. It'll take an emergency for that amount of money, of a shift in thinking, of bloody-minded force to be wielded.
Telling people "we're going to run out of oil, but we're not quite sure when, and some people say we're not running out but I want you not to trust them, but to trust me. Anyway, you need to make these really big changes that affect things you care about, and to think of things rather differently. By the way, here's an Al Gore film" is a tougher sell than "yesterday we had oil, now we don't. Your job in Edinburgh? You've traded it - now you work here in Glasgow where you live, and Bob from Edinburgh who used to work here, he has your old job. Also, might want to go queue for food. Before it gets dark, FYI"
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