Cuts and Taxes

There is a piece on ConservativeHome by Paul Goodman here setting out various cuts that can be made to fund cuts in taxation. I would agree wholeheartedly with the withdrawal of all subsidies for wind farms and solar panels, the capping of maternity leave at £800 per week, cutting NHS staff and reducing the cost of childcare regulation and indeed regulation generally. Matt Ridley wrote a great piece on the uselessness of wind power in the Spectator last week which you can see here. He also produced an interesting statistic about carbon emissions in the USA which fell 9% in 2009 as a result of the switch to shale gas burning power stations. This is something we can do ourselves having had the good fortune to have discovered a considerable quantity of shale gas waiting to be exploited in the North West. It is to be hoped that Osborne will cut spending in order to cut taxes in the budget and promote the exploitation of our shale gas deposits. The use of shale gas will reduce the cost of energy and encourage a virtuous growth cycle. This is exactly what the doctor ordered and frankly what could be better. Matt Ridley calls himself the 'Rational Optimist' and although I hope he's right about the beginning of the end of wind I somehow remain doubtful that Osborne will deliver.