ABSTRACT
Technology will rob more people of their jobs than recession ever will, there will be fewer people in the workplace from whom government can harvest taxes. The options are plain: higher taxes or fewer state services, placing greater reliance on the individual. Higher taxes means greater disincentives for people to work hard. The poorer we are the more we pay in indirect taxation. The bottom fifth income group pays a higher proportion of income in indirect taxes than the other groups. For homes in the top fifth income group, indirect taxation took 16% of their income, but it accounted for 31% for those in the bottom fifth. Government's ability to gather taxes is the foundation on which all our public services are based. As fewer people are economically active, either because of retirement or unemployment, so the demand for public services and tax-based benefits increases. There is an inextricable link between employment, social circumstances and health.
