People like Jim Ratcliffe or James Dyson worth £20 billion plus could do this for 100s of towns/villages while keeping 90% of their fortune.
If the state is going to retrench into funding acute services only due to aging and stagnation then reverting to late Victorian municipal philanthropy might be the only way to get nice things for most people...
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Assuming such an approach learns from the third sector, where large donations often come with strings attached (e.g for more cancer nurses in Surrey) that exacerbate inequality. It still needs the invisible hand somewhere.
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Make all tax paid public record and make national heroes of the ones that pay the most, and pariahs of those that don’t
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Unfortunately many "philanthropists" make donations where they are least needed
Compare the average state school trying to raise £100s in a bake sale with the regular £millions of donations to Eton, Winchester and the like
To me, this always seems the weirdest kind of "charitable" giving!
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Bring back rich people having libraries and museums and swimming baths named after them because they built them.
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Or just tax wealth and reduce profiteering by big corporations. With climate catastrophe, we really should all be in this together
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In many ways that is the model in the US. The challenge is that you build up a whole fundraising culture which leads to way too much soft influence. But in a nation that doesn't trust the state, it may be the best option.
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Especially considering the tax system seems stuck in the same era!
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Philanthropy has to be part of the solution but what I’m learning as I try to do a modest bit of it is that it’s hard to learn how to do it effectively. It’s no doubt easier for those whose families have done it for generations. How about a College of Philanthropy to teach the newbies?
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On the other hand…
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-w...
I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes
I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a jam. A series of natural disasters is barreling towards my home, and there is a severe shortage of resources and...
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The mid 20th century welfare state was predicated on the assumption of a strong civil society and paternalistic employers in the private sector (these happily regulated by trade unions, so back to civil society).
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Violent revolution is another option. Maoist People's War is the only post WW2 doctrine that has succeeded, other than maybe nuclear deterrence ... son ar!
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I'd prefer taxation and democratic accountability towards services (not) provided instead of forced gratitude.
