People who campaign for wealth distribution refuse to acknowledge that the rise the in the standards of living in the UK was not mainly enabled by governments or unions but by industrialists. People like Salt, Peabody, Rowntree, these rich industrialists spent great sums of their money building better accommodation for either their workers or the poor. In some cases they had other benefits in doing this, like Salt getting healthier workers closer to his factories, but they also built churches and baths, these things don't directly correlate to profit.<p>The modern philanthropists like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are also showing a great way forward by giving away their fortunes before they die (after all do your children need to inherit billions?). But as businessmen and innovators these philanthropists are spending their money wisely, probably far more wisely than a government could. Bill Gates is well known for requiring a strong case and costs before giving money away, but when he does it can be vast amounts.<p>Our governments are stuck walking the wrong way on an escalator. In the UK the fuel escalator is a prime example of this, a programmed increase in fuel duty in the guise of an ecological tax, this tax is actually to offset inflation because it is one of the largest sources of indirect taxation. However it is obvious that taxing fuel in ever increasing amounts will restrict growth. Yes we need to deal with our carbon footprint, but that isn't really why the tax exists.<p>Also the levels of inheritance tax were designed to tax the super rich when the government was in a difficult spot. It was arguably a bad move because it broke up thousands of estates that employed hundreds of rural workers. But because the levels set haven't changed much and inflation has very much increased many thousands of normal people are now covered by a tax intended for the super rich.<p>Additionally companies aren't encouraged to look after their workers because they will be harassed by HMRC for "Benefit In Kind". Companies should be encouraged to look after their workers and increase their standards of living, that way we would be a more productive society with happy citizens.<p>Tax less, encourage philanthropy and enable growth.<p>I will probably be retiring outside of the UK, as they say: in the UK, you breath, your taxed.