Poll Tax Definition and Importance

Community Charge / Poll Tax Definition and Importance The Community Charge (Poll Tax) was a new system of taxation introduced in Scotland in 1989 and England and Wales in 1990 by the then ruling Conservative government. The Community Charge replaced the Rates, a system of tax where a certain amount was charged by the local council depending on the rental value of a house - with a flat rate charge paid by every adult, earning the nickname Poll Tax as a result. The value of the charge was set by the local authority and was intended, as was the Rates, to fund each local council’s provision of the infrastructure and services needed by each community. Reaction to the Poll Tax The tax proved deeply unpopular: while students and the unemployed only had to pay a small percentage, large families using a relatively small house saw their charges go up considerably, and the tax was thus accused of saving the rich money and moving the expenses onto the poor. As the actual cost of the tax varied by council – they could set their own levels – some areas ended up charging a great deal more; councils were also accused of using the new tax to try and obtain more money by charging more; both caused further upset. There was a widespread outcry over the tax and opposition groups formed; some advocated a refusal to pay, and in some areas, large quantities of people didn’t. At one point the situation turned violent: a major march in London in 1990 turned into a riot, with 340 arrested and 45 policemen injured, the worst riots in London for over a century. There were other disturbances elsewhere in the country. Consequences of the Poll Tax Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of the period, had personally identified herself with the Poll Tax and was determined it should remain. She was already far from a popular figure, having exhausted the bounce from the Falklands War, attacked trade unions and other aspects of Britain associated with the labour movement, and pushed on a transformation from a manufacturing society into one of service industry (and, if accusations are true, from community values to cold consumerism). The communitys disdain was directed at her and her government, undermining her position and giving not just other parties a chance to attack her, but her colleagues in her Conservative Party. In late 1990 she was challenged for the leadership of the party (and thus the nation) by Michael Heseltine; although she defeated him, she had not won enough votes to stop a second round and she resigned, fatally undermined by the tax. Her successor, John Major, became Prime Minister, withdrew the Community Charge and replaced it with a system similar to the Rates, once more based on a house’s value. He was able to win the next election. Over twenty-five years later, the Poll Tax is still a source of anger for many people in Britain, taking its place in the bile that makes Margaret Thatcher the most divisive Britain of the twentieth century. It has to be considered a massive mistake.

Gendered Pronouns and the Singular “They” - Proofread My Paper

Gendered Pronouns and the Singular â€Å"They† - Proofread My Paper Gendered Pronouns and the Singular â€Å"They† To refer to a man in the third person, we say â€Å"he.† To refer to a woman, we say â€Å"she.† But if we don’t want to specify the gender of someone in the third person, English comes up short. Our pronouns are increasingly inadequate. This is because there is no singular gender neutral pronoun. In academic writing, this can be problematic, so what should you do if you want to avoid using gendered pronouns in a paper? Why Are Gendered Pronouns a Problem? If we’re discussing a specific person whose gender is known, using â€Å"he† or â€Å"she† isn’t an issue. For example, if writing about Napoleon, it would be reasonable to discuss â€Å"his† funny hat. It is a very silly hat.(Photo: Thomas Quine/flickr) However, in academic writing we often refer to people in the abstract using non-gendered terms like â€Å"someone†. It’s difficult to know which pronouns to use with gender-neutral words like this, since both â€Å"he†/†his† and â€Å"she†/†her† imply a particular gender. Traditionally, academic writing has used â€Å"he† and â€Å"his† far more in these situations (this linguistic bias is even reflected in the U.S. Constitution, which states than â€Å"All men are created equal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). As such, it was common to see phrases like: When someone makes a decision, he weighs up various possibilities. But social changes mean that most people are now uncomfortable with excluding all non-males from academic discourse. So what are the alternatives? â€Å"He or She† One option is alternating between â€Å"he† and â€Å"she† in a document, or you can use â€Å"he or she†: When someone makes a decision, he or she weighs up various possibilities. However, this can make the phrasing of sentences seem awkward. Some style guides, such as APA style, also discourage alternating between â€Å"he† and â€Å"she.† The Impersonal â€Å"One† or â€Å"You† Another possibility is using the impersonal pronoun â€Å"one† in place of gendered pronouns: When one makes a decision, one weighs up various possibilities. This is fairly common in British English, but in the U.S. it sounds pretty old-fashioned, so the second person â€Å"you† is favored instead: When you make a decision, you weigh up various possibilities. But this can sound informal or too conversational, as if you’re addressing the reader directly. Rephrasing the Sentence If none of the above are suitable, it might be a good idea to rephrase the sentence in a way that avoids using a gendered pronoun. For example, we could write: When making a decision, it is necessary to weigh up various possibilities. This is often the best choice as long as it doesn’t lead to sentences becoming too complicated. The Singular â€Å"They† Finally, an increasingly popular option is using the gender-neutral second-person pronoun â€Å"they† to refer to a single person of unknown gender. This avoids gendered language: When someone makes a decision, they weigh up various possibilities. However, some consider this informal or ungrammatical, since it involves using a plural verb (â€Å"weigh†) in combination with a singular subject (â€Å"someone†). The key thing is therefore to check your style guide and pick what works best for you.