Shed not a crocodile tear for tax-dodging Richard Branson
Not a penny to greedy grasping tax-dodging conman Richard Branson.
It beggars belief greedy grasping tax-dodging billionaire conman Richard Branson has his hand out for £500 million bailout of his ailing Virgin airline.
Taxpayers should not give him a penny.
£500 million is only from British taxpayer, Branson is also seeking £700 million from the Australian government to bailout Virgin Australia.
Recently he shifted a billion dollars from Delaware to British Virgin Islands.
A couple of years ago Branson sued NHS for millions. How many lives has that cost, how many ventilators for patients, protective equipment for front-line staff?
His running of the East Coast Mainline was a disaster. The rail franchise has now reverted back to public ownership, much to the relief of train crew and passengers.
In his call for a bailout Branson is backed by Airbus, which makes the planes, and Rolls-Royce, which makes the jet engines for the planes. He is also backed by Manchester Airport and Heathow Airport which wish to see a return to businesses as usual.
No bailout for airlines, no return to businesses as usual. We should not bailout out industries which are trashing the planet, which delivered covid-19 around the world.
Bailout people not airlines, bailout local indie businesses not global corporations, then fund a Green New Deal. Any bailout should be of strategic sectors by acquiring a controlling stake, and with conditions atatched, for example no use of tax havens, carbon zero by 2035.
The rottenness is at two levels, rottenness of billionaires who think the role of the taxpayer to bail them out, whilst calling for the strivers to return to work and make them more money, and the rottenness of the travel industry who think they can return to businesses as usual trashing the planet with the the help of the taxpayer.
Rich football clubs owned by billionaires, have laid off their workers, expected the taxpayer to pay 80% of salaries of the lowest paid, whilst overpaid footballers remain on full salary sitting on their arse doing nothing.
Philip Greed expects the taxpayer to bail out his ailing Arcadia group.
Mike Ashley tried to open Sports Direct during lockdown claiming it was an essential business.
Tim Martin forced sick workers into work at J D Wetherspoon by refusing to pay sick pay, encouraged drunks to go drinking at pubs, then when pubs forced to close, told his workers to go find another job and refused to pay suppliers (many of whom are small craft breweries).
Vulture capitalist owners of Waterstone’s forced their workers into work, refused to implement social distancing, refused to allow workers to wear face masks or gloves.
We face two global crisis, global pandemics spread by airlines and cruise ships and climate emergency.
We were told we could not reach zero carbon by 2035, impossible, unrealistic within the time scale. We have shut down polluting industries overnight, we have seen what is possible, we hear bird song not traffic noise, our skies are free of aircraft, our streets traffic free, our cities pollution free. We cannot return to businesses as usual.
There can be no return to normal as normal was not normal.
Covid-19 has jolted us into another now, a different trajectory. We have a glimpse of what is possible, what could be. We must now create and maintain another now, our future and that of the planet depends upon it.
Note: Virgin Australia has gone into liquidation, Australia refused to bailout Virgin Australia.
Note: Denmark and Poland have refused to bailout companies registered in off-shore tax havens.
