Oppressed By The Welfare State

The state is a dangerous thing. The millions slaughtered in wars over the centuries, especially the twentieth century, have been slaughtered because of politics and politicians. The more powerful the state the more warlike it becomes. Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were responsible for the slaughter in wars and pogroms of millions of people, including millions of their own people.

I don't put our current government, or even the hated European Union in the same category as the totalitarians of the twentieth century, but we should all be worried at the constant attacks on our freedoms by a creeping police state. Much of the anti-terror legislation put in place by the Blair/Brown government has been used to restrict our freedoms. Remember Walter Wolfgang? He was arrested under anti-terror legislation for heckling at a Labour conference.

In the UK the welfare state is constantly used to attack the populace. Put in place a welfare state funded by taxation and soon it is used to attack us in the interests of the taxpayer, us. Much more subtle and dangerous than the government openly declaring it is attacking us. Smokers are accused of being a drain on the NHS, so tax them until it hurts to force them to stop. In Soviet Scotland the politburo have slapped a minimum cost on alcohol and haved outlawed certain cheap deals on alcohol in shops and supermarkets. Of course it's all done with your interests at heart isn't it? Nothing to do with raising taxes is it?

Now the Coalition reckons the welfare state is under attack from fatties! The government is floating the idea of a fat tax, because fat people are a drain on the state like smokers and drinkers supposedly are. So they want to tax food that they think might make us fat. Plenty of people who eat what the state would regard as prime for a fat tax is actually healthy if eaten in moderation. So why not do it the other way round and drop the price of fresh fruit and veg? Because they want your money, they want to tax you, it's that simple! They happily send young lads to their deaths in Afghanistan and elsewhere so why not let the odd person eat themselves to an early death if they want to?

The problem is that no matter how much they tax us the people who are determined to smoke, drink and eat junk will do so, and they are often already the poorest people already. So once again it is the poorer people who are being attacked by an ever greedy tax increasing state.

In the true interests of equality why not slap a massive tax on sports equipment, health clubs, gyms and so on? Surely there is a cost to our glorious state when a cyclist is knocked off his bike or a Sunday league footballer has his leg broken by a beer bellied slob on the other side? What about the drain on the NHS when all those joggers and marathon runners have heart attacks and tear tendons and muscles? What about the cost of treating anorexics? Tax the bastards!

And finally: