Independent analytics consultant Likes messing about with wood, tall ships, Excel, F#, and bass guitars. Sadly, my opinions are my own...
London, United Kingdom
Joined September 2011
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Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Um if you hadn’t majored in the humanities you’d know this is 2.5 percent @TheSpectator
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
It affects their return on investment, which must exceed the cost of capital/passive returns (eg Gilts)
If you reduce the return on investment, two things happen:
1. Prices increase to compensate
and/or
2. You deter current/future investment.
Nope, that’s not how taxes and price works. The price is determined by demand and supply.
Companies charge the highest price they can given demand. A tax levied on *profits* does not affect a company’s cost ie supply.
Taxes on *windfall* profits (like oil and gas) are the most efficient kind of tax there is.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Corporate profit taxes do not directly shift marginal costs but empirical studies show partial pass-through into higher consumer prices. Windfall taxes on oil and gas have deterred investment and production in practice despite theoretical efficiency on rents.
dadun.unav.edu/server/api/cor…
ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps…
taxfoundation.org/blog/big-oil-p…
scottishfinancialreview.com/2025/09/03/win…
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Classic Norm: reward the patience, kill the punchline, leave Conan and the audience wrecked.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
For the international crowd, the Conservative Party of British Columbia won because it purged the more MAGA wing of the party in a civil war.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Early election backfires in British Columbia. Premier gambles with snap poll, voters respond with unexpected result. reuters.com/legal/litigation…
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Don’t forget Clocks should have gone back this weekend.
As should all other Coldplay albums as they’re crap.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Best anecdote in Carol Thatcher's book about her father is when Sir Denis boarded a train at Paddington in which the only empty compartment was reserved for Rosewood Psychiatric Hospital.
Denis travelled alone and in comfort as far as Reading when "all these chaps piled in", accompanied by a male nurse, who counted them before the train moved off.
'One, two, three, four ... who are you?"
"I'm the Prime Minister's husband."
"Six, seven, eight, nine..."
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Does @AngelaRayner realise how misleading this is?
Even if not, good journalists should have figures at hand to correct her & other Govt. ministers trying to imply UK exports to the EU have gone down since Brexit.
In fact total exports to the EU have increased since Brexit.
…
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
…
The reality is UK total (goods & services) exports to EU in 2025 were:
· ⬆️ 18.9% on 2015 (pre-referendum)
· ⬆️ 3.8% on 2019 (before leaving EU)
· ⬆️3.2% on last year.
All in real terms (source: ONS trade statistics)
…
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
The volume of propaganda pumped out by the BBC—even, as we now know, unto the embedding of government staff inside the corporation—is gobsmacking in itself, but it also exposes the fatuousness of people who obsess about GBNews.
BREAKING: BBC forced to take down its education website used by millions after it was found to contain all sorts of devices and articles promoting the Labour Party, leftist politics, as well as ‘extreme views on migration and Net Zero’ (via @DailyMail) dailymail.com/news/article-1…
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
There’s a Buffy episode where she finds an ancient Irish spell which is actually a Dublin bus timetable.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Astounding Sunday Times investigation reveals new scandal in SNP’s Socialist Scotland:
800 NHS, central government, council and quango workers whose jobs no longer exist but remain on the public payroll because of the SNP’s ‘no public-sector redundancy’ policy.
Estimated cost of paying people to do nothing: £27m a year.
One NHS Highland worker has been receiving a full salary and benefits for 17 years despite not having a specific job.
The health board refused to say what the worker had been doing for almost two decades and how much they had been paid.
Likely cost to the taxpayer is expected to be far higher with several public bodies refusing to disclose salaries for hundreds of the workers awaiting redeployment.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
There is not a single positive outcome of Scottish devolution. Rather, everything touched by it has been besmirched. It's possibly - in a crowded field - the single worst Blair law. It should be abolished, because "accomodating" it has wasted money and made too many lives worse than they need have been.
The destruction of the quality of Scottish state education, for example, is sinful, and will never be fixed while devolution remains in place. I feel particularly strongly about this because I'm that cliche - the working-class boy whose state school got him to a Russell Group university (first in his family, etc etc) and whose life trajectory was then nothing but an unexpected joy.
A modern version of me would have none of those chances today; none. To satisfy the egos of inadequate political pygmies we have allowed them to destroy Scottish education.
Abolish Holyrood. Holyrood delenda est, as my bog standard comprehensive school's Latin O Grade taught me to say in 1984.
Astounding Sunday Times investigation reveals new scandal in SNP’s Socialist Scotland:
800 NHS, central government, council and quango workers whose jobs no longer exist but remain on the public payroll because of the SNP’s ‘no public-sector redundancy’ policy.
Estimated cost of paying people to do nothing: £27m a year.
One NHS Highland worker has been receiving a full salary and benefits for 17 years despite not having a specific job.
The health board refused to say what the worker had been doing for almost two decades and how much they had been paid.
Likely cost to the taxpayer is expected to be far higher with several public bodies refusing to disclose salaries for hundreds of the workers awaiting redeployment.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
Peter Hyman, who is writing Burnham's ten year plan, says we should move schools into "zoos" and "forests".
Hear me out for a second - what if we put them in "classrooms" with "books"?
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
I'm very very sad tonight. I just learned that Stephen Biesty passed away in 2024 at 63... He is one of my favorite artist. Rest in peace.
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
this is huge - who would vote for independence knowing it would result in all of your cash at bank being forcibly converted into a new Scottish currency and strict capital controls being enforced which would prevent you from moving money out of the country?
This post displays all the clarity of thought and depth of understanding that one has come to expect of proponents of MMT...
Andrew J. Willshire
@ajwillshire
"Likes messing about"
MMTweeTruth
Andrew
“Likes messing about”
"Clean up your own mess." R Fulghum
&
"Flush that thought". Anon
Study/learn MMT & how financial plumbing actually
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#MMT
Andrew J. Willshire retweeted
The Government is borrowing to create a "Wealth Fund". The self-delusion is off the scale.
UK Treasury confirms extra £20bn over five years for the so-called National Wealth Fund (£15bn) and the state-owned British Business Bank (£5bn), which lends to business.
Treasury claims this will support around 100,000 jobs by 2035 in AI, defence and green energy — a figure it has pretty much plucked out of thin air and will never really be tested because by 2035 everyone will have forgotten such a modest announcement.
Two takeaways:
Yet more government borrowing. It’s an addiction.
Illustrates government philosophy: growth will come from a bigger, more activist state. Ho hum.