Impact of Pandemic Restrictions “Worth it”, says MP 😳🤔
In this monologue, Rob Moore challenges the claim made by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other politicians that COVID‑19 lockdowns and restrictions were "worth it." He argues that the long‑term economic and social costs—massive business closures in hospitality, soaring inflation, and a steep rise in taxes (VAT, corporation tax, dividend tax, income tax, and National Insurance)—outweigh any public‑health benefits, especially given the lack of clear evidence that the Omicron variant caused significant deaths. Moore critiques the government's pandemic‑loan write‑offs, the disconnect between policymakers and entrepreneurs, and the resulting threat of a prolonged depression caused by suppressed production and high tax burdens. He repeatedly calls viewers to share the video, comment with their own small‑business details, and join a grassroots campaign to lower taxes, restore subsidies, and support small businesses as the engine of the economy.
Chapters
So according to an MP, the impact of lockdowns and restrictions have been worth it, and this, um, surprised me greatly, to say the least. I would love your thoughts on this. Now, I guess most parties and politicians governing our countries must agree, otherwise they wouldn't have locked us down and imposed these restrictions. But, um, the First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has just come out on record saying that she believes that the restrictions imposed have been worth it. I'm going to read what she says, but first things first, how can you even say that? Because how do you even know? Because surely until we see the full ramifications of these lockdowns and restrictions, and this could take 10 years or more to play out, how can anyone even say that it's been worth it? How can they? Now, some of you are from Scotland, so let me know what you think about what's going on in Scotland. Hey, Lee in Edinburgh. But, um, what about all the loss of business to the pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants, the travel, the hotel, etc., the leisure, the retail industry? That could hit those industries for years to come. What about all the businesses that are likely to go bust, or most of their year profits that they usually make in the Christmas and festive period that were taken away from them because of these restrictions? What about, um, the cost and the consequence of all of these? What about the massive increase in taxation that's coming? VAT is still 20%, Corp Tax has gone up a third, Dividend Tax is going up, Income Tax is 45%, National Insurance went up 12.5% for employer and employee. Cost of living is going absolutely crazy. What about the consequences and costs of all of these? Now, I know it's easy to say with hindsight, but it does seem to be the case that the variant was really a strong cold. Um, I've asked my communities and all of you that watch my videos to tell me, um, about all the people you know and if you have had the variant Omicron and the impact of that. No one knows anyone that's died. The, um, the, the World Health Organization came out and said lots of people are still dying of it, the leaders must not relax, they must take this seriously. Yet no one can show any data or evidence of anyone dying of, of the variant, not with the variant. Um, so actually, you know, it's easy to look back, I know, but actually it does seem to be the case that We were semi-locked down, restricted, imposed, liberties and freedoms and trade taken away from us with virtually no subsidy support. For what? For what? So how can someone come out in power and say that the restrictions have been worth it unless we wait 10 years to find out if it really has been worth it? How can they say that? They can't say that. And I do, you know, I'm not a doom monger, but I have been sharing a lot that I fear for businesses. Now, by the way, it's easy for someone in government whose pay, their wages, are paid by the private sector. Entrepreneurs and business owners, small, medium, and large business owners, pay the wages of the politicians. So of course that's easy to say, but have they ever run a business? Because Nigel Farage didn't think any of them have really run a proper small business. So this is what's gone down. Nicola Sturgeon has said that the restrictions on business and hospitality have been worth it. Don't agree. Sorry, how can forcing loads of businesses to close or lose money or go bust or have to make large redundancies. How can they be worth it if they can't prove that the variant is actually killing anyone? How can that be said? Um, Ms. Sturgeon said she understood that the measures had a very adverse effect, but does she really though? Because there's words and then there's actions. Um, that's not me saying I don't understand and agree that those measures had a very adverse effect on business. Um, hospitality throughout the pandemic has been one of the worst-hit sectors. But it's not a case of having protective measures, um, and businesses are damaged, or having no proactive measures and everything is fine. True, we understand that. It's the difference between having protective measures that stem transmission or allowing transmission to go completely uncontrolled. But it doesn't have to go completely uncontrolled. Just allow businesses to trade, allow businesses to open. And don't make these restrictions which you make out don't restrict trade but clearly and obviously do restrict trade. Okay, so let me know what you think in the comments, by the way. So, um, Sturgeon says, I don't underplay the impact of any of these measures on businesses and the nighttime industry, but checking COVID certification is a better alternative to being closed. But they're not the only two alternatives. Now I do really feel that business is going to struggle out of this. The small business who employs most of the private sector, who creates 90% of the economy, who pays the politicians' wages, who, you know, keeps fair market and free competition, which keeps our prices down. And our prices aren't down, they're way up at the moment because business is being restricted and Production is being restricted. And now what's happening is there's this wave of, 'I want to work from home,' 'I want work-life balance,' 'Oh, you know, I've got to think of my mental health.' Well, one of my friends, she had 2 people apply for a job in a day that said, 'I want to work from home and I just want to have work-life balance,' which basically said, 'I've lost the desire to properly work.' Now here's the problem. I get people have been affected, I get people have I get people have died. I wonder how many compared to flu. I'd love to see those numbers. I wonder how many people over the next 10 years may die of suicide and mental health issues and having to shut their businesses and being unemployed. I'd love to see those. I'd love to see proper modelling from both sides. But now what's happened is it's created this culture that doesn't really want to work. And what's the only way we're going to get out of a pending economic downturn? Production. This is the thing they don't understand. We have to produce, we have to create. The supply chain needs to get going again and fired up. We need to increase the production of products and services so we don't have a scarcity of supply, so we don't have an increase of prices. But inflation is really high, interest rates are really low, prices are really high, production and supply is really low, and all of these things and the inability to trade and the increase in taxes. Do people not freaking understand this? All these things create a perfect storm of a depression, and no one's talking about it in government, the next 10-year depression, because they don't care because they won't be in power then. But they do need to care, because if we go into a crash and a recession, there's going to be even more blood on the streets. So let me know what you think in the comments. Please also share this video because not enough people are talking about it, and it's difficult, I know, because if you speak up and you stand out, you get canceled and you get deplatformed. Look, I'm not in government. What can I do other than rant on social media and hope to help you and inspire a few people and get some shares and get the message out? That's really what I can do. But I can tell you this: VAT needs to come down. Income tax needs to come down. Corporation tax needs to come down. Dividend tax does not need to go up. Taxes need to be delayed. Subsidies and loans and grants need to be created again. And the money needs to stop being wasted. It was something like— let me find this, right? Check this out. I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. Um, wow. So, government set to write off estimated £31 billion of pandemic loans. So the government have had to write off £31 billion of loans because they haven't managed it properly. I'll actually do a video on that later because I'll do my proper research, but if they're writing off £31 billion of loans, that means that something's gone wrong there. So who's going to pay for that? I've had the biggest tax bill of my life. I've probably paid in the last 3 to 4 months pretty much 7 figures in tax. I haven't got the exact amount, but I'm paying my fair share, and I'm going to be paying my fair share for years to come. And if it gets to the point where we're back up to 75-80% tax again, what's the point? So apparently back in the '70s, taxation was 83% according to Nigel Farage. Well, I've worked out, roughly speaking, give or take, in what I, um, sell and earn and then what I spend, I'm paying about 70 pence in the pound in tax. How do you like the thought— by the way, you're not far off— so how do you like the thought of working 7 out of 10 hours for the government? How do you like the thought of that? Let me know what you think about that. Would you like to work 7 out of 10 hours for the government? Would you like to pay 70 pence in the pound or 70 cents in the dollar in tax? Now a lot of people say, oh, well, it's good to pay tax, Rob. The amount of people that have said to me, oh, Rob, you should be really happy with your biggest tax bill ever, it means you've earned loads of money. Here's the thing, where's our tax going? Uh, writing off of £31 billion of pandemic loans. Our tax is going into paying more tax. Oh, but the politicians were having a pay rise through all this and getting, um, MBEs and OBEs and knighthoods for their services. The scientists Honestly, all seems wrong to me. Don't know what you think. Let me know in the comments. Hit the share button. So look, I've got to kind of make sure I always have a positive outcome on this because, you know, I do need to have a little bit of a rant, but I'm a, a realistic optimist. So look, if you share this video, then we can hopefully create more traction around, um, you know, social media. Because let's be honest, If we all signed something and went to the government, is that signed piece of paper, that petition that we'd create, is that going to do anything? No. If you write to your MP, is that going to do anything? No. I can tell you that for a fact because I wrote to my MP. You know, I was saying there's no point getting signatures, there's no point writing to your MP, and then people were saying to me, yeah, there is, Rob, there is, Rob. So I did, and I got a letter back saying, well, you know, you don't have to. And there's not really any restrictions because you just have to have a lateral flow test and wear a mask and salute. It's just a complete, like, um, abdication of responsibility. And there's all this sleight of language, this PR spin, like died of or died with. Oh, they died with COVID Died with COVID doesn't mean anything. Doesn't mean anything at all. Nothing. It's spin. So all this spin, oh no, no, there's no lockdown— there might as well be. So anyway, I want to support small businesses. It's the small business that fires up the economy. It's the engine in the car. It's the fuel in the engine in the car. So here's what we need to do. Number 1, hit share. I'm getting lots of people agreeing here. Number 2 is, if you have a small business, please share your small business in the comments. What do you do? How do you help us? Send us a link to your website, but basically pitch yourself in my social media videos, because if I can gain you a client, or if we can use my social media channel and reach for you to win some business, that's some good that's being done in the world. And then next, tag in a small business owner. Do you know a hairdresser, a restaurateur, a hotelier? Do you know someone in retail, leisure, trade, events, etc., that's struggling? Or do you have any friends who are small business owners? Tag them in. Let's support each other because I don't know that the government are going to help us. And at times I've thought, you know what, furlough, that was pretty useful. The, you know, the pandemic loans, they were pretty useful, all of that. But looking back, I mean, they spent billions on an app that didn't work. Now they're writing off £31 billion of loans. Of course, now the MP, all this scandal about the Prime Minister and, you know, these issues that are going on, apparently the lies and the bribery and You know, the racism and the stereotyping and all sorts of stuff going on. It's just a mess. Now I know it's not easy, and were I running the government, could I do any better? It's a poisoned chalice whichever way you look at it, so I do completely understand that. But I'm just so shocked at the disdain for the small business, for the economy. They talk about trying to protect the economy, but they have no idea To make an economy thrive, you need production. Fundamentally, to make an economy work, you need production. Things need to be made and produced that we can consume— food, you know, health, well-being, welfare, entertainment, travel, etc. The fundamental is production. And if production is restricted because taxation is too high, therefore there's no incentive to produce, Or supply chains are killed, therefore there's no ability to produce. Or there becomes this, 'Oh, I don't want to work, I don't want to do anything, I want to work from home but not work,' or we have a work-shy mentality. Then no production, no economy. And so they're restricting us and mandating us and locking us down, which is dramatically reducing production. Then they're dramatically increasing cost of production Cost of money, inflation is huge right now. So every which way you can't produce. So again, punished every which way. Cost of living going through the roof, taxes going through the roof, the inability to trade and produce going through the roof, the rules and regulations and the impingements on our freedom going through the roof, the fear and scaremongering in the media going through the roof. What are we expected to do? All right, so let me know what you think in the comments. Hit the share button. Quick summary, um, Nicola Sturgeon, who is First Minister in Scotland, said that the restrictions on business and hospitality have been worth it. I would like to see some proof on how it's been worth it. Where's the modeling of the consequences of the restrictions? Where's the implication? Projections over the next 10 years. How can massive inflation and reduction in the value of our money be worth it? How can massive increase in taxation be worth it? How can the inability to trade and do business and work and earn be worth it? For what everybody— I can't speak for the world, I can't, I'm not a scientist, but there's no one in my comments, because I've gone in and read them all, not that I've seen in thousands of comments that said they know someone who's died of Omicron. Everyone— do you know anyone? Put it in the comments. Do you know anyone who's passed away, not with, but of Omicron? Because if loads of people have, then I have to, you know, um, tip my hat and say well done for being a strong leader. But there's no proof, and no one I know has known anyone that that's happened to. Now, when you have a cold, you just go crack on with life. When you have flu, you just crack on, or you take a couple of days off work. You don't isolate for 10 10 days, and you don't stop all production and work. Work goes on, production goes on. Production has to go on. This is my big fear: production standstill, massive increase of prices due to lack of supply. Anyway, I won't read you it all because to me it's just like, oh, um, waffle really, to be honest. Um, yeah, let me know what you think in the comments. Hit the share button. Also, let me know what your business is in the comments. I want to help you get clients. I want to do something about it. I'm doing something about it. I'm campaigning to reduce the taxes. So why is VAT still 20%? In the recession of 2008, VAT went down. It went down to 15%. Did it go down lower? Why haven't they reduced VAT so we can increase the spending, therefore we can increase the production? It's like they think taxing us more is going to generate more revenue, but it's not. Have they not seen that tax bell curve? The more tax they charge us, the less revenue they generate. The way they generate more revenue is increased production, more products and services, and larger GDP and more economy. That's how they create more revenue. But instead, it's, why hasn't VAT been reduced? Why has corp tax gone up by a third? If corporations and small businesses generate 90% of the economy, why are they penalizing corporations? Now, by the way, entrepreneurs take risks, and small business owners, they don't have a wage, they don't have predictable income, they take big risk. What's the point in doing it if you're getting taxed 70 pence on the pound, or every day you wake up, you know, you can't trade anymore? There's no point in taking the risk. You might as well shut up shop and go and get a standard job. Now if 10 or 20% of businesses do that, the economy's gonna die and we're gonna go into the Dark Ages and a depression again. This is basic shit. Hit the share button, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Let's support small businesses, let's campaign to get taxes down, increase production, create a more Work ethic. So look, this is— I'm not going to always be popular saying this, but it's not about being popular. But so many people now ask about work-life balance, and I just want to work from home, and I will want to do a 4-day week, and I will want more bank holidays. If the economy is thriving, that's cool. I'm all up for, you know, good mental well-being and good health and longevity. I'm all up for that. I have to try and do that myself as an entrepreneur. So if the economy is thriving 'Let's try a 4-day work week for a bit as a test.' 'Let's, you know, have a bit more work-life balance.' All good. But if the economy is dying and production is dying, that's the last thing we should do. We need to get to work and produce more and create more. If a fire is burning out, you don't sit there and go, 'Well, let's just look at that fire and chill and be happy looking at that fire.' You blow on it, you dig more coal, and you put more coal in the engine. Why does no one get this? Right, yeah, I'm probably wasting my breath asking for taxes to be reduced, but I'm not going to shut up about this. I'm going to keep talking about get the VAT down, get corp tax down, get income tax down, don't put dividend tax up. Control the taxes. There's a tax bell curve. I'm sure that the The government, the ministers, the MPs, they must know the tax bell curve. You get to a point where you charge too much tax, your revenue goes down. It's simple economics. Because why do I want— why do you want to work for 70% in the pound, 70 pence in the pound, 70 cents in the dollar to the government? Do you want to do that? No, no one does. Now, would you pay your taxes happily and gratefully in what you earn and what you sell and what you spend if it was fair, i.e., if it was 30% or 40%, and if the government invested it well. Of course you would. If your streets were nice, you know, businesses were able to run, if the NHS was in good order, etc., I would happily pay 40% of more all of my income if that were the case. But I'm telling you, my city is in disrepair. Unemployment's quite high. There's more people living on the streets. Something's going wrong in our city. So where's all the money going? This roadworks all the fucking time. The massive wait in the NHS that's been over the last few years. Yet they're just taking more and more money off of us. And then there's these people who moan about the billionaires. It's the billionaires that do all the production and the creation. Fucking hell! I'm gonna go insane! Save me! All right, hit the share button. Let me know what you think in the comments. Tag in a small business. Let's support each other. And whatever business you run, let me know in the comments. Put a link, pitch yourself. Let's help each other. Let's buy from each other. Um, and let's keep championing for the small business. Protect the small business. Support the small business. Save the small business. If we shout loud enough, the government might wake up and listen to us. I talked to Nigel Farage. He reckoned that most people in government, they've never run a small business. They don't know what being an entrepreneur is. They look down on entrepreneurs. There's this snobbery around entrepreneurship. Here's the irony: it's entrepreneurs that create the products and services that generate the revenue that pay the politicians. So the politicians are consumers of what the entrepreneurs create, yet they're not helping the entrepreneurs. What's the fucking world coming to? And on that note, I'm getting out of here. Please hit the share button. Let's get this message out there. Really, um, appreciate you all. Thanks for tuning in. And remember, if you don't risk anything, you risk everything.
