Monthly Archives: June 2015

Who is more worried about Greece defaulting on its debts – Tsipras or the creditors?

Alexis Tsipras.

Alexis Tsipras.

If the Greek government is holding further talks with its creditors, it is because the IMF and the Eurozone are afraid – not Alexis Tsipras.

The IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Union have a lot riding on their attempt to get Greece to give in and submit meekly to further austerity measures that are designed to keep that country in a debt-servicing economy rather than help get it back in the black.

The idea – as This Blog has reported before – was to create a debt trap, similar to that created for the so-called Developing Nations – and keep Greece in it.

Greece could continue receiving financial support if it sold off nationally-owned assets, privatised services and increased taxes – thereby insuring that it could never actually repay the loans; the profit-making facilities would all have been sold off and the tax burden on citizens would be so great that they could never pay their way out.

But Tsipras came into government on a promise to end austerity measures like this. His sticking-point, it seems, is that this may mean defaulting on the nation’s debts and dropping out of the Euro – returning to a currency unique to Greece – and the electorate doesn’t seem to want that.

Defaulting on loans isn’t as bad for a nation as it may seem. It means all those involved have to agree that the loan won’t be repaid under current conditions and new conditions must be negotiated. The Troika opposes this because its debt trap relies on presenting an illusion that the loans can be honoured. It is only an illusion; Tsipras knows that.

It seems to This Writer that he would be better-off taking a leaf out of Germany’s (history) book. When Gustav Streseman became the new Chancellor of the Republic in the 1920s, debt repayments had crippled that country. Inflation was out of control and industry had ground to a halt due to strike action.

Streseman abandoned Germany’s old currency and introduced a brand new version which was given a very high, stable starting value through the backing of US gold. Similar options are open to Greece, if it abandons the Euro.

Streseman negotiated a new, more realistic arrangement with his country’s creditors, cutting the reparations to be paid by Germany for World War I down from a wildly-punitive £2 billion to the more reasonable £50 million. He also ended the strike and ordered a full- scale return to work, making it possible to pay off this amount. This also is possible for Greece, if it refuses the austerity being proposed by the Troika.

Greece’s creditors will do everything they can to stop this from happening. They want Greece to join the Developing World countries who – as recently as 2011 – were paying back nearly $5 for every $1 lent to them by the western banks. They don’t want Greece to become another Germany; that would profit Greece – not them.

Here in the UK, it is in our interest to hope that Tsipras doesn’t blow it. He could find himself leading the way out of the neoliberal debt trap – not just for Greece, but for many other nations as well.

All that is required is the political will.

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The poor pay more tax than the rich – and Tories want to cut the highest rate

tax

The UK’s poorest families give more money to the government in tax than any other income group – and almost half of Tory MPs want to increase the inequality by cutting the top rate of tax yet again.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the poorest fifth of households paid 37.8 per cent of their income in taxes last year, while the richest fifth paid 34.8 per cent.

That’s not the whole story, of course – if you’re poor and you pay nearly two-fifths of your income in tax, that leaves very little for necessities like food, water, heat, light and rent/mortgage whereas, if you’re rich and you pay nearly 7/20 of your income in tax, you’re unlikely to be feeling any kind of pinch.

Say a poor family receives £12,000 per year. Tax would account for £2,400, leaving £9,600 for everything else. What’s the earnings threshold for the top tax bracket – £150,000? A family receiving that amount would pay… actually they’d pay 40 per cent of it, according to the law, but that would still leave £90,000 – nearly 10 times as much as a poor family and no problems at all in making ends meet.

It should be stressed that these are only representative figures. To be honest, the statistics are up for question: How many of the top fifth of earners avoid paying tax via legal schemes, designed for this purpose? How much do we all pay in indirect, or hidden, taxation? How many variations have been included in the ONS figures?

George Osborne is said to be considering a cut in tax credits in his July budget, meaning the poorest would lose part of a vital support system propping up their earnings. David Cameron has said he expects employers to increase pay, but he is offering neither carrot nor stick to encourage this, therefore they won’t. So the poor would pay more.

Meanwhile, 160 Tory MPs have demanded that the top rate of tax be cut from 45 per cent to 40, meaning the rich would pay less.

Not only would the poor be plunged further into poverty and debt if these measures were enacted next week, but public services would also take a hammering as income to the Treasury plummeted.

Perhaps the worst indictment of the situation, though, is the fact that – under the last Labour government – the inequality was worse. The poor paid more than 38 per cent of their income while the rich contributed less than 34 per cent.

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CNN thinks ISIS flag is made of sex aids

Butt(-plug) of the joke: CNN thought a flag at a Gay Pride parade represented terrorist organisation ISIS - in fact it featured representations of sex toys.

Butt(-plug) of the joke: CNN reporters thought a flag at a Gay Pride parade represented terrorist organisation ISIS – in fact it featured representations of sex toys.

@TheLastLeg #IsItOK that CNN seems to think the organisation you like to call ‘Cystisis’ has a flag made up of butt plugs and dildos?

(I think it is. The best way to kill evil is to starve it, and the best way to starve it is to make it look silly.)

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Conduct complaint over Iain Duncan Smith’s lie to Parliament

Lie: Some might believe Iain Duncan Smith told a bigger whopper than his gesture indicates.

Lie: Some might believe Iain Duncan Smith told a bigger whopper than his gesture indicates.

Parliament is to investigate a complaint against Iain Duncan Smith, after he was recorded presenting inaccurate information to fellow MPs in the House of Commons.

Vox Political reader Helen Groves stated in her complaint that she found it “deeply troubling” to hear that a government minister responsible for the welfare of millions of vulnerable people “continually misrepresents” information to other MPs.

She was referring to the Gentleman Ranker’s reply to Debbie Abrahams’ question on June 22. Ms Abrahams had asked: “Why does he refuse to publish the details of the number of people who have died within six weeks of their claims for incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance, including those who have been found fit for work?”

The Secretary-in-a-State replied: ” She knows very well that the Department does not collate numbers on people in that circumstance. It deals with individual cases where things have gone right or gone wrong and reviews them.”

Everybody reading Vox Political knows this to be untrue, as an email from the DWP, dated October 21, 2013, now-famously states: “The Department does hold, and could provide within the cost limit, some of the information requested.”

In her complaint, Ms Groves states: “I feel this calls both his position and the government into disrepute, domestically and internationally, due to his high profile. I can only assume that… Mr Duncan Smith deliberately provided false information.

She continued: “Mr Duncan Smith must be aware that his department [has] already provided such information to the data commissioner and that his department [has] been fighting a legal battle to prevent publication of this information. As such it is not plausible that Mr Duncan Smith provided this information without knowledge that it was false.

“This subject has been widely reported by [the] media and as simply a member of the public I am conversant with the issues. How can it be credible that the minister is not?

“Only days later, Mr Cameron has acknowledged in PMQs that this information does indeed exist though like Mr Duncan Smith he does not seem to be willing to release it in full, but rather in a form which would prevent the general public from being able to make a clear assessment of the data.

“I would therefore wish my complaint to be addressed as a formal complaint against the Minister Iain Duncan Smith on the basis that his conduct calls his position, The UK Government and the House itself into disrepute.”

In a comment to Vox Political, she added: “they have to investigate and I have no intention of letting them skip over it. Conduct is one of the easiest ways to go after a minister or MP. I think IDS has earned a bit of being held to account.”

Bravo!

Vox Political will publish updates on the progress of this matter as they become available.

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Crowd-funding bid to tackle government over pensions

150629womenagainstpensioninjustice

A group of women has launched a crowd-funding bid to pay for legal action against the government, claiming that its changes to the State Pension are unfairly prejudiced against women born in the 1950s.

The group, calling themselves Women Against State Pension Inequality, say they were not appropriately – or personally – notified when the Conservative Government of 1995 introduced plans to increase the women’s State Pension age from 60 to 65, and that they were hit again when the Coalition Government brought in a further change to the pensionable age, faster than had been initially claimed.

Because of the way the increases to the  State Pension age have been brought in, it is claimed that women born on or after April 6, 1951 face financial hardship as they have had no time to make alternative plans.

A spokeswoman stated, on the group’s website: “We are raising £6,000. This will pay for initial legal advice from our lawyers Deighton Pierce Glynn and a barrister, to help us assess what the legal options are for us and other women affected by these increases. Depending on what the outcome of that advice is, we may end up doing additional crowdfunding for the next steps in our case. However we are taking this one step at a time and this is the first step to accessing the courts.

“We believe that the Government has a duty of care to its electorate and that it is reasonable to expect to be personally notified and given sufficient notice about matters which have such far-reaching consequences to people’s lives.

“So morally we know we have a strong case, but we’re not sure whether we have a legal case. The odds are stacked against us.

“But if we do have a case, the outcome will affect hundreds of thousands of women, maybe you, a member of your family or a friend who is finding life difficult as a result of this unfairness and inequality.”

For more information or to help fund this legal bid, visit the website here.

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If banks want regulation costs cut, they should be more trustworthy

With people like this in charge of banks - and then going on to important roles in Conservative-led governments, can either the banks or the government be trusted to do what's right for UK citizens?

With people like this in charge of banks – and then going on to important roles in Conservative-led governments, can either the banks or the government be trusted to do what’s right for UK citizens?

Banks and other financial organisations want the Conservative government to slash the cost of complying with new regulations, according to the Confederation of British Industry. Doesn’t your heart just bleed for them?

Thse are the organisations that sucked the UK into the global financial crisis and allowed the Conservatives to form a government after the 2010 election (they didn’t win it) with a false claim that Labour overspent.

Now they want the regulations that prevent them from causing another crisis to be eased.

Considering the banks’ record, it would be madness to do so. Let’s see how long it takes the Tories to comply.

According to The Guardian, “As the City recovers from the financial crisis, companies are lobbying for an end to criticism of the banking industry and an easing of rules designed to prevent another crisis.

“They argue the sector is a big employer and that the City’s position as a financial centre is important for the UK’s economy.”

Finance is indeed a big employer, here in the UK – but only because Conservative-led governments since 2010 have utterly failed to build up any other industry while continuing to pander to the banks.

Meanwhile, the taxpayer has been supporting banks heavily, with 4.21 per cent of government spending – that’s £41 billion per year – being supplied to these very profitable institutions for no very good reason.

And they’re complaining about the cost of regulations!

It gets better. The regulations against which they are complaining include:

  • The ring-fence required by 2019 to separate retail and investment banking, so that bad investments cannot affect the safety of depositors’ money.
  • The introduction of criminal liability for senior executives whose reckless behaviour causes their company to fail.

That’s right – bank bosses are angry that the government is actually trying to stop them from penalising ordinary account holders for their gambling losses, and upset that they might have to pay a debt to society if their decisions harm the viability of their firms.

Clearly these bankers have not learned their lesson and want to inflict further debt upon the taxpayer while making off like the bandits they are.

According to The Guardian, “HSBC has taken the lead for the banks by threatening to leave the UK if it decides the cost of remaining is too great. Britain’s biggest bank listed ringfencing and the [bank] levy, which HSBC says affects it disproportionately, as important considerations.”

This is the bank that, earlier this year, was implicated in one of the biggest organised tax avoidance schemes to be uncovered in the UK in recent times.

It is important to note that the survey was compiled with accounting firm PwC, which has been singled out by HM Revenue and Customs as having created hugely lucrative schemes to help companies and the hugely wealthy to avoid paying their taxes.

Shouldn’t the government’s response be: “F*** off, then – but pay your back taxes first”?

The last thing the government should do is give in to these demands, and taxpayers across the country should write in to George Osborne, warning him against any such move.

There is no reason to trust the banks with any more responsibility than the bare minimum. They simply haven’t earned our trust back yet.

If the banks want more freedom, they should be told to bloody well earn it.

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Lord Janner to face justice after DPP ruling overturned | UK news | The Guardian

So there it is – there will be a ‘trial of facts’ on the Janner sex abuse allegations.

This Blog believes pressure should be put on the CPS for further ‘trials of facts’, to establish the guilt/innocence of others who have been accused but have not faced trial.

Pressure grows on director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders to resign as it emerges trial of facts will take place after sex abuse allegations

Source: Lord Janner to face justice after DPP ruling overturned | UK news | The Guardian

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Tories want you to believe people choose to be poor and disabled

Perceptive piece by Siobhan Fenton in The Independent:

It’s now been revealed that £12bn worth of welfare cuts will be included in next month’s budget, with even more rolled out in the autumn spending review.

Such cuts are based on nothing more than the Tory myth that poverty is a choice which people can be scared or starved out of. Osborne’s logic appears to be that if the Tories make life for poor people insufferable, they will simply choose to be well-off. As such, poverty is a lifestyle choice or a moral failing.

By framing the issue in this way, the Conservatives have narrowed the conversation, and hope people won’t be able to see the wider structural inequalities and economic failings, for which they are responsible.

But in reality, the reason why there are teenagers who will leave school this year and sign on for Jobseekers’ Allowance – rather going up to Oxford University like David Cameron and George Osborne – isn’t because of choices they made as individuals. They didn’t choose to be born into a family who could not send them to Eton or St Pauls, nor did they choose to be born into the most savage economic climate in living memory.

Nor does anyone “choose” to be disabled. Or to belong to a social class, gender or ethnic group which has been economically oppressed for centuries by the establishment.

Nor do unemployed people choose to not be in jobs which simply do not exist.

Being further deprived of their right to live with basic dignity will not mean that people on welfare will simply decide to become employed or non-disabled. Rather, these welfare cuts will serve to test, punish and degrade them further.

Source: People choose to be poor and disabled – this is the logic behind the Tories’ £12bn of welfare cuts – Comment – Voices – The Independent

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Newcastle City Council ‘forced’ to plunder welfare funds – BBC News

We all knew this would happen – central government cuts funding to councils, then devolves funding for welfare grants and crisis loans to the same authorities. What did ministers think was going to happen?

They know local authorities don’t have an unlimited pot of cash – in fact, they should know exactly how much money is available to each council.

Now Newcastle City Council says government budget cuts are forcing it to use welfare funding on other services.

Exactly according to the Conservative Government’s plan.

Read on: Newcastle City Council ‘forced’ to plunder welfare funds – BBC News

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