The Covid19 seems to be on the decline here in UK, though we should still be very cautious on how we conduct ourselves in public. However, I think we should be shifting our main focus on the aftermath. We are facing massive unemployment and that of course, will hit the ordinary people hard. The list of companies planning to pay off workers grows by the day. Yes, we will get the usual rhetoric from our bungling political ballerinas about how they will put in place schemes to help get the unemployed back to work. This usually translates into giving big business millions of tax payers money to employ some more people. The money will be taken up, but the jobs will be minimal.
With the downturn in employment there is a downturn in tax revenue to the state apparatus, this added to the monumental debt that the government has run up, will mean a savage cut in government spending. You all know what that means for the ordinary people of this country. A freeze of public sector workers pay, possible cuts, or having to do more work for the same pay, as the government cuts staff levels. more zero hours contracts, decimating working conditions, there's a queue waiting to take your job, drastic cuts to all social services, closure of public facilities, libraries, swimming pools, etc. and of course more privatisation as the state farms out more services to the private sector and sells of public assets to its corporate buddies, to help raise cash. Under our economic system there will be no quick fix, we the ordinary people will have to grin and bear it for some considerable time to come.
I'm a very rich banker, trust me!!
Or of course, we can start to organise our communities around mutual aid, that grows independence and solidarity across our communities and at the same time frees us from the dependency of the profit making market place of capitalism. There are a multitude of ideas from swap shops, clothes, books, toys, etc. to skill sharing schemes. I'm sure our imagination and skills can come up with a catalogue of ways we can enhance our lives and at the same time, short circuit and undermine, the corporate beasts that would rather you starved than they run without a profit.
There is a storm coming, we can prepare to defend ourselves, or we can appeal to our rich and wealthy lords and masters, to please help us and give us a wee handout.
