They’ll get you somehow. In one area of the country our politicians want to slap a tax on people for using the very cars they were encouraged to buy in the first place, as well as fining them for leaving them running for a few minutes longer than absolutely necessary; but in another area of the country politicians seem hell bent on making people travel miles further than necessary in their cars because they have no entrepreneurial spirit.
Not only that, Islington council wants to slap a fine on anyone who leaves their car diesel engine ‘idling’ too long and a ‘common sense’ approach will be used by enforcers we are told – another tax raining device that will be taken up by other authorities no doubt. I wonder how many enforcement officers will be patrolling on those upcoming cold winter mornings when people are trying to defrost their cars and how far the ‘common sense‘ approach will go?
But when entrepreneur Mike Watts ploughs his own money into building a private toll road to bypass long term roadworks that force motorists to make huge detours that are not only expensive to the driver but must also cause extra environmental damage, the first response of local politicians is to tell people not to use it. Even though this advice would of course mean people will have to use far more fuel than before, great for the taxman, bad for the environment.
Mike Watts is not just planning to make a bob or two, he is saving people time (which is money we’re always being told) as well as cutting fuel usage and therefore pollution. He should be congratulated by EU, national and local politicians alike for his entrepreneurship. They should be queueing up to give him grants and cheap loans as well as helping to smooth the way through safety and planning obstacles.
But no, politicians want to dictate how you run your life then eventually tax and fine you when you follow the advice and tax incentives they offer you because they, the politicians, got it wrong.
But avoid thinking for yourself, especially if it’s outside their box of thoughts. And even more especially if there are no tax takes in it for them.
It’s a good job he just got on with it, how far would he have got if he had applied to the council with his scheme before shovel hit ground? He’d probably still be arguing his way through endless committees etc this time next year. You have to wonder how many other potentially good ideas get stifled by this sort of bureaucratic thinking.