Rolling back the State

In last week's Autumn Statement a further round of spending cuts was announced - an additional £1bn per year up to 2017. Whitehall Watch, the University of Manchester policy blog, argues that the relentless reductions in public expenditure by Tory Chancellor George Osborne 'isn’t a reaction to the fiscal crisis – it’s a long-term strategy to permanently shrink the state'
http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/featured/2013/12/never-letting-a-good-crisis-go-to-waste-george-osbornes-plans-to-permanently-roll-back-the-state/

The Benefits System: EXPOSED

A TUC animation tackles some of the media and political myths about the benefits system, with the aid of a talking dog.


http://www.tuc.org.uk/the-benefits-system-exposed

'Austerity increases income inequality' (c) IMF

The fanatically pro market Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises famously stated that 'inequality of wealth is the cause of the masses' well being, not the cause of anybody's distress.' Once the province of right wing cranks, such thinking has become today's neo liberal orthodoxy. The December 2013 issue of the IMF's quarterly magazine "Finance & Development" has an article summarizing recent reports produced by the Fund's research department showing that austerity ("fiscal consolidation") and capital account liberalization policies increase income inequality:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2013/12/furceri.htm

The neo liberal reality of the EU

The European Social Model (ESM) is a mirage argue Philip B Whyman and Mark Baimbridge in a Chartist article which lays bare the neo liberal reality of the EU and challenges the sacred cow of those in the labour movement who promote social Europe as an antidote to austerity and marketisation – ‘if the ESM is unlikely to be enacted in any kind of meaningful way beyond the minimal welfare base line that for most EU nations represents a race to the bottom in social terms, where does that leave support for further integration and support for continual membership of the EU?'   http://www.chartist.org.uk/articles/europe/sept13whyman.htm

Wealth inequality in the UK‏

Inequality has been rising in the UK for the past 30 years of rampant neo-liberalism and the gap between rich and poor is the widest since the second world war. If current trends continue, the country will have reached Victorian levels of inequality in 20 years. Watch this excellent video and sign up for weekly email briefings from: http://inequalitybriefing.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOJ93tAbPP0&feature=youtu.be

The battle for the economic narrative

‘Framing the Economy’ is a great piece of work by the New Economics Foundation providing essential ammunition in the battle to wrestle back the economic narrative from the proponents of austerity. Seven alternative critiques of austerity are identified ranging from a 'casino economy' to austerity as 'a smokescreen' for a neo liberal attack on public services and the welfare state. The authors conclude that for opponents of austerity to win over public opinion, an alternative narrative is not enough in itself, we will need to be 'more coordinated, responsive to public opinion and find more credible messengers’
http://s.bsd.net/nefoundation/default/page/-/publications/_Framing_the_economy_WEB.pdf

Unmasking Austerity: Lessons for Australia

A new report by Dexter Whitfield documents why austerity failed and its disastrous economic and social effects in Europe and North America and highlights why Australia should not adopt these policies. Government debt continued to increase, reduced demand intensified the recession, negative or weak growth prevailed and the private sector failed to invest. The cost of lost output, reduced wealth, mass unemployment and government intervention runs into trillions in any currency. Public spending cuts and closures increased poverty and widened inequality as working people and the poor were made to pay for the failure of the banks, financial markets and wealthy elites. Austerity advocates were equally committed to embedding neoliberalism in the public sector and the welfare state and reconfiguring the role of the state:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/wiser/WISeR_unmasking-austerity.pdf

Remember who caused the economic crash?

Remember when nurses, teachers, firefighters and municipal workers crashed the economy and took billions in bonuses and bailouts?. No? Me either.

Austerity - 'worse than a crime, it is a blunder'

'Austerity has failed. It turned a nascent recovery into stagnation. That imposes huge and unnecessary costs, not just in the short run, but also in the long term: the costs of investments unmade, of businesses not started, of skills atrophied, and of hopes destroyed,' writes Martin Wolf in a scathing critique of the fiscal and political policies which have led to economic retrenchment across Europe:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/jul/11/how-austerity-has-failed/?pagination=false&printpage=true

UNISON to the fore in Belfast G8 protests

Yesterday’s protest in Belfast ahead of next week's G8 summit included a large contingent of UNISON members. The Belfast rally was chaired by UNISON’s Pamela Dooley, Chair of the Northern Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said ‘there is an obligation on the trade union movement and civil society to stand together to demand a different and better way. We know that we are facing the consequences of a corrupt capitalist system bereft of moral standards. It is a system which puts profit before people and always will. It is a system for the few and not for the many.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22909025

Do not be deceived by the statement – we’ve run out of money – there is an alternative to austerity

The current economic debate amongst most politicians is there is a need for austerity because we’ve run out of money. Cameron recently said ‘there is no magic money tree’, he lied the Bank of England is an organisation with money creation powers. Now both the Eds, Miliband and Balls, have said that a future Labour government will have 'less money to spend' and as a consequence will have to continue the Coalition's austerity programme.

The myth that Britain is broke

The New Economic Foundation is undertaking an economic myth busting project via their blog. Today, the UK national debt is significantly lower than Japan’s (about 200% of GDP), and comparable to Germany’s (83%) and the US (80%). By international or historical standards, the national debt is not high. Read more at:
http://www.neweconomics.org/mythbusters-britain-is-broke

Rosa Pavanelli: New leadership - New vision for PSI

The newly elected General Secretary of Public Services International (PSI) outlines her mission in an excellent profile on the PSI website: “The forces working against ordinary people – the privateers, international financial institutions, right-wing billionaires and captive governments – are ruthless and powerful. They destroy. They care nothing for the public good. They are driven by self-interest and insatiable greed. Women, young people, workers and families are paying the price as unemployment soars and vital public services are slashed. Neoliberalism, which is driving austerity, is an outrageous ideology. You can’t build a healthy community by driving your neighbours to ruin,” says Rosa
http://www.world-psi.org/en/rosa-pavanelli-new-leadership-new-vision

UNISONActive Analysis - Downgrading Osborne's economic strategy

There seems to be mood of delight on the left about the downgrading of the UK government's credit rating. This an error and a misleading outlook.
  Why? Firstly it gives Osborne the cover for further cuts to public spending and destruction of public services, he will argue that to win back economic credibility further action must be taken to reduce the debt and debt payments.

The disastrous effects of austerity policies

‘In short, the UK experience shows how austerity policies, when applied without regard to the state of the economy, often lead to more government borrowing and debt creation, not less. In the past few years, we’ve seen pretty much the same thing happen in other European countries: Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and now Italy and Spain. Still, though, many proponents of austerity refuse to acknowledge their errors,’ writes John Cassidy in his New Yorker column 'rational irrationality'. Cassidy calls on US fiscal policy makers to heed the lessons of the Con Dem Government’s disastrous austerity policies:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/02/uk-shows-how-austerity-policies-lead-to-more-borrowing-and-debt.html

Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale

An economics primer written and directed by Fred Glass for the California Federation of Teachers. An eight minute video about how we arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land. © 2012 California Federation of Teachers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ZsXrzF8Cc&feature=player_embedded

5 years on - Rogues Gallery of the economic crash

The Guardian marks the 5th anniversary of the onset of the 'credit crunch' by reviewing the bankers, economists and politicians whose reckless commitment to neo liberal policies of deregulation, cheap credit and market manipualtion has caused and continues to cause untold misery for millions of working people worldwide:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/aug/06/financial-crisis-25-people-heart-meltdown?CMP=twt_gu

Austerity degrades industrial capacity and social well-being

Ann Pettifor considers the importance of the IMF’s surprising repudiation of austerity and regards it as a vindication of those who have argued for alternative policies (aka Plan B).‘In a recession the only means to improve the public finances is for the government to invest and create work for both firms (think of the construction sector) and the unemployed. Public investment in sound projects will generate income - wages, salaries and profits. Newly employed workers will spend their income and this will further boost activity and revive the private sector. Confidence will return across the economy; taxes paid on incomes will increase the government's revenues and lower unemployment will mean lower government spending on benefits’ http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ann-pettifor/imf-austerity-_b_2004700.html

Dont believe the lie that we've run out of money

How can you run out of money when its created by using a computer? For far too long we've been conned by the idea there is a finite amount of money and that if we borrow more the 'markets' will bring a government down. This is a total pack of lies. Here we link to an article by Ann Pettifor of the New Economics Foundation which supports UNISONActive's assertions that money creation should be used by our government to support the economy, public services, jobs and infrastructure and without paying interest to the bankers: http://www.classonline.org.uk/blog/item/the-chicanery-of-this-weeks-economics

One Nation?

'There are 10,000 multimillionaires living in Britain with a combined wealth of £700bn, an average of £70 million each. The richest 1,000 people - 0.003 per cent of the population - have actually added £155bn to their personal wealth in the last three years,' writes Graham Stevenson in an incisive critique of unequal Britain ahead of today's lobby of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. 'We need a Plebs League for the 21st century that perhaps even the Police Federation could join - once it's affiliated to the TUC':  http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/124697