Daily Mash turns on Vince
July 19th, 2010 Posted in coalition, Liberal Democrats, Satire by Julian Harris
For those who haven’t seen it:
GRADUATES WHO EARN MORE TO BE TAXED FOR TURNING UP TO LECTURES
Has Vince lost his golden touch?
Hat-tip: Philip Stevens on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Philip_stevens)
July 19th, 2010 at 11:07 am
Bizarrely, that is actually one of the best arguments against the idea that I’ve read.
July 20th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
But must they use such profane language!
This article by Prof. Len Shackleton makes the same point somewhat less humourously. In particular, he notes:
highly paid graduates are already taxed at a higher rate than poorly-paid ones… The individual returns on higher education conceal the fact that much of the higher pay of graduates is a reward for underlying ability, experience and effort rather than the qualification. Econometric studies of pay indicate that only a fraction is explained by a degree or other qualifications.
[Furthermore, i]n many cases, high-earning graduates make their money in fields which have nothing to do with their degrees… so why should they be taxed on earnings unrelated to their qualification?
In response to a question from me, he added “I was at university with the current Governor of the Bank of England. We attended the same classes and sat the same exam. He now earns considerably more than me. His higher pay reflects graduate degrees he undertook, jobs he has done, work he has published, a great deal of drive and outstanding ability. He already pays more income tax than me. Why should somebody like him pay extra graduate tax compared with someone like me? It is a tax on ability, commitment and effort and why should these things be taxed at a higher rate if you have a degree?”