The Sunday Times Rich List
by Raphie de Santos
The publication of the Sunday Times Rich List today was a very striking event. What struck us was how much wealth the richest 1000 people in the UK had. A staggering £335 billion which was just under half our national debt and about the same amount of money that we have given the banking system to bail them out of the crisis.
The second striking fact is their obscene fortunes have increased by £77 billion in 2009 while the majority of us have faced job losses, wage cuts and cuts in public services. This in a year when the economy was in recession for nine months and has only just limped out of it.
The third striking fact is where this wealth comes from. It’s come from us. The vast majority of the rich list run companies or have sold companies that they have owned. And they have made this wealth by giving us even less of the wealth we make for them. This has been a trend that has been happening over the last forty years. In 1976 the bottom 50% of the UK population had 12% of the liquid wealth in the UK. By 2003 this had fallen to 1%. Over the same period the wealthiest 0.01% of the UK population, the rich, have seen their income rise by 500%. No wonder they had to create so much debt otherwise we would not have been able to buy the products we make for the rich companies.
The fourth striking fact about this report is that wealth has gown only because of a more than 50% rise in the stock market in 2009 from lit low point in March of that year. Over the last thirty years the rich have increasingly paid themselves in shares in the companies which they run or sold on the stock market. Ironically around 75% of these shares are bought by us indirectly through our pension and insurance policies.
The dramatic stock market rise would not have happened without the massive bailouts of the banks and the governments’ stimulus programmes that stopped the world economy from going into global depression. Of course the money to do that came from us. Now the governments are asking us to pay for it through cuts in services, pay and jobs.
Taxing the rich would be a good starting point as an alternative. An annual 10% tax on the rich 1000 would fund 2 million apprenticeships a year for example. But dealing with the super rich is just the tip of the iceberg.
The UK is more unequal at any time since records started to be collected on inequality over 50 years ago. Under New Labour the shift from poor to wealthy has continued to increase. In financial year 2007/2008 the Office of National Statistics calculated that the bottom 20% of households brought in on average £4,600 per year in income – before taxes and benefits. The top 20% of households took an equivalent of £72,500 per year. Since the Tories came to power the top rate of tax has been cut from 83% to 40%. Restoring a progressive taxation system would raise an extra £75billion a year.
Corporations are amongst the rich and they have seen there tax rates on profits cut from around 50% to 28%. They also avoid tax by using offshore tax havens which are estimated to loose the UK £130 billion a year in revenues. Increasing their taxes back to 50% and closing down the tax havens would raise another £200 billion pounds year.
UK Banks are the richest of all the corporations yet we have given them £375 billion pounds to bail them out. Taking them under common ownership and control would release immediately £560 bn of what is really our cash and put at our disposal £5 trillion of their assets. The socially useful jobs and projects that could be created in a national Peoples Bank that could result from such an approach would wipe out the public sector deficit, unemployment and social hardship at a stroke.
Yes the rich and wealthy have got richer and wealthier at out expense and the final striking feature of all this is how easy and rational it would be to share the wealth out and create a just and fair society without any suffering that meets all human needs.
Monday, 26 April 2010
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
Millionaires fooled us by control of Head Fixing Industry
I served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and like many of the returning servicemen, I hoped for a socialist future. The Labour Party sensing the mood of the people, put forward a socialist programme to restore the economy. The major industries, transport, energy and all the main branches of the economy were nationalised. The welfare state of the National Health Service was started. Pre-fabs were introduced to ease the housing shortage. Scarce commodities were shared. We had our ration books, clothing coupons, petrol coupons etc. Nobody, but nobody talked about cuts. With control of industry we could plan out our future and provide better prospects for all.
Unfortunately the Labour Party was never a socialist party, as Tony Benn said, though there were many socialists in it. What started so promising deteriorated as private interests were allowed to regain power. The biggest industry of all, “the head fixing industry”- the media – was left in private hands and the millionaire owners ensured their interests were promoted in the sneaky way that has slowly eroded our democracy and impoverished millions.
I hope it won’t take a major global catastrophe before people realise that socialism is the only possible future for all.
Unfortunately the Labour Party was never a socialist party, as Tony Benn said, though there were many socialists in it. What started so promising deteriorated as private interests were allowed to regain power. The biggest industry of all, “the head fixing industry”- the media – was left in private hands and the millionaire owners ensured their interests were promoted in the sneaky way that has slowly eroded our democracy and impoverished millions.
I hope it won’t take a major global catastrophe before people realise that socialism is the only possible future for all.
It was the Son wot Lost it?
Is the Media Mickey Mouse Degree tide turning?
One thing has been made obvious by the welcome knock-back of the “sure winners” the Tories. The media has been exposed. The journalists who have vested interests in pleasing Murdoch daily with even more rancid headlines have been outed.
I know this is the case for one primary reason. In the way miners used to bring birds down the mines to let them know that gas was present, I talk politics to my parents. This can be painful for a Socialist – my parents are Daily Mail/ Sun reading pensioners who worked hard all of their lives. They come from a generation who grumbled about politicians and in fact had no illusions (they live in Northern Ireland) – but every year were fooled by the scare politics of the unionist hegemony in the province. This year, in Northern Ireland is a little different. Unionism is shattering and a beleaguered UUP is being bolstered by a desperate Tory Party.
But it isn’t Northern Ireland politics that my parents have noticed is rotten – they knew that many years ago. No – it is that their usual Daily Mail and Sun line has slightly changed. They still say unreasonable things straight from the pages- but last night, when I spoke to them on the phone, both said to me, more or less in the same words, “the papers told lies about Nick Clegg.”
Let me expose my partisanship – I am a socialist. I want a fair society. I just don’t want you to get the wrong impression… but…
Last night Ann Leslie appeared on BBC Question Time. This experienced old tory hack was also a miners bird (not literally – she did her very best back during the Thatcher years to destroy that industry and those peoples lives). Leslie started her usual less than subtle Tory diatribes with the sentence, “As someone who votes tory, but is not a member of the tory party – I don’t hold with journalists belonging to political parties…” - an unprecendented admission on a populous political programme. With most of her points there was a knowing audience titter and certainly on Twitter as her name, surprisingly trended, the twitter-atti were certainly not fooled by her.
Murdoch Mess
This morning on asking Gordon Brown a question about honesty, a Sun reporter was openly laughed at by the press and Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman and Mandelson joined in the laughter, Brown saying, “That’s rich from the Sun, the sun should give people more credit,[and be honest] and allow people to make their own minds up.”
Yesterday the Independent Newspaper was confronted by James Murdoch (Rupert’s son who advised his dad to back the Tories) openly at a press do. His objections were because the Independent dared to say, “Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election, you will,” in a promotional ad. This shows the flakiness and panic setting into the Murdoch empire as they are feeling the pressure of the fact they have pumped millions of pounds behind a Tory campaign that seems to have ran off the rails. If the Tories fail, that would be millions of pounds wasted on both sides of the Atlantic as President Cain and Vice President Palin failed to reap the Fox News dividend. Murdoch had also met with the Daily Mail pre-the attacks on Nick Clegg – exposing that short lived and transparent joint strategy. The Murdoch’s are under pressure because of the seeming imminent failure of their support for the Tories and their want to place online news print media behind a paywall. Is an empire unravelling?
Press owned by self interested billionaires
Johann Hari sums it up in an article today saying, “The British media is overwhelmingly owned by right-wing billionaires who order their newspapers to build up the politicians who serve their interests, and marginalise or rubbish the politicians who serve the public interest. …Only a tiny spectrum of opinion was permitted [by the Murdoch’s according to ex-editor of the Sun, David Yelland]. Everyone to the left of Tony Blair (not hard) had to be rubbished – even when their policies spoke for a majority of British people.” (full article HERE )
Hari believes the TV debates have been one of the biggest factors in the changing of the public’s ability to be fooled. I nearly agree. I would say it ruins slightly deeper. Thatcher’s nightmare has come about. She used to attack Media Studies as a Mickey Mouse course – but those educated into how the media works seem to have spread the word. Not only that, the ability to blog, twitter, youtube etc has brought different views to people – showing there is more of a view than through the Murdoch/ Rothermere looking glass. The internet has shown people they can make a difference in controversial issues (Trafagura/ Iran/ Haiti etc) and also make little changes to what is accepted will happen (Rage Against the Machine as the very festive number one instead of Simon Cowell’s latest singing cash cow). The people have been educated, and perhaps slowly (a move to the Liberal Democrats is hardly revolutionary!) consciousness is creeping into elections – and these are going to be more than an X-Factor glamour contest.
I predict it will be less of a “It was the Sun wot won it,” than the trending Twitter hashtag this morning of “#itwastheSONwotlostit”.
After the upset this election promises, watch out for an even more colourful Scottish Parliament in 2011.
One thing has been made obvious by the welcome knock-back of the “sure winners” the Tories. The media has been exposed. The journalists who have vested interests in pleasing Murdoch daily with even more rancid headlines have been outed.
I know this is the case for one primary reason. In the way miners used to bring birds down the mines to let them know that gas was present, I talk politics to my parents. This can be painful for a Socialist – my parents are Daily Mail/ Sun reading pensioners who worked hard all of their lives. They come from a generation who grumbled about politicians and in fact had no illusions (they live in Northern Ireland) – but every year were fooled by the scare politics of the unionist hegemony in the province. This year, in Northern Ireland is a little different. Unionism is shattering and a beleaguered UUP is being bolstered by a desperate Tory Party.
But it isn’t Northern Ireland politics that my parents have noticed is rotten – they knew that many years ago. No – it is that their usual Daily Mail and Sun line has slightly changed. They still say unreasonable things straight from the pages- but last night, when I spoke to them on the phone, both said to me, more or less in the same words, “the papers told lies about Nick Clegg.”
Let me expose my partisanship – I am a socialist. I want a fair society. I just don’t want you to get the wrong impression… but…
Last night Ann Leslie appeared on BBC Question Time. This experienced old tory hack was also a miners bird (not literally – she did her very best back during the Thatcher years to destroy that industry and those peoples lives). Leslie started her usual less than subtle Tory diatribes with the sentence, “As someone who votes tory, but is not a member of the tory party – I don’t hold with journalists belonging to political parties…” - an unprecendented admission on a populous political programme. With most of her points there was a knowing audience titter and certainly on Twitter as her name, surprisingly trended, the twitter-atti were certainly not fooled by her.
Murdoch Mess
This morning on asking Gordon Brown a question about honesty, a Sun reporter was openly laughed at by the press and Gordon Brown, Harriet Harman and Mandelson joined in the laughter, Brown saying, “That’s rich from the Sun, the sun should give people more credit,[and be honest] and allow people to make their own minds up.”
Yesterday the Independent Newspaper was confronted by James Murdoch (Rupert’s son who advised his dad to back the Tories) openly at a press do. His objections were because the Independent dared to say, “Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election, you will,” in a promotional ad. This shows the flakiness and panic setting into the Murdoch empire as they are feeling the pressure of the fact they have pumped millions of pounds behind a Tory campaign that seems to have ran off the rails. If the Tories fail, that would be millions of pounds wasted on both sides of the Atlantic as President Cain and Vice President Palin failed to reap the Fox News dividend. Murdoch had also met with the Daily Mail pre-the attacks on Nick Clegg – exposing that short lived and transparent joint strategy. The Murdoch’s are under pressure because of the seeming imminent failure of their support for the Tories and their want to place online news print media behind a paywall. Is an empire unravelling?
Press owned by self interested billionaires
Johann Hari sums it up in an article today saying, “The British media is overwhelmingly owned by right-wing billionaires who order their newspapers to build up the politicians who serve their interests, and marginalise or rubbish the politicians who serve the public interest. …Only a tiny spectrum of opinion was permitted [by the Murdoch’s according to ex-editor of the Sun, David Yelland]. Everyone to the left of Tony Blair (not hard) had to be rubbished – even when their policies spoke for a majority of British people.” (full article HERE )
Hari believes the TV debates have been one of the biggest factors in the changing of the public’s ability to be fooled. I nearly agree. I would say it ruins slightly deeper. Thatcher’s nightmare has come about. She used to attack Media Studies as a Mickey Mouse course – but those educated into how the media works seem to have spread the word. Not only that, the ability to blog, twitter, youtube etc has brought different views to people – showing there is more of a view than through the Murdoch/ Rothermere looking glass. The internet has shown people they can make a difference in controversial issues (Trafagura/ Iran/ Haiti etc) and also make little changes to what is accepted will happen (Rage Against the Machine as the very festive number one instead of Simon Cowell’s latest singing cash cow). The people have been educated, and perhaps slowly (a move to the Liberal Democrats is hardly revolutionary!) consciousness is creeping into elections – and these are going to be more than an X-Factor glamour contest.
I predict it will be less of a “It was the Sun wot won it,” than the trending Twitter hashtag this morning of “#itwastheSONwotlostit”.
After the upset this election promises, watch out for an even more colourful Scottish Parliament in 2011.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Volcanic Capitalism
by Neil Scott, Bearsden.
Europe has shut down, it seems. Airlines have been instructed not to fly because of ash being spewed into our atmosphere by Iceland (some have joked, because of the fact that Iceland was hit particularly badly in the capitalists ecomomic crash, the ash is from the Icelandic banks burning our money!)
In times of trouble, and when a friend is in need, we as human beings, neighbours, family come together and help each other. Tony Benn, the famous left wing Labour politician from the UK once spoke in Parliament on the ousting of Thatcher and against Thatchers famous statement that, "there is no society", and illustrated his belief that there very much is a society by way of his interupted train journey that day. He told the UK Parliament that at the beginning of the journey, the train was a capitalist train - all seperate, reading their papers, punching their calculators, not inter acting etc. But when the train broke down and they were stranded somewhere in the English countryside, the train became a socialist one - people sharing food, drink, talking, helping each other through the mini-crisis.
Lots of people stranded in countries far from their homes are acting in a socialist way - groups of travellors hiring buses etc in order to get home - the young helping the old and vice versa. Others working together to make sure the airlines give them their rights - meals/ hotel accomodation for three nights etc.
However, reports are coming in through the news - and through friends and family stranded in Spain, Malta and Greece - of hotels, as soon as the airline legal responsibility of 3 nights accomodation is up - bumping up prices. One friend has phoned me to say the hotel he is in in Alicante has more than doubled their price from 45euro a night to 110Euro a night. Prices a lot of working class people cannot afford as they had went on budget holidays to escape their daily working drudge.
Governments need to step in. The European Parliament need to act quickly and prosecute hotels, transport companies and food sellers who are now trading on people's misery.
This is not a crisis on the scale of Haiti or the recent earthquakes in other countries around the world. Nor is it on par with the poverty and misery caused by capitalist imperialism and the victims of market forces in Afghanistan or Iraq - and various other poverty stricken countries and warzones in the world.
It is, however, an illustration of the insidiousness of this disgusting exploitative system we live in. The airlines are already crying to Governments for "bailouts". Who will bail out the poor people now having to spend their hard earned savings - or those who have to beg from other people in order to survive in foreign lands away from family and friends?
There is an alternative to this system - and the more of us meet and talk and plan and force our political class to properly represent us against the machinations of capitalism, the more likely we will get change.
If you want change - we need a clean break from what we have now. The socialist train is a happier one - sharing and interacting. Let's hop on it!
PEOPLE NOT PROFIT!
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Friday, 16 April 2010
Help put socialist policies on the agenda...
The Scottish Socialist Party will be standing in 10 seats across Scotland at the general election on Thursday 6th May. 
Aberdeen North - Ewan Robertson
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East - Willie O'Neil
Dundee East - Angela Gorrie
Edinburgh South West - Colin Fox
Glasgow Central - James Nesbitt
Glasgow East - Frances Curran
Glasgow North East - Kevin McVey
Livingston - Ally Hendry
Paisley and Renfrewshire North - Chris Rollo
Paisley and Renfrewshire South - Jimmy Kerr.
The SSP general election campaign will offer a real alternative to the policies of the party’s of big business at the election, and put socialist policies firmly on the agenda in Scotland at the General Election.
The Scottish Socialist Party is standing in the General Election on a programme of resistance and defiance of Westminster cuts, emergency action against youth unemployment;
an end the war in Afghanistan, & an independent Socialist Scotland.
All SSP candidates are committed to taking only a workers wage, and are opposed to the obscene expenses and salaries of Westminster MPs.
The SSP stands firmly on the principal of Workers MP on a Workers wage.
The general election campaign places a massive financial pressure on the shoulders of the SSP both at local & national level to raise the funds needed to finance our general election campaign.
I am appealing to all members/friends & supporters of the Scottish Socialist Party directly to make a pledge or donation to the General Election Campaign Fund, to help the party raise the necessary funds to fight our General Election campaign.
You can make a pledge /donation to the general election campaign fund, in the following ways.
1. At your local SSP Branch meeting or directly to your branch organiser or branch treasurer.
2. Send a cheque made out to the Scottish Socialist Party Election Fund to the party's national office @ 93 Hope Street Glasgow.
3. Text me on 07811265388 & let me know the details of your pledge /donation and I will make arrangements to get it collected.
4. E-mail me @ jimmcvicar.scottishsocialistparty@hotmail.com & let me know the details of your pledge /donation and I will make arrangements to get it collected.
I appreciate it is a difficult time financially for comrades ,but every penny & pound is vital for the party's election campaign to be successful and every pledge /donation is appreciated and will go directly to finance the General Election Campaign.
If you have already made a pledge or donation to the SSP Election l fund, thanks your contribution is much appreciated by the party.
Thanks for your support.
Jim McVicar.
SSP National Treasurer.
The Scottish Socialist Party can only accept donations to the general election campaign fund from UK registered voters.
Aberdeen North - Ewan Robertson
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East - Willie O'Neil
Dundee East - Angela Gorrie
Edinburgh South West - Colin Fox
Glasgow Central - James Nesbitt
Glasgow East - Frances Curran
Glasgow North East - Kevin McVey
Livingston - Ally Hendry
Paisley and Renfrewshire North - Chris Rollo
Paisley and Renfrewshire South - Jimmy Kerr.
The SSP general election campaign will offer a real alternative to the policies of the party’s of big business at the election, and put socialist policies firmly on the agenda in Scotland at the General Election.
The Scottish Socialist Party is standing in the General Election on a programme of resistance and defiance of Westminster cuts, emergency action against youth unemployment;
an end the war in Afghanistan, & an independent Socialist Scotland.
All SSP candidates are committed to taking only a workers wage, and are opposed to the obscene expenses and salaries of Westminster MPs.
The SSP stands firmly on the principal of Workers MP on a Workers wage.
The general election campaign places a massive financial pressure on the shoulders of the SSP both at local & national level to raise the funds needed to finance our general election campaign.
I am appealing to all members/friends & supporters of the Scottish Socialist Party directly to make a pledge or donation to the General Election Campaign Fund, to help the party raise the necessary funds to fight our General Election campaign.
You can make a pledge /donation to the general election campaign fund, in the following ways.
1. At your local SSP Branch meeting or directly to your branch organiser or branch treasurer.
2. Send a cheque made out to the Scottish Socialist Party Election Fund to the party's national office @ 93 Hope Street Glasgow.
3. Text me on 07811265388 & let me know the details of your pledge /donation and I will make arrangements to get it collected.
4. E-mail me @ jimmcvicar.scottishsocialistparty@hotmail.com & let me know the details of your pledge /donation and I will make arrangements to get it collected.
I appreciate it is a difficult time financially for comrades ,but every penny & pound is vital for the party's election campaign to be successful and every pledge /donation is appreciated and will go directly to finance the General Election Campaign.
If you have already made a pledge or donation to the SSP Election l fund, thanks your contribution is much appreciated by the party.
Thanks for your support.
Jim McVicar.
SSP National Treasurer.
The Scottish Socialist Party can only accept donations to the general election campaign fund from UK registered voters.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Leaders Debates - Scots not represented
Tonight on telly, three unionist capitalist parties will fight over who will be the party to shaft the poor and workers of this country in order to pay off rich bankers gambling debts.
They will discuss how they will make your children's education suffer and how many more billions they will use to kill poor Afghanis and economic conscripts to the British Army.
They will discuss who can sell off the NHS the quickest and how they will sell off Scottish Water to a private company and they will discuss how many workers they will lay off.
None of them will discuss making the rich pay their share in the "austerity" drive and none of them will discuss saving the country billions of pounds by stopping the bombing of poor countries nor will they discuss ridding the country of unnecessary spending of billions of YOUR money on replacements of Cold War technology with cold War technology.
None of them will consider making non-dom tax dodging illegal... or making it illegal to dodge tax in this country by spuriously charging everything up to companies etc.
None of them will promise to fight for a Scottish Socialist Republic.
If you twitter, please join in the online demonstration by tweeting your disgust at not being represented- add the hashtags #scotlandspeaks #leadersdebate and if you agree with the SSP - add #ssp or #scottishsocialistparty
They will discuss how they will make your children's education suffer and how many more billions they will use to kill poor Afghanis and economic conscripts to the British Army.
They will discuss who can sell off the NHS the quickest and how they will sell off Scottish Water to a private company and they will discuss how many workers they will lay off.
None of them will discuss making the rich pay their share in the "austerity" drive and none of them will discuss saving the country billions of pounds by stopping the bombing of poor countries nor will they discuss ridding the country of unnecessary spending of billions of YOUR money on replacements of Cold War technology with cold War technology.
None of them will consider making non-dom tax dodging illegal... or making it illegal to dodge tax in this country by spuriously charging everything up to companies etc.
None of them will promise to fight for a Scottish Socialist Republic.
If you twitter, please join in the online demonstration by tweeting your disgust at not being represented- add the hashtags #scotlandspeaks #leadersdebate and if you agree with the SSP - add #ssp or #scottishsocialistparty
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Public Meeting
SAY NO TO CUTS!
Don’t make our children pay.
Bail out jobs and services, not bankers profits!
Meeting on Wed 21 April in Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre
Conference Room - at 7.30pm.
Speakers
COLIN FOX, SSP CO-SPOKESPERSON
WILLIE O'NEIL, LOCAL SSP PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
MEMBER OF SCOTTISH AFGHANI COMMUNITY
Don’t make our children pay.
Bail out jobs and services, not bankers profits!
Meeting on Wed 21 April in Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre
Conference Room - at 7.30pm.
Speakers
COLIN FOX, SSP CO-SPOKESPERSON
WILLIE O'NEIL, LOCAL SSP PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
MEMBER OF SCOTTISH AFGHANI COMMUNITY
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