People earning more than I do are rich

From The Daily Mail:

People earning £70,000 a year (1) are ‘rich’ and should pay more tax, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said today.

Mr McDonnell added: ‘The rich will be above £70,000 to £80,000 a year and that’s roughly defined as what people feel is an earning whereby people feel they can pay more.’(3)

1) An MP’s basic salary is £74,000. Coincidence. Admittedly John McDonnell is currently being paid more than that for acting as Shadow Chancellor, but he knows it won’t last.

2) Only a few per cent of people are paid more than £70,000 a year.

3) Nope. The real difference is whether people have to pay rent or not, that is the largest single cause of inequality in this country. A home-owner with no mortgage on £45,000 has the same disposable income (after PAYE and privately collected tax i.e. rent) as a tenant on £70,000. Hence and why it would advance the cause of equality much more if taxes on residential land were increased and taxes on wages and output reduced.