I was listening to the 10 o'clock news last night on Radio 4, and encountered a debate on that old economic canard about sharing out the work, i.e. reducing the working week in order to create jobs, and allowing us all to spend more time painting, composing operas etc.
If I could remember the woman's name, and had her contact details, I would refer her to Henry Hazlitt's 'Economics In One Lesson' - chapter 8; share the wealth schemes, but the thing that struck me at the time was that, rather than bringing in coercive legislation to reduce the working week, how about reducing the tax burden? We're working half the week simply to pay off the state's protection racket. Maybe I'll be in a position to take the cut in hours, if the state pulls its claws out of my pay packet.
I have no love of work - but that's pretty much the nature of the beast. I admit that my plan won't achieve what the woman wants, as it falls at the same fence. It's still a good idea.
If I could remember the woman's name, and had her contact details, I would refer her to Henry Hazlitt's 'Economics In One Lesson' - chapter 8; share the wealth schemes, but the thing that struck me at the time was that, rather than bringing in coercive legislation to reduce the working week, how about reducing the tax burden? We're working half the week simply to pay off the state's protection racket. Maybe I'll be in a position to take the cut in hours, if the state pulls its claws out of my pay packet.
I have no love of work - but that's pretty much the nature of the beast. I admit that my plan won't achieve what the woman wants, as it falls at the same fence. It's still a good idea.
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