DL Open Thread Monday October 4th 2021

Feeling tired is a common experience. It can be caused by disrupted sleep habits, a change in routine, or late stage capitalism. I think there are enough dots of paint on the canvas now to make out the painting.

Pandora papers, Trump-ified republicanism, anti-science, Glorious Moderation, debt-limit roulette, the so-called labor shortage, old incurious politicians, the burning planet… these scourges are all wind-chimes being rung by the same ill-wind. That wind is the death throes of western capitalism.

How long will it take to die? Too long. What will replace it? Who the fuck knows?

Happy Monday.

The leaked files reveals that Tony and Cherie Blair saved £312,000 in property taxes when they purchased a London building partially owned by the family of a prominent Bahraini minister.

The former prime minister and his wife bought the £6.5m office in Marylebone by acquiring a British Virgin Islands (BVI) offshore company. While the move was not illegal, and there is no evidence the Blairs proactively sought to avoid property taxes, the deal highlights a loophole that has enabled wealthy property owners not to pay a tax that is commonplace for ordinary Britons.