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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 10h

Taxpayer subsidised savings is a very expensive approach to solving what is really an insurance problem.

Miranda Green @greenmirandahere.bsky.social · 19h

until a dementia or stroke or other such rainy day hits you (ie something that the NHS and insurance delight in branding as not requiring 'healthcare' but requiring high levels of daily care) you ain't seen rain my friend!

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 10h

Why would you want to discourage work more than savings? That is what we do at the moment. My starting point it to tax everything equally.

Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 11h

Given long-term care insurance doesn't exist in the UK, maybe don't start taxing savings until you've got that sorted?

(Though really not convinced at all of the case for why we should wish to discourage saving in the first place...).

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 10h

The fiscal position, and that there is little to no evidence that they changed the level of savings (as opposed to the savings vehicle)

Matt "Winter is here" @mattrobb.bsky.social · 11h

I seem to recall that ISAs were put in place because the govt at the time wanted to encourage saving

What in your view has changed... or was this never a good idea?

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Matt "Winter is here" @mattrobb.bsky.social · 11h

I seem to recall that ISAs were put in place because the govt at the time wanted to encourage saving

What in your view has changed... or was this never a good idea?

Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 11h

Given long-term care insurance doesn't exist in the UK, maybe don't start taxing savings until you've got that sorted?

(Though really not convinced at all of the case for why we should wish to discourage saving in the first place...).

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 12h

Taxpayer subsidised shavings are a very inefficient way to solve an insurance problem

Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 18h

£20k not going to fund much old age social care. We'd like to encourage saving, rather than have everyone fall back on the state.

(Not against a lifetime limit rather than annual limits - but that seems too low).

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 12h

I would have a lifetime cap on that as well

Steve Mc @skinnypope.bsky.social · 18h

While there is no lifetime cap on pensions contributions (paid before tax), there is a poor case for a lifetime ISA cap (paid out of post tax income).

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Steve Mc @skinnypope.bsky.social · 18h

While there is no lifetime cap on pensions contributions (paid before tax), there is a poor case for a lifetime ISA cap (paid out of post tax income).

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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 18h

£20k not going to fund much old age social care. We'd like to encourage saving, rather than have everyone fall back on the state.

(Not against a lifetime limit rather than annual limits - but that seems too low).

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Miranda Green @greenmirandahere.bsky.social · 19h

until a dementia or stroke or other such rainy day hits you (ie something that the NHS and insurance delight in branding as not requiring 'healthcare' but requiring high levels of daily care) you ain't seen rain my friend!

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19h

Even better than cutting the ISA limit would be recreate the original John Major TESSA system - a lifetime limit on how much you can put in. Perhaps £20,000? That should cover most rainy days. (For political reasons it would not have to be retrospective)

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 19h

Hurrah! It is absolutely nuts that older richer people (like me) can save £20,000 a year tax free - which means taxes are higher for younger, poorer people. on.ft.com/4n5ec8A Rachel Reeves revives plans to overhaul cash Isas

on.ft.com

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, with an emphasis on lots more houses in London, where all measures of affordability show they are most needed.

Rob Blackie @robblackie.bsky.social · 1d

Fixing the cost of living crisis isn't easy but it is fairly obvious how to make some progress:

1. Lots more housing > lower rents & house prices
2. Rejoin the Single Market > lower food prices & lower overall prices because the inputs to everything are cheaper.

Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 1d

“I think politicians are ignoring prices and bills and hoping we’ll forget about them and find something else to complain about…”

My report on how the flighty Westminster bubble forgot about the cost-of-living crisis, which certainly isn't over:

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 1d

I agree with @jamesomalley.co.uk , wealth taxes are not very sensible.

James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 1d

I am on a slightly more modest income and I also think that wealth taxes aren't a very workable idea.

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 1d

The Spectator (owned by GBNews owner Paul Marshall - estimated wealth of £800 million) doesn’t like taxing wealth fairly.

I wonder how they got to this editorial decision?

Let’s tax wealth fairly, fund front line services & make hope normal again.

join.greenparty.org.uk

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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 1d

I am on a slightly more modest income and I also think that wealth taxes aren't a very workable idea.

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 1d

The Spectator (owned by GBNews owner Paul Marshall - estimated wealth of £800 million) doesn’t like taxing wealth fairly.

I wonder how they got to this editorial decision?

Let’s tax wealth fairly, fund front line services & make hope normal again.

join.greenparty.org.uk

Polanski is talking nonsense about wealth taxes.

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Rob Blackie @robblackie.bsky.social · 1d

Fixing the cost of living crisis isn't easy but it is fairly obvious how to make some progress:

1. Lots more housing > lower rents & house prices
2. Rejoin the Single Market > lower food prices & lower overall prices because the inputs to everything are cheaper.

Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 1d

“I think politicians are ignoring prices and bills and hoping we’ll forget about them and find something else to complain about…”

My report on how the flighty Westminster bubble forgot about the cost-of-living crisis, which certainly isn't over:

Energy bills rise while Westminster talks immigration

Why have our politicians forgotten about the cost-of-living crisis?

www.newstatesman.com

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 1d

@jpspencer.bsky.social - you are right! (Although if it was immediate, it would be a double whammy on anyone who had recently bought a home in the South - something my proposal overcomes)

JP Spencer @jpspencer.bsky.social · 1d

Might be wrong, but sounds like their proposals are quite similar to what @fairershare.bsky.social or @timleunig.bsky.social have proposed which isn’t that outlandish?

JP Spencer @jpspencer.bsky.social · 1d

Might be wrong, but sounds like their proposals are quite similar to what @fairershare.bsky.social or @timleunig.bsky.social have proposed which isn’t that outlandish?

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

But rather than saying "Tim, I want you to meet Jean", Philippe said "Jean, I want you to meet Tim", and then gave a summary of what I was working on. He was not my supervisor, but he still knew what I worked on. Remarkable, and lovely.

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

One small anecdote - as a PhD student I was once in IDEI in Toulouse, visiting a friend. Philippe was there, and introduced Jean Tirole and I to each other. Jean is already one of the greats, and I am just a PhD student.

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

Again, what stands out to me is the time and effort that Philippe put into students. He was an outstanding and effective teacher.

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

I am delighted that Philippe Aghion has won (a quarter) of the Nobel Prize in Economics. Philippe taught me (and Mark Carney, among others) when we were Oxford grad students, back in the mid 1990s.

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

I first met him when I was a grad student. I wasn't his student, I was a rival to his (many) students. But he encouraged me, published my first paper, and so on. He really wanted what was best for economic history. So thank you, Joel Mokyr - you may well have changed my life.

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

Joel is obviously one of the greats of economic history, and has been for a long time. The FT link above says a bit about his work, but is misses something important. Joel really puts time into the profession and its future.

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

As the @FT said today "economic historians like it when economic historians get prizes" and so I am ABSOLUTEY DELIGHTED that Joel Mokyr has won (half) the Nobel Prize in Economics this year. www.ft.com/content/f392...

Nobel Prize for Economics awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt

Congratulations to the winners from FT Alphaville

www.ft.com

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 2d

This week I have set out a cut to working age welfare that I think is both sensible and would be widely supported - timleunig.substack.com/p/how-to-cut... (£/free trial). [Sorry the link did not work earlier, all sorted now]

How to cut working age welfare part 1

A suggestion I think will receive widespread support

timleunig.substack.com

Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 4d

Outstanding from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com - the best way to get a job is to get a degree. You will almost almost always earn more as well.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 4d

Really interesting article from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com but especially intriguing to me is the number of comments below that are essentially 'OK the data don't agree with my hunch but here's an unrelated statement that proves that I'm right about AI, the death of higher education, etc'

What the graduate unemployment story gets wrong

People with a degree are faring better, not worse than their non-graduate counterparts

www.ft.com

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 4d

Really interesting article from @jburnmurdoch.ft.com but especially intriguing to me is the number of comments below that are essentially 'OK the data don't agree with my hunch but here's an unrelated statement that proves that I'm right about AI, the death of higher education, etc'

What the graduate unemployment story gets wrong

People with a degree are faring better, not worse than their non-graduate counterparts

www.ft.com

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 4d

I did not say that

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Tim Leunig @timleunig.bsky.social · 4d

We are adding data on UCAS choices to try to answer this. Look at people who applied for X but not all for the place

Paul @paulb72.bsky.social · 5d

Yea but is that endogenous or exogenous

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