For the first time ever I am seriously considering just spoiling my voting paper. Since I live in a part of the world that has been Tory forever anyway, and I can’t stand Starmer, there hardly seems any point in exercising my ‘democratic’ right to vote (such as it is). It’s all very depressing.
But, AAV, don't you know, Labour will make the economy GROW and everyone will be rich and happy forever, Amen! Clear and plain promises to the rich (no tax increases) are not nearly as good as vague promises to everyone else (we'll grow the economy), can't you see that? They're the Labour Party, you can trust them to look after working people by growing the economy and by not rescinding Tory anti-strike legislation so workers won't lose wages striking ever again. And everyone will be happy because all those protesters preaching bad news will be in jail thanks to Tory anti-democracy legislation. And maybe they'll get you into another war, so that will employ (not to mention kill) a lot of people (and make profits for the arms manufacturers). Look on the bright side. Oh, and keep up the good work.
Everyone should organise using Tails OS and Off the record messaging and XMPP/"Jabber" spread to as many people as possible needs 8GB+ USB to put it on:
This isn't that surprising. Labour has been drifting rightwards since Corbyn was ejected. Presumably they are just going to rely on the public hating the Conservative party for the Covid response, Johnson, Truss and the pitiful state of services and the NHS, rather than any love for Labour. The Conservatives are always self-defeating and by the end of 15 years of running everything into the ground more pain is always a hard sell. Labour seems frightened to make any sort of offer to the public in case they think it's pie in the sky so their tactic seems to be we're going to do virtually nothing in order to make the public think that will solve all the problems. Somehow we afforded £0.4 trillion on Covid and £0.9 trillion on QE but we can't understand if that means there is no money now or if we could spend a few £trillions on something else. Maybe Labour is going to lie to the electorate, say we'll do nothing and then bring in a massive house building program or nationalise vital sectors or a real levelling program although this seems unlikely. I don't know it seems the Liberal Democrats are going to get a shot in the arm or Conservative voters might stay at home in a way that sunk Labour in 2019 or a coalition or even another Conservative govt. Wonderful chess player though.
The Trade Unions are an absolute disgrace. Openly and actively funding a political party that is acting in direct opposition to its members and working people. Pathetic, weak, compliant union leaders who have hitched themselves to Starmers Labour, the same Party that won’t rescind the right wing anti trade union and protest legislation. You couldn’t make it up.
Stop watching TV. We need to raise collective consciousness. Wake up!
Learn MMT economics and spread it to as many people as possible. Spread Job Guarantee idea end all poverty in the UK. We must do ANYTHING POSSIBLE to get Job Guarantee implemented:
1) Raising interest rates actually increases inflation. It's supposed to encourage people to save and discourage people take out loans. Loans go down deposits up. If loans go down deposits go down same amount. Cost of credit incorparated in all goods and services - higher the interest rate higher price. Keep rates at 0% permenantly.
2) The money multiplier theory taught to students is false so mechanism QE results in inflation does not happen. "The reality of how money is created today differs from the description found in some economics textbooks:" in other words economics students are lied to. Basically relationship between reserves and loans and deposits and loans function reverse way and rtaher than central banks choose quantity of reserves they set price of reserves - interest rates:
If you are working part-time elsewhere, then you can ask for a top-up position from the Job Guarantee. The private sector need only offer slightly more than JG wage to attract workers from the guarantee. Some examples of JG Jobs: computer programming, social care, looking after a child (replaces child benefit and child tax credit), environmental work (e.g. soil erosion, weatherisation of homes, composting, tree planting, park maintenance and renewal, fire and other disaster prevention measures, community and rooftop gardens, removal of invasive species, species monitoring, flood control and support of local fisheries), shadowing librarians and hospice workers, teacher’s aides, musicians, artists, community handyman, construction contacts on a shelf (e.g. side of a motorway), tour guides (open top bus tours), beekeeping, sports development assistant, food waste programs, oral history projects, construction of playgrounds, restoration of historical sites, organise nutrition surveys in schools, organise health awareness programs for young mothers and recycling, reuse, and water-collection initiatives. Also can start your own business - bring your business plan to the Job Centre and present it to them. If they like the sound of it, then you could join the Enterprise Allowance Scheme. It provides three years of Job Guarantee support while you get started. Abolish tax credits subsidy to business. Normal businesses can be allowed to go bust, not pay redundancy, etc because the JG will catch people who lose their jobs during a retrenchment and that disciplines the spending and wage channels since there need be no bailouts or the 'special industries.’ Immigration restrictions might be necessary to implement the Job Guarantee – Keir already supports end to freedom of movement. Introducing JG in the UK should encourage other nations to leave the EU and implement own Job Guarantee which will pressure the EU into a Europe-wide Job Guarantee as part of the Single Market.
Reeves is economically illiterate. You can't build an economy based on tory austerity measures. She should read Richard Murphy's 'The Courageous State' on how gov't should be investing in the infrastructure and public services for future generations, which in the long run is far more cost effective .
I’m tired of the fight, tomorrow is my last birthday in my own of many. But you you keep fighting , you and sqaarkbox, and kernow damo are a couple of people who id trust over the rest of the sell out country that bought their own demise. Take care
So a lot of your faithful readers, me included, have worked this out for ourselves. What are we supposed to do about it? with no party worth voting for and nobody willing to even try to organise a bit of meaningful opposition, just not voting or spoiling the ballot paper will not achieve anything. If anyone posting on here can suggest a viable and legal way off ousting the incumbent autocracy I would certainly be giving my support. As I have mentioned before were I not in my seventies and living in exile I would be taking to the streets as I did in the sixties.
Agree with all you say Mr AAV, which begs the question: who do I now vote for?
I have been exposed to various anarchist thinkers over the years and while I can see spoiling a ballot paper has symbolic value I would rather use my vote, no matter how paltry the outcome.
I live in a safe Tory seat area so unless Labour and the LDs do some horse tradings nothing will change and the implication of your thinking is that nothing will change anyway.
What to do or indeed WTF? i don't like Labour's (current) attitude to the environment on top of everything else they are (currently) espousing so it's going to have to be the LD's. I would vote Green but sadly i don't think they have a chance.
Labour and the US Dems are the “nothing will fundamentally change” parties as Biden promised the oligarchs when he ran in 2020 and Starmer et al are doing now..
For the first time ever I am seriously considering just spoiling my voting paper. Since I live in a part of the world that has been Tory forever anyway, and I can’t stand Starmer, there hardly seems any point in exercising my ‘democratic’ right to vote (such as it is). It’s all very depressing.
Hopefully the Lib Dems or Greens come out with policies that actually represent the British people, not just the British Elites.
But, AAV, don't you know, Labour will make the economy GROW and everyone will be rich and happy forever, Amen! Clear and plain promises to the rich (no tax increases) are not nearly as good as vague promises to everyone else (we'll grow the economy), can't you see that? They're the Labour Party, you can trust them to look after working people by growing the economy and by not rescinding Tory anti-strike legislation so workers won't lose wages striking ever again. And everyone will be happy because all those protesters preaching bad news will be in jail thanks to Tory anti-democracy legislation. And maybe they'll get you into another war, so that will employ (not to mention kill) a lot of people (and make profits for the arms manufacturers). Look on the bright side. Oh, and keep up the good work.
Everyone should organise using Tails OS and Off the record messaging and XMPP/"Jabber" spread to as many people as possible needs 8GB+ USB to put it on:
https://tails.net/install/index.en.html
Persistent storage enable:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSJSXTkJ50&list=PLOZKbRUo9H_qXgyGp5UVYCoGQYo9YB5E8&index=3
Chat on Tails OTR XMPP (bit old):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsSssbs-Sso
This isn't that surprising. Labour has been drifting rightwards since Corbyn was ejected. Presumably they are just going to rely on the public hating the Conservative party for the Covid response, Johnson, Truss and the pitiful state of services and the NHS, rather than any love for Labour. The Conservatives are always self-defeating and by the end of 15 years of running everything into the ground more pain is always a hard sell. Labour seems frightened to make any sort of offer to the public in case they think it's pie in the sky so their tactic seems to be we're going to do virtually nothing in order to make the public think that will solve all the problems. Somehow we afforded £0.4 trillion on Covid and £0.9 trillion on QE but we can't understand if that means there is no money now or if we could spend a few £trillions on something else. Maybe Labour is going to lie to the electorate, say we'll do nothing and then bring in a massive house building program or nationalise vital sectors or a real levelling program although this seems unlikely. I don't know it seems the Liberal Democrats are going to get a shot in the arm or Conservative voters might stay at home in a way that sunk Labour in 2019 or a coalition or even another Conservative govt. Wonderful chess player though.
The Trade Unions are an absolute disgrace. Openly and actively funding a political party that is acting in direct opposition to its members and working people. Pathetic, weak, compliant union leaders who have hitched themselves to Starmers Labour, the same Party that won’t rescind the right wing anti trade union and protest legislation. You couldn’t make it up.
Stop watching TV. We need to raise collective consciousness. Wake up!
Learn MMT economics and spread it to as many people as possible. Spread Job Guarantee idea end all poverty in the UK. We must do ANYTHING POSSIBLE to get Job Guarantee implemented:
1) Raising interest rates actually increases inflation. It's supposed to encourage people to save and discourage people take out loans. Loans go down deposits up. If loans go down deposits go down same amount. Cost of credit incorparated in all goods and services - higher the interest rate higher price. Keep rates at 0% permenantly.
https://new-wayland.com/blog/interest-price-spiral/
2) The money multiplier theory taught to students is false so mechanism QE results in inflation does not happen. "The reality of how money is created today differs from the description found in some economics textbooks:" in other words economics students are lied to. Basically relationship between reserves and loans and deposits and loans function reverse way and rtaher than central banks choose quantity of reserves they set price of reserves - interest rates:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/2014/money-creation-in-the-modern-economy
Even Simon-Wren-Lewis agrees:
https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2016/03/mmt-not-so-modern.html?showComment=1458476695549#c6315301334150399714
"Forget the money multiplier. No serious economist believes in it, and why it is still in the textbooks I do not know."
QE the entire dept.
3) How governemnt spending actually works read this comment:
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2023/04/20/government-spend-precedes-tax-in-the-real-world-but-not-for-the-reasons-some-supporters-of-modern-monetary-theory-suggest/#comment-929480
4 ) Under the current system, 5% of population kept unemployed to control inflation under the NAIRU: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAIRU
We can use employed buffer stock instead more private sector employment for same level of inflation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAIBER
Basic explanation of what the Job Guarantee is:
https://new-wayland.com/blog/the-job-guarantee-more-money-less-tax/
If you are working part-time elsewhere, then you can ask for a top-up position from the Job Guarantee. The private sector need only offer slightly more than JG wage to attract workers from the guarantee. Some examples of JG Jobs: computer programming, social care, looking after a child (replaces child benefit and child tax credit), environmental work (e.g. soil erosion, weatherisation of homes, composting, tree planting, park maintenance and renewal, fire and other disaster prevention measures, community and rooftop gardens, removal of invasive species, species monitoring, flood control and support of local fisheries), shadowing librarians and hospice workers, teacher’s aides, musicians, artists, community handyman, construction contacts on a shelf (e.g. side of a motorway), tour guides (open top bus tours), beekeeping, sports development assistant, food waste programs, oral history projects, construction of playgrounds, restoration of historical sites, organise nutrition surveys in schools, organise health awareness programs for young mothers and recycling, reuse, and water-collection initiatives. Also can start your own business - bring your business plan to the Job Centre and present it to them. If they like the sound of it, then you could join the Enterprise Allowance Scheme. It provides three years of Job Guarantee support while you get started. Abolish tax credits subsidy to business. Normal businesses can be allowed to go bust, not pay redundancy, etc because the JG will catch people who lose their jobs during a retrenchment and that disciplines the spending and wage channels since there need be no bailouts or the 'special industries.’ Immigration restrictions might be necessary to implement the Job Guarantee – Keir already supports end to freedom of movement. Introducing JG in the UK should encourage other nations to leave the EU and implement own Job Guarantee which will pressure the EU into a Europe-wide Job Guarantee as part of the Single Market.
I think I spotted the problem in the very first sentence: Labour’s Shadow Chancellor talking exclusively to the Torygraph!
Reeves is economically illiterate. You can't build an economy based on tory austerity measures. She should read Richard Murphy's 'The Courageous State' on how gov't should be investing in the infrastructure and public services for future generations, which in the long run is far more cost effective .
I support AAV’s distaste for Paywalls.
I’m tired of the fight, tomorrow is my last birthday in my own of many. But you you keep fighting , you and sqaarkbox, and kernow damo are a couple of people who id trust over the rest of the sell out country that bought their own demise. Take care
I'm not surprised. She's my MP. I am, however, bloody furious, as are my Unite Community colleagues in Leeds.
I’ll be drawing a cock and balls on my ballot as I will only have a “choice” of right wing parties. They can all FRO.
So a lot of your faithful readers, me included, have worked this out for ourselves. What are we supposed to do about it? with no party worth voting for and nobody willing to even try to organise a bit of meaningful opposition, just not voting or spoiling the ballot paper will not achieve anything. If anyone posting on here can suggest a viable and legal way off ousting the incumbent autocracy I would certainly be giving my support. As I have mentioned before were I not in my seventies and living in exile I would be taking to the streets as I did in the sixties.
Agree with all you say Mr AAV, which begs the question: who do I now vote for?
I have been exposed to various anarchist thinkers over the years and while I can see spoiling a ballot paper has symbolic value I would rather use my vote, no matter how paltry the outcome.
I live in a safe Tory seat area so unless Labour and the LDs do some horse tradings nothing will change and the implication of your thinking is that nothing will change anyway.
What to do or indeed WTF? i don't like Labour's (current) attitude to the environment on top of everything else they are (currently) espousing so it's going to have to be the LD's. I would vote Green but sadly i don't think they have a chance.
Labour and the US Dems are the “nothing will fundamentally change” parties as Biden promised the oligarchs when he ran in 2020 and Starmer et al are doing now..
Unfortunately so are the right wing parties.