The Euro just a week left to be saved.
The economy as we know it is under massive threat, and democracy with it.
And where is the discussion of the alternative economic agenda that has been the subject of so much comment here, and elsewhere, over the last few years?
Is a new economic architecture being considered?
Are the banks to now be c0nstrained?
Will tax havens be shut?
Is transaprency to become the watchword of accountability?
Is collecting tax due to become a key aim of government?
Is unitary taxation of mutinational companies now to happen so that profits are not hidden from view?
No, I've not hear mention of any of things.
In other words, no one is yet taking this crisis seriously. They're simply seeking to perpetuate the failed status quo.
Has it really got to get that much worse before our cowardly politicians accept that this is not an aberration but that the system itself has failed? I hope not. But it's looking like it, and that will be at countless cost to us all.
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I have been having the same thought for more than a while now, but those on the top only want to keep the status quo – no change there then.
I suspect too many politicians have got money hidden in tax havens to want to change anything. The people capable of changing things actually like things just the way they are, thanks, I suspect they’d say. To be fair, I did see a guy on Jeff Randall last night explaining how Japanese debt is different from ours as they effectively owe it to themselves while we owe it to other people but that’s too little education too late. Max Keiser reminds us this fine morning of how well Iceland’s doing after rejecting the bankers yet there’s scant mention of it in the national press. We’re treated like mushrooms in this country. We know how that goes, right?
FT’s Martin Wolf’s latest Exchange blog is all about Iceland’s successful bold stance.
Hello,
I’m involved with Tent City University and the Economics Working Group at Occupy London Stock Exchange. Over the past few weeks we’ve hosted a large number of talks and discussions about the nature of the problems we face and what could be done and there is a widespread recognition that a) the current economic is system has failed and radical changes are required and b) the ultimate problem is as much democratic as economic. Tax havens and tax evasion are recognised as core problems and were one of the main points in last week’s the Corporations Working Group statement, something which will be reiterated in the Economic Working Group’s initial statement which is being debated by the general assembly on Monday evening.
Both of these statements are mostly just highlighting important issues, but there is ongoing more focused working groups meeting to develop proposals surrounding issues of banking reform, the monetary system, financial accountability, austerity, sustainability, inequality, taxation, regulation, housing and economic democracy.
I don’t believe we’ve had an significant discussion of unitary taxation, other that Nicholas Shaxson mentioning when he visited last week. Can you recommend someone who would be good to come and speak about it?
One proposal which there has been a lot of discussion about is Land Value Tax as something which is difficult to evade, potentially redistributive and addresses asset price bubbles. I’m interested to know what you and your readers think about this.
If you’re interested in joining the group mailing lists the details are below. Most of the discussion happens face-to-face at meetings in or around St Paul’s. The next general economics working group meeting is 5pm on Friday downstairs at the St Paul’s Cafe Nero but will be mostly procedural with regard to the sub groups.
http://groups.google.com/group/lsxcampeconomics/subscribe
or
lsxcampeconomics+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Despite what you may hear about the camp in the press (often inaccurate, in the case of the Evening Standard delusional) the church has been incredibly supportive of the aims of Occupy London. There’s a meeting of the St Paul’s Institute on Wednesday next week this is also probably an appropriate forum to try and develop an alternative economic agenda.
Hi
John Christensen will represent TJN at the debate next Wednesday – I am at Occupy Norwich then
I’d be pleased to talk unitary tax
When? Suggest dates – but after 13/12
Best
Richard
The crazy thing is that equity markets are up this week (excluding banks of course)
There is short term profit making at the expense of long term growth, Companies hoard cash earning negative returns (inflation being 5%). Group thinking stops any sensible debate.
There are rumours in some quarters that the Germans will abandon the euro and go back to a German mark.
I’m not sure how much creedence this should be given, but some seem to believe this will eventually happen.
The worry is all the posturing about Iran. China is now saying it would join a war to defend them. A Neoliberal solution to financial crashes is to generally to go to war, and in this instance, it is in the interests of all the major players. We must avoid WW3 at all costs… although mass extinction would solve the climate change dispute and our dependence on peak oil 🙁
War is usually resorted to as it effectively recapitalises the banks by bringing a lot of new money into existence and then getting everyone to give their share of this new money to the banks. It’s expensive so countries borrow at interest from the banks which creates it (instead of creating the money themselves interest-free) and people will accept austerity to pay back these sums (plus great gobs of interest) a lot easier in times of war than in the normal course of events. It’s this damn war, they reason, but it isn’t, it’s recapitalising the banks by starving and killing people. It’s murderously antisocial.
Not a single person should be murdered at war. Have we not learnt anything from Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel has a huge stockpile of Nuclear weapons at the behest of US and Europe. These weapons need also to be dis mantled as well as new ones being built. The world’s poor are hungry and children die each day because of basics being not funded. Stop this and all wars, they destroy life, they destroy wealth. Stop being distracted and focus on Peace and dialogue, the only way, no matter how apart we are in the blame game. Zero tolerance to war.
Persecute the war crimminals at the Hague for their crimes so war is never seen as an easy solution. It is not.