People like Liz Truss like to say that, if taxes are kept low, everybody benefits because there is more money circulating in the economy. They say that the more that people have to invest, the more they earn, so the amount a state receives in tax increases overall. But this is one of the insufferable little lies that those on the political right tell themselves to salve their consciences. Desperate to maintain the pretence that they aren’t just greedy, shortsighted spoiled brats but do in fact care about people other than their selves, they claim that, the larger the overall pie, the bigger the piece everyone gets. Yet that is to forget the obvious truth that, without state oversight, the most greedy people in a community will just take what they want of any pie and leave the poorest and less well positioned scrambling for crumbs. The gap between those who have access to the pie and those who don’t will just keep widening as those capable of taking what they want will refuse to share it with anyone else. In such systems, the idea that everyone somehow benefits if the rich are set free to hoard their wealth is a flat-out lie; one told by Truss and her Tory underlings applauding like brainless, demented seals yesterday, in their never-ending effort to keep privilege and wealth to their selves. Wealth does not magically ‘trickle down”: the less taxes the wealthiest have to pay, the better they get at hiding it, so the overall amount of tax revenue does not go up. The sickening thing is, people like Truss can never admit that they are motivated by greed but want to be as seen as respectable, altruistic politicians, so they claim to be working to help everyone while knowingly maintaining an inherently unfair status quo.