Before I go into my three for one - I discovered why I was scammed by Kwik-Fit - they automatically charge for light bulb fitting, even if they don't fit them. The computer does it automatically.
The proposed smoking ban is in the news. While smoking is definitely a public health issue, there's one argument against the ban that I have not heard anyone articulate thus far.
Smoking nets £10.4bn in tax revenue, which represents 1% of all tax revenue. It's estimated smoking costs the NHS some £2.4bn per annum. It's therefore clear that smoking more than pays for the cost. However, this is not the issue.
If smoking were to be banned, the £10.4bn tax revenue would need to be raised through some other mechanism. The problem is that such a mechanism would probably involve everyone paying for it, whereas currently only smokers pay the tobacco tax.
VAT brings in £162.2bn, which is 15.3% of all tax revenue. To increase VAT by £10.4bn means VAT going up by 6.41%. Sobering, isn't it?
On another tack, A Muslim pupil at a school has lost her case for having prayer rituals. Keep religion out of schools. While not attending a prayer meeting is of no consequence among white british pupils, not attending a prayer meeting if you're a Muslim could lead to problems for you and your family from other Muslims, so it's highly divisive.
However, the fact Suella Braveram has defended the school head makes me want to support the pupil. I just can't believe I'm agreeing with Suella - about anything.
So Trump had an affair with Stormy Daniels and allegedly paid her hush money.
What surprises me most is that she didn't pay him hush money. Who would actually want to be associated with the cretin?
On a more serious note, can anyone ever be truly impartial when it comes to high profile individuals? Trump challenges a lot of deeply held beliefs, such as ethics and morality for a start.
Perhaps we just have to accept that bias is part and parcel of choosing to be a high profile individual who is not averse to making his or her opinions and beliefs very visible. Make it your business to become high profile and the quid pro quo is that impartiality goes out of the window in a court of law - your choice.
2 comments:
Re: prayer ban
1. If Muslims miss one of their ritual prayer sessions they can make up for it later with extra prayers. And,
2. The school has a strict rule that no more than 4 pupils can congregate together (except for lessons obvs).
" Commissioned by charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) the new figures [1] published today [Thursday 13th January] show the cost of smoking to society totals £17.04bn for England each year. "
The NHS sum you cited also seems to be wrong as it was 'estimated to be £2.6 bn back in 2015.
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