The Magic Money Tree
Once upon a time there was a magic money tree and it paid for the NHS, council housing, schools, unemployment and sickness benefits, pensions, public transport, care homes etc. Every year towards the end of March the tree blossomed; it was the end of the tax year and companies and the rich paid their taxes to nourish the tree and keep it blooming. The tree no longer blooms; it looks pathetic, devoid of leaves, its branches hanging low, thin and brittle and dying. Older people look at the tree with a mixture of reverence and sadness and realised how lucky…