The Joy of Tax, by Richard Murphy

"Marcus Chown, formerly a radio astronomer" Could THE not find, you know, a tax expert or an economist to review a book about tax and economics? Would a review of a book on scientific theory by a tax planner shed any light on whether the science was valid?

The most important sentence is this: "A survey reported in The Independent on 17 February 2014 found that “the British public is wrong about nearly everything”, from benefit fraud to immigration. [...] [I]t is clear that without reliable information, the electorate cannot make rational decisions about tax systems or anything else, and our democracy is seriously undermined." No prizes for guessing who is responsible for (and benefits from) the flood of disinformation. Meanwhile, it's just been announced that the government's deficit is the worst for six years, with "economists" warning that the chancellor will need "further austerity" to meet his targets (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/20/worst-uk-deficit-figures-six-years-george-osborne ). Thanks to Osborne's current austerity policy, my local county council has just announced that it is proposing to close 40 out of its 74 public libraries. It's the economics of the madhouse.