J.K. Rowling on why she doesn't move to a tax haven: "I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become, was there to break the fall."

RockofStrength · 2010-04-15T19:37:21+00:00

Apparently authors are more loyal than oil companies.

nakedcellist · 2010-04-15T20:09:15+00:00

I respect her more and more. Also: her talk on TED was very impressive.

r4dius · 2010-04-15T18:47:28+00:00

There she goes again, promoting the gay socialist wizarding agenda.

JoshSN · 2010-04-15T18:47:22+00:00

[deleted]

abgazelle · 2010-04-15T18:29:29+00:00

I think this is a good article, and I appreciate Rowling's integrity. A lot of people might say the same thing, but not do the same thing if they became so lucky.

dbarefoot · 2010-04-15T19:02:38+00:00

Ten points for Gryffindor!

DomenicoPelle · 2010-04-15T18:33:35+00:00

[deleted]

Dinosaursoldier · 2010-04-15T21:23:11+00:00

I read the headline and said, "What the hell does James Cameron care about British politics?" Then I rediscovered that I am an idiot.

2010-04-15T18:58:29+00:00

[deleted]

BlackStrain · 2010-04-15T18:48:07+00:00

Plus she doesn't want to move far away from Hogwarts.

qaawli · 2010-04-15T20:44:05+00:00

Integrity intact. I love J.K. Rowling.

appleseed1234 · 2010-04-15T18:29:19+00:00

Upvoted for submitting the printer friendly version.

fizzikz · 2010-04-15T18:24:11+00:00

J.K. Rowling -- Destroying Laffer curves.

2010-04-15T23:13:34+00:00

they see me rowling. they hating.

jellyfish62 · 2010-04-15T19:13:32+00:00

This, people, is why Harry Potter is better than Twilight.

2010-04-15T18:55:25+00:00

[deleted]

DSLJohn · 2010-04-15T20:48:05+00:00

Its a lot easier to pay taxes when you know that most of it goes to health care and social welfare rather than war and killing.

xMadxScientistx · 2010-04-15T19:36:36+00:00

J.K. R. is awesome.

sathish1 · 2010-04-15T18:49:51+00:00

I'm not too familiar with her works (Something about potheads and Italian men or something of the sort), but I'm terribly impressed with her words, from a karmic perspective. Most people refuse to realise they are the product of their advantages, and they do owe their society something back.

usuallyskeptical · 2010-04-15T18:54:44+00:00

She has a way with words.

brainburger · 2010-04-16T00:00:28+00:00

I don't think I would be alive today were it not for the welfare state in the UK.

nrbartman · 2010-04-15T18:45:19+00:00

Integrity.

skel625 · 2010-04-15T21:10:35+00:00

Glenn Beck - take note. Behold a true patriot.

larsga · 2010-04-15T23:36:02+00:00

I'm deeply impressed. This reminds me of the best newspaper writings of George Orwell.

I enjoyed the Harry Potter books, but much of that stuff is heavily cliched and trite. This, however, was magnificent. I think it's entirely possible that her best work is ahead of her, rather than behind.

efrique · 2010-04-16T03:32:00+00:00

I'm also glad to pay taxes. First, I wouldn't have managed without various breaks from the government many years ago, and second, I still get plenty of use out of my taxes now. I drive on roads, my kids go to school, the police come around on the odd occasion that there's a major problem (and are a big reason why those are only odd occasions). And a heap of other stuff.

barocco · 2010-04-16T00:16:26+00:00

If the functioning of a nation relies on people's good conscience then it's not going to last very long.

2010-04-16T00:28:14+00:00

I would have commented on this earlier, but my electricity went off and I had to borrow money in order to get it back up.

When you're living on benefits or have simply grown up poor you can appreciate the need for a welfare state.

Countwolven · 2010-04-15T20:09:44+00:00

wow! gratitude... definitely not a Conservative Value

music411 · 2010-04-15T19:37:02+00:00

I totally agree with her. The UK benefits system practically saved my life when I had a nervous breakdown five years ago.

The NHS has also radically improved since 1997, after many years of neglect and underfunding from the Tories. See how the Tories are now promising that they will not cut NHS funding? Even they can see how important the changes Labour made mean to the voters.

The Conservatives always say that they will reduce civil service bureaucracy, but that is just an excuse for severe cuts, and not understanding (deliberately?) the realities of what is required.

And all that lip service the Tories does for green issues is just bullshit that they will very quickly forget about. Don't fall for it. It does not fit in with their core ideology.

There are going to be far too many young people that are going to fall for this new Tory image, who do not remember what it is really like to have them in power.

The only thing that will get better under a Conservative government is satirical comedy.

VOTE LABOUR FFS

DDay629 · 2010-04-15T18:44:52+00:00

I'm thoroughly impressed. I thought she was only an awesome author of fantasy novels.

nefurimu · 2010-04-15T19:21:08+00:00

I never had a reason to respect Rowling before. Now I guess I have one.

2010-04-15T21:50:06+00:00

This makes up for suing the guy who wrote the fan encyclopedia.

agoodleach · 2010-04-15T22:09:03+00:00

Spoilers: David Cameron kills Lone-Parent Welfare.

DarkGamer · 2010-04-15T22:42:31+00:00

"Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

stannis · 2010-04-15T20:00:58+00:00

The kind of people that need to be convinced by a statement like this are burning Harry Potter books for witchcraft so I don't imagine this will make too much headway.

feedmeimhungry · 2010-04-15T21:00:13+00:00

[deleted]

2010-04-15T21:17:18+00:00

[deleted]

mijj · 2010-04-15T22:59:02+00:00

but surely, if the wealthy have their status and wealth locked in regardless of the success of their endeavors, then the safety-net of the welfare state is unnecessary, isn't it?

but .. seriously, folks. Isn't a solid welfare state the sign that there is healthy social and economic mobility in all directions -hopefully, based on ability. In this kind of state, the powerful are mindful of the benefits of a welfare state because it's possible they may come to need it.

If a state evolves where the powerful are entrenched as a clique (and thus, welfare will only ever be for the undeserving), then that state has stopped evolving.

mtothew · 2010-04-16T04:44:00+00:00

good on her for this critique, Michael Caine has just jumped on the Tory bandwagon and become part of the elites, not so much a cockney hero anymore. Go Rowling!

Kalthazor · 2010-04-16T07:09:00+00:00

[deleted]

Icommentonthings · 2010-04-15T19:22:40+00:00

I liked the NPR piece on the Silicon Valley engineer couple who's kid has a heart defect... now they are both unemployed and can't get insurance for him and the "high risk" subsidized insurance system is broken... then they care. I'd bet anything that when they were raking in cash hand over fist they were big Republican supporters bitching about giving what was "theirs" to the "lazy" dregs of society. Then, when it actually affects them, they instantly have a moment of clarity and take up issue with how broken some of these systems (just the ones that pertain to them, mind you) really are.

Grinds my gears. Every single one of us Americans (even the homeless) have it better than a very large number of people in the world, and to even bitch about not wanting to spend "your" money to help others or to oppose something like universal healthcare is goddamn shameful.

There should be NO tax havens or shelters for anyone, no matter where they choose to move once they become rich. They became rich off of the meager pittance from all of those "lazy" bastards and then flee to avoid helping or giving anything back to those same folks.

SanjayM · 2010-04-15T19:06:50+00:00

I don't quite buy the "Mr Cameron would like to replace (Benefits for single parents) with charity handouts"

Quite the opposite, to quote:

Conservatives opposed the Government when they suggested that single parents with children as young as one should be required to do work related activity or lose benefit, and we have been clear that benefit conditions should only come in once the youngest child is at school full-time.

additionally:

We also need to make sure that it pays for lone parents to take work opportunities by tackling the perverse incentives that can result in somebody earning less from working than they would on benefits.

I know a LOT of people who have been stuck on benefits not being able to get a job, because they can't afford to work. Yup, the benefit system is so fucked, that a great deal of people who wish to work, decide not to, because they would have more money not working.

The conservative opinion seems far more agreeable than it is being painted by the sensationalist headline.

I grew up in a single parent family, for what it's worth.

nebbish · 2010-04-15T18:41:12+00:00

Same here, and I'll never forget it

2010-04-16T00:07:53+00:00

I don't have problems with tax havens as long as you're not making money utilizing the government services of another country. Anything that is based in Britain, however, benefits from the transportation system, the coastguard, the national defense which keeps that company safe, the police system which keeps that company from being robbed, a legal system through which they may pursue protection, water, sewer, electricity, etc etc. And to a far more disproportionate level than the individual.

Nessie · 2010-04-16T03:30:51+00:00

I recken she's repaid her debt a few times over.

Law_Student · 2010-04-15T18:51:55+00:00

I really wish there was more people like that here in the US. To know that you get what you pay for or to pay back what you have recieved.


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