Learning Curves

Over at Tax Research and Richard Murphy he comments on the appointment of Ian Barlow, a KPMG man, to head the HMRC, our office for the income tax, revenues and the rest.  He points to some interesting features of KPMG during Ian’s time there and wonders what kind of fit this is in being the UK tax boss.

KPMG are located in any tax haven worthy of the name and are one for the leaders in the field of arranging tax avoidance packages and other funny money deals.  But he may be a poacher turned gamekeeper or a latter day Paul of Tarsus falling off his horse whilst riding round Chipping Norton.

If this one happens, then you would certainly have heard it here first.  Is Bob Diamond, formerly of Barclays, now a shoe-in to be the next Governor of the Bank of England in succession to Sir Mervyn King?  Expect the announcement on the day of the 100 metre finals at the Olympics.

The Bank of England could certainly do with repositioning as we call it in the public bar.  Making it a major profit centre for The Treasury with a brief to keep the UK at the forefront of trading invented stock and adjusting interest rates to suit would do wonders for the economy, one way or another.

It may be time for some imaginative initiatives for the City of London because there are those who think the future may not look too bright.  If you have two minutes and twenty three seconds try this link from Jack Crooks in Money and Markets:

http://www.weissmoneynetwork.com/the-u-k-and-the-british-pound-are-in-the-crosshairs-46296?mam

The question then is what to do with Sir Merv’?  Obviously put him in charge of something big, hopelessly disjointed, failing, pushing families into debt and spending vast amounts of the taxpayers money.  Yes, make him Tsar of Education! 

Well, maybe not a Tsar in view of what happened, perhaps Viceroy might be a nice title to pluck from the past.  One area badly in need of vigorous reform is that of the teaching of mathematics.

In line with modernist educational practise, we could encourage our youngsters to go in for Creative Mathematics and hope we might nurture a generation of creative accountants that would help to maintain the City of London and the UK at the centre of the global financial system.

Taking the picture from Zero Hedge, the government could call it the Mary Poppins Policy.