Economics.

            The cross party of MP's report on the government's, handling of the pandemic as, one of the UK's worst ever public health failures, should not be put down to bungling incompetence alone. Certainly the bumbling Boris brigade have shown remarkable features of gross ignorance and fumbling stupidity, but let's not forget that these people are shareholders in various business and have family and friends up to their necks in shareholding and share bonuses. So, like I and other's have been saying since the start of the pandemic, the decisions at the start of the health crisis was always the economy. Lock-down could mean the loss of profits and their treasured share bonuses, so would have to be avoided at all cost. Unfortunately for us lesser mortals this meant thousands of unnecessary deaths among our friends neighbours and family. To their way of thinking that is better than businesses having to close down and profits to shrink.

Fit to lead WHAT?

 

            All through this covid19 pandemic, the economy has always taken priority over the health and well being of the people, decisions were always tinged with political dogma rather than sound scientific logic. Even when it came to lock down, billions of pounds were thrown to the corporate beast of their business friends, billions that you and I will have to pay back to the loan sharks of the financial Mafia. We will be asked to pay it back in increased taxes, prices, closing of public amenities, and of course selling of public assets to the corporate world, with the health service high on their list. This mountain of debt that will placed on our backs was not the furlough scheme, that was only peanuts to what went to the rich corporations and big businesses. Even yet large corporations that have made billions over the years are now bleating about increased energy prices and want the government to hand them more tax payers money to shore up their profit margins for the shareholders. I always thought that capitalism was you set up your business and exploit the public for profit, but when you don't make a profit you go bust. Too big to fail, well take it over to public ownership. What about small businesses, if Joe's Burger shop is losing money does he get a hand out of tax payers money to keep him in business? Strange sort of capitalism. Why don't we all agree, the capitalist system doesn't work, and simply bring it down. Whether it is Bumbling Boris and his merry band of profiteers, or Starmer, Knight of the Realm, that sits on the throne, the outcome is always the same, they do very well and we get shafted.

 

 Where do you think Keir's loyalties lie?

 

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The Illusion.

 

 

     What a strange phase capitalism is going through, always the call for less state interference in the market, let the corporate bosses rule and everything will be alright. Now in one of the biggest crisis to hit capitalism, this pandemic, and the hands of the corporate beast are stretching out for the state to bail them out and save the shareholders from losses. Across the developed world countless trillions are being thrown at big business to prop them up, and a pittance being sprinkled among the ordinary people. Another alien thought to the capitalist mind that is being floated, the state could buy up shares in failing businesses to get them on their feet again, then when they start to make a profit, sell them back to the shareholders. Everything must be done to save the shareholders and financial institutions from losing too much of their ill gotten loot.

 

     All this is floated as trying to save jobs to help you and me. They know we are just desperate to get back to miserable wage slavery to ensure our bosses can live in the luxury to which they have been accustomed. Perhaps we could keep all these jobs going not by the state buying into failing businesses with tax payers money, but us the ordinary people simply taking over all the business and running the ones we deem necessary as non-profit entities on a co-operative basis. That way we wouldn't need to bother about the parasitical shareholders and their lavish life styles. They could eat their luxury yachts. 

    We will be hit time and time again, us, the poor, the struggling, the ordinary citizen, with demands to use taxpayers money to bail out the rich and powerful as long as we tolerate this insane system of capitalism. History tells us that it lurches from crisis to crisis, each one worse that the previous, and the answer is always the same, we tighten our belts so that the rich and powerful can hold on to their wealth and power. "When will we ever learn"

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Spectacle Amidst Austerity.

      The Thessaloniki Annual Trade Fair has come around, this is when the Athens puppets of the Troika put on a show in another city. Teacher Dude gives an excellent review of the coming event.

      In years gone by the political leadership would take the chance to make lavish promises and announce grand public works in the city. Indeed this approach proved so popular that five PMs in a row announced that, unlike their tardy predecessors, they would ensure that Thessaloniki's promised subway would start the following year.
      Despite the fact that the country has yet to reach budget targets and is faced with the prospect of requesting yet more bail out cash, government officials and their friends in the media have once again started making promises that public works project, long stalled for lack of cash will resume, a minimum guaranteed income will be introduced and the country will be flowing with milk and honey before the month is out.
     On the other the list of those unhappy with New Democracy and PASOK's austerity measures continues to grow and after five years of economic contraction, broken promises and despite claims that the worst is over few believe that Athens is in a position to say no to its creditors demands for yet more cuts.
      So the stage is set for a potentially violent showdown on Saturday when the prime minister will give a speech surrounded by anything up to 8,000 police and the streets fill with angry Greeks.

Read the full article HERE: 

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A LITTLE MORE ON "DON'T PAY".

     It seems that the Irish people are about to launch their own version of the "Don't Pay" campaign that is spreading across Europe. Though in truth it is more a case of " Can't Pay Won't Pay" as it is the severity of the cuts that is forcing people  to take matters into their own hands. It is important that the people protesting in one country are aware that the same thing is happening in countries all across Europe and to link up and work in unison and solidarity with each other.

    This from KCUR.org:

By NPR People: Philip Reeves

      House prices have crashed. Banks and businesses have failed. Jobs have been axed. People are struggling to make the mortgage. The Republic of Ireland's 4.6 million people have suffered considerably since the financial crisis began four years ago, forcing their government to turn to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for a $90 billion bail-out.

     Yet the Irish have, for the most part, endured the pain and taken the medicine — a mighty dose of tax increases and spending cuts — compliantly enough to earn plaudits for their country in Brussels as the "poster child of austerity".

Is that now about to change?

      This weekend, Ireland's 1.65 million householders were supposed to register to pay a new tax; an annual household charge of 100 Euros. That's about $133. By the time the deadline expired at midnight Saturday, only about half had done so. Hundreds of thousands now face the prospect of penalties and, potentially, prosecution. Is a tax revolt in the making, that could disrupt the government's strategy for getting the economy back on its feet — and make it still harder to implement future austerity measures?

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