Hello and welcome to Broeconomics. Now, in this episode, I think I'm going to have to try and figure out how I want to frame it, especially when it comes to titling it. I've got an extra couple of days to figure that sort of stuff out. But basically, what I wanted to talk about was taxation in the UK. I'm talking about the UK. Basically, everything I say is going to apply to every other Western economy as well. If you're in Japan,

you're 15 years ahead of us. If you're in the US, you've got a few extra levers that you can

pull, but the stakes are higher. If you're in another European country, Canada, Australia or New Zealand,

it's going to be pretty much the same set of circumstances.

So I think this applies fairly broadly because I'm going to be talking mostly about the principles,

but I need an example, as I'll be talking about the UK.

And the question that I've got to myself on framing this is, you know, on one hand, I could say, well, look, this is Labour making an absolute

hash of it, and they are. But also, it's the set of circumstances which Western governments

have found themselves in, so they have put themselves in. Now, it's perfectly true that Labor have got a

bad set of cards. It's also very true, but they are playing those cards incredibly badly,

and they're making their hand worse than it needs to be, even with the bad set of cards that

they've got. So bear that in mind as I go through this.

Yes, it is, it is, you know, partly Labor's fault.

But I mean, also they inherited a mess.

So, you know, we sort of need to acknowledge that as well.

Right. So let's jump into taxation.

What is tax trying to achieve?

Well, at a basic level, there is a core nugget of what a state needs to do.

And that is, it needs to exist, so it needs to have borders borders it needs to be able to repel foreign invaders

It needs to be able to you defend itself as a state so that is the core and primary function of the state

The second one is that it needs to secure property rights.

Because if you then secure property rights within your borders,

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