Ah, the sweet, sweet irony of modern political whining. One minute, idiots are railing against taxation, snarling at the “bloated state,” and singing hymns to the free market gods. The next? They’re furiously tweeting about potholes, NHS waiting times, and how there aren’t enough police to stop your local crime wave.

How stupid do you have to be to not see the connection?

Let us spell it out. If you don’t want to pay tax, then don’t expect lovely smooth roads fit for an F1 race. Don’t expect five-star healthcare in your old age unless you’ve got the personal fortune to pay for it. And for the love of basic logic, don’t moan about rising crime while simultaneously championing the very policies that strip public services to the bone.

The Magic Money Tree Delusion

For some reason, the small-state, low-tax brigade imagines that roads, hospitals, and policing just… happen. Like some benevolent fairy godmother waves a wand and—bam! —public services, free of charge. They are funded by taxes for God’s sake. You know, the thing some people spend all their time trying to lower, dodge, or outright destroy.

The free market isn’t going to fix your roads. There is no private sector knight in shining armour rushing in to pave over the country’s potholes out of the goodness of their heart. And guess what? If a private company does get involved, you’ll be paying a hell of a lot more than a bit of tax.

Want an example? Look at the state of privatised water and energy companies. Billions in profits, executive bonuses through the roof, but somehow, your bills keep rising, and your rivers are now basically open sewers. But sure, let us deregulate even more and see how that works out.

“I Want Low Taxes but Also Good Public Services!”

You might as well demand to eat cake while refusing to buy flour. The only reason some countries enjoy decent public infrastructure is that they, shock horror, fund it properly. If you worship at the altar of “small government,” you better get saving, because your future is one of toll roads, private police, and hospitals that won’t let you through the door unless your credit score checks out.

Meanwhile, those pushing deregulation and tax cuts? They are not in it for you. They’re in it for themselves. The billionaires selling you the dream of a low-tax utopia will be just fine in their gated communities with their private security and personal healthcare plans. You? You’ll be dodging craters in the road while praying you don’t get sick, because good luck finding a doctor that isn’t booked solid for the next six months.

The Biggest Con of the 21st Century

One of the greatest tricks ever pulled was convincing ordinary people that cutting taxes for the wealthy and gutting public services was somehow in their best interest. And yet, every election cycle, the same nonsense gets peddled, and the same people lap it up—only to turn around and moan about the inevitable consequences.

I live in hope that, one day, people might finally put two and two together. That they’ll realise you can’t have nice things without paying for them. That the people selling them the low-tax, deregulated dream are laughing all the way to the bank.

But I won’t hold my breath.