Corrupt capitalism: Banks are throttling Economic Recovery

The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, today accused Britain's banks of "throttling" the economic recovery because of an anti-business culture which focuses on short-term profits. 

Speaking on the BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, the business secretary said: "The real problem at the moment is that the banks – because of their existing culture which is frankly anti-business, obsession with short-term trading profits, not focusing on the long term – are throttling the recovery of British industry."

The business secretary blamed the banks for undermining the multibillion-pound quantitative-easing programme by the Bank of England to inject liquidity into the economy.

He said: "There has been a breakdown in the mechanism, in the transmission. It just doesn't get through to companies. We are going to ensure that the new money that the chancellor and the governor of the Bank of England talked about at the mansion house does actually directly reach the companies.

"Given that our leading banks are, frankly, throttling recovery by not making business-lending available, particularly to small-scale companies, we now have to focus single mindedly on that task. How to make sure that the additional money gets through to business."

However talk is cheap ... as he/his party voted against a wide ranging judicial inquiry into the culture and practices of banks. His limited understanding of the level of corruption involved is also deeply worrying (n.b. the banks actually create/counterfeit over 90% of the money supply in the UK, not the Bank of England, and given this they are able to decide how they want to spend/gamble it).

We need to i) take back control of money supply (off the private banks), ii) separate casino banking and retail banking fully (i.e. not just 'ring-fencing') and iii) tax financial (casino bank) transactions just like any other form of gambling.

Only by doing these things will real businesses start to thrive and the UK economy start to flourish. Unfortunately Cable doesn't understand this, and the Labour party doesn't either (given their parallel announcements today)! 

No wonder Cameron and Osborne were desperate to stop a wide ranging judicial review ... as it would have started to expose/explain everything to them!

Corrupt Capitalism ... Triumphs over Democracy

When potential collusion/corruption became apparent within the media, police and government ... MP's were quick (and right) to conclude that the only course of action possible was a public judicial inquiry (Leveson) - with an independent judge able to go wherever the evidence takes them.

However when it came to corruption/fraud within banks (and possible collusion with politicians/regulators), Cameron and Osborne fought tooth and nail to avoid an independent public judicial inquiry.

Osborne, like a typical 'out of touch' posh boy, ignored any discussion/debate and chose to immediately go on the offensive ... with disgraceful and unprecedented personal attacks (targeted at the shadow chancellor) ... and amazingly trying to claim that those demanding the forensic inquiry were the ones trying to cover things up! ... you couldn't make this stuff up (again)!

... and why did Cameron and Osborne pull rank, and 'whip' their MP's to vote how THEY wanted ... because THEY wanted to cover things up!!!

If a full judicial inquiry had been instigated then they would have found it very difficult to control (in terms of its scope and level of scrutiny) ... and they would have quickly seen a full/frank exposure of how private banks control politicians - e.g. through vested interests, lobbying and party funding (i.e. Conservative party funding).

A judicial inquiry would have also exposed/questioned the mass counterfeiting of money by private banks, which the Government still allows because of the 'illusion of growth' it creates (e.g. inflated asset prices, artificial 'house price booms' and money for speculation).

The printing of 'paper money' is limited to the 'Bank of England', but 'electronic money' is not ... and private banks 'create' electronic money by simply placing a number in a spreadsheet ... and then demanding 'interest' on it (real 'money for nothing')!

Private banks also channel the money (i.e. and hence the 'means of production') to wherever they want it to go ... thus bankers control the economy, and the areas within the economy allowed to grow (i.e. this is not carried out by representatives of the people, for the people)!

Manufacturing collapsed, with little/no interest paid by politicians, as those in control of money supply (i.e. the private banks!) chose to channel all the money into 'money for nothing' schemes instead e.g. fuelling asset prices and gambling on currencies/derivatives/financial 'products', instead of supporting the creation of real assets (e.g. new houses, new/real products we could sell/export)!

Banks poured money into these 'schemes' in pursuit of short term profit and 'greater returns' - with investment in real businesses sidelined and/or frowned upon (as these require time, effort and resources). 

With the apparent 'illusion of growth' the Government (and the Bank of England) were not only complicit, they were more than happy to help! ... e.g. by agreeing to remove house prices from the inflation figures (which would have otherwise kept house prices in check)!

Politicians are currently controlled by the banks (e.g. lobbying, threats to growth and/or moving abroad) and/or in the pockets of banks (party funding, ex bankers, future bankers ... just look at Tony Blair who is now getting $2m+/year from J P Morgan) ... 

... and politicians such as Cameron and Osborne are the worst kind ... as they are not only controlled by the banks ... they are also in the pockets of them too (nb they bankroll the Conservative Party, and Cameron's family wealth, and Eton education, were a direct result of banking too).

Labour would be quite rightly accused of being controlled/ manipulated by the banks, but they would not be accused of being in the pockets of them (except for Tony Blair). One cannot say the same for the corrupt Conservatives however, who refused to give the British people a proper inquiry (and justice) by minimising its scope, independence and level of scrutiny (n.b. they now control the scope, chairmanship, and membership of the committee of MP's who will investigate them)!

Cameron and Osborne will go down in history for their abject failure to protect the British economy against corrupt bankers, and when the next crash happens (which it undoubtedly will, as they have still done nothing to fix it!) they should be arrested, have any/all their assets confiscated ... and they should then be tried for treason!

An independent forensic investigation would have uncovered the scale of corruption involved ... and would have resulted in the 'control of money supply' being taken away from private banks and returned to representatives of the people ... it would have also re-enforced the need for a full separation of casino banking from retail banking (i.e. a "Glass-Steagall" type act, and not just 'ring-fencing') ... as earlier reports recommended (but were subsequently watered down/ignored, due to heavy pressure and lobbying by the banks)!

Corrupt capitalism has triumphed over Democracy ... and made a mockery of our 'democracy' once again!

"When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes... Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain."

Napoleon Bonaparte, 1815

Corrupt capitalism: Fraudulent bankers are running amok!

Following recent posts, and on from my many previous posts about the immoral and corrupt practices of bankers, today we got yet more of a glimpse into the culture of investment (casino) banking and what they really get up to ... in their immoral pursuit of profit ...

... they are running amok, creating 'money out of nothing' ('electronic money') so they can gamble on rates, derivatives, assets and currencies etc ... and they are also fraudulently ensuring the 'casino wheels' are 'rigged' in their favour! ... and how do they do this ... well today it emerged they've been fraudulently rigging the 'rates' (e.g. reported libor/euribor rates) ... that they themselves have gambled on ... to make sure all their bets 'win' (... and sharing the 'profit' between them)!

You couldn't make this stuff up ... and there are clearly lots more scandals still come out too!

The case for taking back control of money supply (i.e. the creation of 'electronic money'), and separating casino banking from retail/commercial banking, should now be absolutely clear to everyone. These are both imperative to i) take back control of our economy (and off of the banks!) ... and to ii) ensure we do not give money (either directly or indirectly) to casinos! 

Without a tie to our personal and business accounts, the taxpayer would not have had to bailout/subsidize casino banks ... as they could go bust ... without affecting the accounts of voters or businesses.

Moreover, gambling/financial transactions should be taxed, to fall into line with other forms of gambling! All 'money for nothing' schemes should be outlawed (i.e. banks creating 'electronic money' themselves) and gambling heavily taxed, to subsidize tax reductions to activities that 'add real value' to our economy and society.

Yet Cameron and Osborne actively boycott any such proposals, and vehemently oppose the introduction of a financial transaction (gambling) tax on their immoral betting ... 

Cameron and Osborne also appear to have given up on the economy in terms of trying to create jobs/growth ... and are now set on slashing benefits and blaming the poor ... instead of tackling the corrupt actions of bankers, or reversing flawed policies currently destroying jobs/growth!

They are also slashing public services and raising taxes for hardworking people ... whilst incredulously cutting tax for the rich ... and allowing/overseeing widespread tax avoidance by the rich too (schemes where the ultra-rich pay less than 1% cf the 30-40% tax paid by the vast majority)!

People can clearly now see there are one set of rules for the rich/powerful (i.e. no real rules) ... e.g. the counterfeiting of money, widespread tax avoidance, no criminal prosecution of bankers/executives ... but there are an ever increasing set of rules policing everyone else (e.g. 'big brother', 'police tasers' ...)!

As far as the bankers are concerned we need to hit them hard immediately ... as a trivial fine (i.e. £60m from the FSA ... nb the £290m includes US charges!) is not enough ... we should immediately take back control of money supply (i.e. 'electronic' money as well as 'paper' money - see the excellent Positive Money reports below!) ... and make sure our money is only used to provide carefully regulated loans directed to customers and business (i.e. not for themselves to gamble in pursuit of more profits/bonuses). 

A forensic legal inquiry should also be started to uncover all corrupt practices and to jail the ring leaders (nb which will no doubt quickly spread to the regulators, politicians and Government officials manipulated/'run' by these people!) ... and a complete separation of retail/casino banking should also start immediately too.

Positive Money Report ...

Whenever major decisions are taken about the future of the UK, news cameras will be aimed at reporters standing in front of Parliament. But is Parliament really where the key decisions are being made today, or has power shifted down the river to London’s financial sector, the City?

This news report from Positive Money finds a banking system that has more ‘spending power’ than the democratically elected government, no accountability to the people, and a massive concentration of power in the hands of a few individuals. 

However, the greatest concern is that government has surrendered one of its most important powers — the power to create money and control the money supply — to the private sector, which has exploited this power to blow up housing bubbles and indirectly transfer wealth upwards and inwards, with disastrous results. There has been no democratic debate about this transfer of power, and no law actively sanctions the current set-up.

As the last few years have shown, the banking sector can have a serious negative impact on our lives. Leaving it with such a huge and unaccountable degree of power is no more likely to work in the best interests of society or democracy in the future than it has in the past.

An Overview:

Ceding the Power to Create Money to the Banking Sector

In the current system, banks create the vast majority of money in the UK, in the form of the electronic bank deposits that appear in your bank account. They create this money without regard to how much is needed for the economy and society as a whole to operate effectively, and they put over 90% of this money towards activities that do not contribute to the growth of the real economy.

This power to create money causes inflation that insidiously transfers wealth from savers and those who hold their wealth in cash (i.e. the poor and those on medium incomes) to those who are rich enough to hold their wealth in other assets (such as property). Giving private sector banks a monopoly on the creation of money also means that whenever additional money is needed in the economy, only private banks can provide it. In effect the entire money supply must be rented from the banking sector, at great cost to the economy. The creation of electronic money is a service that could be provided by the government at no cost to anyone.

The business model that permits banks to create money—so far from the popular perception of banks as simple intermediaries between savers and borrowers—is inherently unstable and will systematically require periodic taxpayer-funded bailouts. The cost of these bailouts diverts revenue from the activities that the government was elected to do, compromising its ability to fulfil its democratically mandated objectives.

Leaving this power to create money to the private sector creates a serious democratic deficit: a process that many would consider to be the sole prerogative of the state is in the hands of corporations who have no accountability to the wider public and whose interests are completely at odds with those of society as a whole.

Overstating the True Contribution of the Banking Sector

Politicians and policy makers are misinformed about the true contribution of the banking sector because they are only shown the positive side of the sector’s contribution to government finances, i.e. the taxes they pay. The overall contribution of the UK banking sector to the Exchequer is about 6% of overall tax revenues. In the year that the banking sector paid its highest ever tax, the manufacturing sector paid over three times more.

Society is now acutely aware of the direct cost to the taxpayer of bailing out banks but less attention is directed to the hidden subsidies they benefit from, even in the good times. Firstly, because of both implicit and explicit government guarantees, when a bank borrows money it does so at an interest rate lower than it would be able to otherwise. Secondly, by giving up the power to create money the government forgoes an important source of revenue, which results in higher taxes, lower spending or a bigger national debt. Conversely, the banks benefit financially from the power to create money. These hidden subsidies more than outweigh any taxes paid by the banks.

No Accountability to Customers

Unlike pension funds, banks are not required to disclose how they will use their customers’ money. As 97% of the UK’s money supply is effectively held with banks, this allows them to allocate a larger sum of money than either the entire pension fund industry or the elected government itself. Consequently the UK economy is shaped by the investment priorities of the banking sector, rather than the priorities of society.

Just five banks hold 85% of the UK’s money, and these five banks are steered by just 78 board members whose decisions shape the UK economy. This is a huge amount of power concentrated in very few hands, with next to no transparency or accountability to wider society.

The Close Relationship Between Banking and Government

It is impossible to know how much influence the financial sector has over policy but they certainly devote substantial resources to getting it. The financial sector makes large donations to political parties: the Conservative Party is 50% financed by donors associated with the financial industry, and it offers a ‘backstage pass’ to meet the Prime Minister in exchange for a £50,000 annual donation, raising the question of whether ‘cash for access’ is subverting the political process.

Lobbying is a fact of political life and only the most naïve politician would fail to take account of their naturally biased agenda. However, the resources of banking sector lobbyists far exceed those from other sectors and therefore the views of the banking industry may be drowning out those of civil society.

The close relationship between the banking sector and its chief regulator, the FSA, should be worrying, especially given the record of the last few years.  The revolving door between the banks and their regulators revolves faster in the UK than in any country other than Switzerland and a former Prime Minister now consults for one of the world’s largest investment banks, for a salary approximately 12 times more than he earned as Prime Minister.

Policy Implications

A few economically simple changes to the banking system would return power back to the people and restore some level of democratic control over the economy. These changes are:

1. Make banks ask for permission from their customers before they lend out their money.

2. Make banks disclose how customers’ money will be invested, so that members of the public can refuse to fund activities that they are not ethically comfortable with.


3. Remove the power to create money from the banks and return it to a democratically accountable body.
 
Making these changes would help redress the democratic deficit in banking and limit the ability of the banking sector to damage society. After the experience of the last few years, these are changes that urgently need to be made.

"Posh Boys" Determined to "Line the Pockets" of the Ultra-Rich

Believe it or not the "posh boys" are now trying to push the idea of giving businesses the ability to be 'sack people at will' ... and getting their 'spin machines' (e.g. The Taxpayers Alliance) to push the argument for a single rate of tax at the same time too (i.e. spin for getting rid of the top rate of tax altogether)! 

Both ideas are being 'spun' as 'solutions for growth' ... yet you really couldn't make this stuff up!

The truth is one of the following:

1. They have no idea at all about how to create growth ... as their proposals would actually reduce growth, not boost growth!

... Slashing services, cutting jobs and increasing taxes for the least well off in society (e.g. increasing VAT and National Insurance) reduces the spending power of the vast majority and reduces growth. It is well known that people with the least (and with little/no savings too) tend to spend any money they have on additional goods and services (i.e. which makes the wheels of the economy go round), whereas giving yet more money to the rich (via further tax cuts) does not boost growth at all (i.e. 'trickle down economics' is a complete scam), it just allows them to hoard even more (as recently demonstrated by the massive increase in the wealth of those in the latest UK's rich list - despite a supposed recession)! The publication of this list, alongside the recent 50% increases in top executive pay, prove this once and for all, and now only a brain-washed/brain-dead person would fail to see this now.

2. They do know what they are doing (and how to really boost growth), but it serves their interest to keep things very difficult, so they can use this to justify slashing public services still further!

... In reality the "posh boys" actions' have been designed to slash any service provided to 'ordinary people' and put fear amongst 'the peasants' (e.g. a 'sack at will' strategy) to maximise the ability of the ultra-rich to exploit them. According to recent reports these people have not seen a recession at all, with their wealth continuing to rise. These immoral spin doctors previously 'spun' the idea that the introduction of the 50% top rate of tax resulted in massive tax avoidance by the ultra-rich (by them pulling any pay forward - a known, but one-off, opportunity), and used this argument to remove it altogether, yet this action perversely allowed them to do the same sort of thing again (by putting pay back a year this time)! Again you couldn't make this stuff up ... yet the gullible British public accept it, and the culpable/incompetent British press/journalists (e.g. BBC) do not bring them to account either!

In my humble opinion the latter is by far the most likely, with these "Out of Touch Posh Boys", born into wealth and trained only PR, determined to take Britain back to 'feudal times'; where 'peasants' are exploited by the 'landowners/gentry' ... and they will continue to do so until they are either kicked out ... or succumb to another 'peasant's revolt'.

These PR merchants, rather than truly trying to stimulate growth, actively try to blame everyone else for the lack of growth, so they can continue their immoral plan ... and from this point of view Europe's current woes create 'the perfect platform' for the Government - occurring at just the right time for them (nb exports to Europe have been going up, not down, so their arguments that Europe is causing the problem are again mostly spin)!

These PR merchants also tried to put fear into everyone (over petrol) to get everyone to rush to the pumps in the final days of the last quarter (causing a self-generated petrol crisis), to try to avoid the UK being formally classified as entering a double dip recession ... but this did not work. Indeed the revised GDP figures released today suggest that the economic contraction was even worse than initially reported, and pointing to fact that the initial recovery was all but stamped out as soon as the "posh boys" took over! In reality, we are now not only in a double-dip recession, but in a depression much worse than the 30's (the "great depression'), as when you look at the initial contraction, and the subsequent recovery (see diagram below), the recovery in levels of GDP is much worse now ...

NB The PR "posh boys" only ever refer to recovery/growth relative to the last quarter, and not to the recovery of GDP to what it was prior to the recession ... and even when they do this it still doesn't look good! ... but if they were to use the proper measure ... then they would have to admit they are presiding over (and responsible for) the worst depression ever!

Tax Cuts for the Rich ... and Double Dip Recession for Everyone Else

George Osborne, the 'smug mugger', in his recent budget stole from the nation's pensioners and gave the proceeds of this raid to the rich ... by cutting the top rate of tax for himself and his multi-millionaire friends.

His budget also effectively started an omni-shambles, which other ministers have also since 'built upon' (e.g. Frances Maude and the self-generated petrol crisis, Theresa May and her shambolic failure in the deportation of Abu Qatada, Jeremy Hunt and his relationship with the Murdoch's) ... and are still building upon!

And now we see the true outcome from these immoral charlatans ... a double-dip recession, with no prospect for a prosperous future in sight (except for the ultra-rich - according to recent surveys).

THE ONS has confirmed the economy contracted again in the last quarter, by 0.2%, despite a late boost to retail sales (due to a exceptionally warm month in March), and (if conspiracy theories are to be believed) a last minute attempt by Ministers to 'manufacture' growth by creating a self-generated petrol crisis to boost sales of petrol in the final days counted in the first quarter results (nb once the final day had passed, they toned down their message immediately).

Simple estimates (see below) suggest that the increase in petrol sales would have boosted GDP by around 0.1% ... enough of an amount, the Government had hoped, would have just have prevented double-dip recession headlines being reported.

Number of cars - 31 million

% People filled up - 30%

% Tank filled up - 40%

Petrol Tank - 65 litres

Petrol price - £1.39

Petrol revenue raised - £336,102,000

GDP - £1,400,000,000,000

GDP/Quarter - £350,000,000,000

Increase in GDP due to petrol crisis +0.1%

And the real concern for these people now is that their estimates proved to be nowhere near either ... despite the temporary 2% boost in retail sales in March!

And will the Government reverse their strategy, e.g. give back the money to the pensioners and put taxes back to where they were for the rich, or will these 'arrogant posh boys', who 'show no remorse, no contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others', plough on regardless ... 

IMHO Nadine Dorries has already answered this, without anyone else having to try!

"Arrogant Posh Boys" ... Who Don't Care ... but Run the Country!

David Cameron is really on the back foot, and with poll ratings plummeting, he tried to pick himself up again yesterday only to be kicked in the teeth again - by one of his own MP's!

Speaking to BBC2's Daily Politics, Ms Dorries was asked whether she still believed the prime minister and chancellor were "two posh boys who don't know the price of milk".

She replied: "There is a very tight, narrow clique of a certain group of people and what they do is they act as a barrier and prevent Cameron and Osborne and others from really understanding and knowing what is happening in the rest of the country".

"Unfortunately, I think that not only are Cameron and Osborne two posh boys who don't know the price of milk, but they are two arrogant posh boys who show no remorse, no contrition, and no passion to want to understand the lives of others - and that is their real crime."

Well said ... and how true ... and Cameron had no real answer to this (except trying to guess at the price of milk)!

Cameron has overseen Osborne's mugging of pensioners (the 'Granny Tax') and tax cuts for millionaires (the slashing of the top rate of tax) ... and forced through the disasterous NHS reforms himself, against the advice given by every independent professional body (nb people will not forget this ... or forgive him for this).

Cameron is now saying they want a referendum over proposed Lords' reforms, arguing people's views should be solicited and listened to! However if Cameron was really interested in the views of the people he would have held a referendum on the NHS reforms ... as, unlike reforms to the House of Lords, the NHS reforms were not even part of an election manifesto ... and would have be rejected outright if they were!

Cameron and Osborne are manipulative, lying charlatans ... out of touch "posh boys" who really don't  care about ordinary people ... and who openly laugh at their levels of ignorance and apathy!

Destroying a country to satisfy your own self-interest/greed should be classified as an act of treason ... punishable by death - the Chinese have this ... so why don't we? 

[Answer: Because these type of people make the rules still ... and they have 'chosen' not to include rules like this! NB If there were such rules as this then Bankers, responsible for the mess we are now in, would have been brought to account ... and not receiving multi-million bonuses still!]

Conservatives sell 'Access to the Prime Minister' and 'Influence on Government Policy' for £250k

The Tory party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has had to resign after being caught offering access to the prime minister and chancellor for £250,000.

He was forced to resign after footage from a Sunday Times sting operation showed him making the offer to undercover reporters.

In his resignation statement last night the senior Conservative responsible for collecting donations for the party said he deeply regretted the repercussions of his "bluster" during the recorded conversations. 

In the footage, he is heard to say: "£200-250k is premier league … what you would get is, when we talk about your donations the first thing we want to do is get you at the Cameron/Osborne dinners" ...

"You do really pick up a lot of information and when you see the prime minister, you're seeing David Cameron, not the prime minister. But within that room everything is confidential – you can ask him practically any question you want" ...
 

"If you're unhappy about something, we will listen to you and put it into the policy committee at No 10 – we feed all feedback to the policy committee."

The newspaper claims the offer was made even though Cruddas knew the money would come from a fund in Liechtenstein that was not eligible to make donations under electoral law. Options said to have been discussed included creating a British subsidiary or using UK employees as conduits. The overseas clients were, in fact, reporters posing as wealth fund executives who had made clear they wished to develop contacts with the prime minister and other senior ministers to further their business.

The revelations will be a considerable embarrassment for the government, especially in the wake of claims in the budget of a supposed crackdown on wealth in offshore havens. Cameron has also made political mileage out of his intention to run a sleaze-free government.

 

The disclosures appear to contradict previous claims by the Conservatives that their high-value donor groups, such as the "leader's group", are for genuine supporters who do not seek to influence policy in return for their cash.

They also raise questions about the role of the prime minister. Months before taking office, Cameron warned that this type of "secret corporate lobbying" was the "next big scandal waiting to happen". Yet the Sunday Times claims the meetings, at which Cruddas claimed "premier league" donors could lobby the prime minister directly, have not been declared to the public.

Cameron clearly knew about such problems, as his own warnings prior to entering office suggest ... however on entering office he chose to ignore his own warnings and carried on regardless ... yet another mistake from an increasingly arrogant and out of touch 'leader' ...

Given this type of behaviour it's no surprise that the damaging NHS reforms were forced through regardless (with Lansley and the Conservative party also heavily backed by Private Healthcare providers) ...

No wonder the Conversatives are also not keen on the electoral commissions recommendations to limit any donations to £10,000 ...

What immoral and corrupt people these people really are ...

The 'Granny Tax' and the death of the 'Big Society'

Following on from Osborne's budget, we are now starting to see who he has actually taken most of the money off (and handed it to the rich) ... and it turns out to be the elderly!!

He has subtly introduced a "Granny Tax", by freezing personal allowances for the elderly ... as their personal allowance will no longer increase in line with inflation, which means more of their already meagre pensions will be subjected to tax.

If you steal £100 from a lone pensioner then you are called an immoral, cowardly criminal ... but if you take £100's from millions of pensioners it's called Government policy!

This Government, along with their 'friends' in the City, have already been fleecing the elderly every year, through £10bn's in lost interest that they would have otherwise received from their savings.

Osborne clearly thought this could be sneaked through without anyone noticing ... but by leaking everything before the budget, attention has naturally focused on those areas he didn't (e.g. this)!

And the consequences could be huge ... previous Government's have always been particularly careful not to upset the elderly, as they are one of the few groups of people who like to exercise their right to vote! Cameron is clearly reeling, and has tried desperately to deflect attention away from this (e.g. by saying he wants to bring in a minimum pricing for alcohol - which looks like he cannot legally do)!

Watch out for announcements on how they will try to limit the damage of Osborne's actions in the future ... as being seen as a party who 'robs a granny' to 'reward the rich' will come to haunt them (just like the NHS reforms will) ...

On a separate level, David Cameron and the Conservatives have been repeatedly 'spinning' the idea of the 'Big Society' (building upon charities and more people volunteering), to fill all the gaps created by their 'slash and burn' policy for public services.

The flaws in this idea are both numerous and clear (e.g. massive cutbacks to the budgets given to local councils mean they can no longer support local charities in the ways that they have in the past), and many of its initial high-profile backers have resigned because of the hypocrisy.

And in the budget the Government hammered yet another nail into their 'Big Society' coffin. The Government have now slashed tax relief on charitable giving, restricting it to £50,000. This will dramatically reduce charitable giving; cutting off yet another vital source of income for charities. Charities are not surprisingly up in arms about this ... but will their voices be heard? This Government hasn't listened to anyone to date (e.g. the ignored all the healthcare professionals about their NHS reforms) ... so why do charities think they will listen to them?!

Tax Cuts for the 'Rich', Debt Slavery for the 'Majority' and Wage Slavery for the 'Poor'

The Government has openly demonstrated that we are definitely "not all in this together" again today, as it delivered a "budget for multi-millionaires" ... 'cloaked' with a great deal of spin.

First of all the Government coalition, mostly made up of multi-millionaires (e.g. Osborne, Cameron and Clegg), are taking more money away from the elderly, hard-working and poor (by removing more of their tax related benefits/allowances) ... and giving it to the rich (i.e. by cutting the 50% top rate of tax for incomes over £150,000).

In trying to justify removing the 50% rate, the Government used the argument that rich people, prior to its initial introduction (2009-10), had 'moved' a total of £16-18bn of their income into a previous tax year to avoid paying the increased rate. However this is effectively little more than spin, as this was a one-off opportunity for them to be able to avoid the tax increase (and one they couldn't use again). Worse still, the rich will be able to effectively defer pay into the future in order to avoid the 50% tax rate again now too ... what spin and hypocrisy, and what a failure of opposition/media if they fail to properly point this out (nb Ed Balls has attempted to do this today, but he's unfortunately 'damaged goods' and his attempt was also poor)!

The second argument the Government used was they that are balancing this tax cut by imposing increased stamp duty on the purchase of expensive properties ... but for rich people not looking to buy lots of expensive properties (e.g. Osborne, Cameron and Clegg!) this is great ... as they will not be subjected to this tax at all and will therefore be the big winners - receiving a massive windfall/tax cut (worth £3bn annually).

Not surprisingly absolutely nothing is being done to introduce a tax on land (i.e. a Land Value Tax - a yearly rent on land - not a one off sale tax on property), which is by far the best way of taxing wealth/ unearned income (as by design the ultra-rich cannot avoid it) and a way of progressively moving away from taxing work/jobs. Failure to do this will mean people continue to see effective cuts to pay/allowances, the slashing of public services, and debt slavery for the vast majority (e.g. due to the high costs of housing and the introduction of tuition fees).

And what about the poor? ... well any benefits/support are being slashed ... and people are being driven to work for large private corporations for no extra pay (or lose their benefits) ... which effectively means they are being made to work for £1.50/hour - a small fraction (less than a quarter) of the national minimum wage (which should effectively be illegal)! 

And for the poor it's wage slavery, and if they (and/or indeed the 'middle-class') choose to protest ... well, as raised in previous posts, this Government is looking to arm the police with tear gas, water cannons and tasers, in readiness for potential riots (i.e. turning the police into a para-military force in order to protect themselves, and their rich friends)!

What an unfair, undemocratic, and immoral place the UK is turning into ...

NB Given the lack of democracy, and the level of dictatorship, shown by the Government ... with their pushing through of damaging NHS reforms, with no electoral mandate and despite outright opposition from every professional group, ... doctors are now saying that they are going to stand for election against these immoral hypocritical politicians, due to an absence of any real alternative for people to vote for ...

Destruction of the NHS ... and 'a mockery of democracy'

The current Government are hell-bent on destroying the NHS ... a NATIONAL health service set up in 1948 by Aneurin Bevan and created out of the ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of any wealth, and based upon three core principles:

* that it meet the needs of everyone
* that it be free at the point of delivery
* that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay.

Prior to gaining office the Conservative party deliberately kept secret their radical plans for the NHS from the people of this country. Their plans for the NHS were cooked up by Lansley over many years in opposition, and yet they failed to tell the people anything about their plans prior to the election (as no-one would have trusted them, and no-one would have voted for them)! 

Worse still, the Conservatives continually lied and made use of copious amounts of spin (nb David Cameron is only trained in PR) to persuade the country that they could be trusted with the NHS and that the "NHS would be safe in their hands". What irony and hypocrisy. The NHS reforms introduced by this manipulative Government therefore had no mandate from the electorate, and on entering Government they have consistently (and deliberately) circumvented any democratic right/process. In summary, they have made a 'mockery of democracy'.

And what about their continual spin ... that the NHS is 'Safe in their Hands?' What a joke! On being told by the Information Commissioner (and the High Court) to publish the risk register associated with these reforms, the Government have steadfastly refused to do so, whilst continuing to rail-road the reforms through.

The reforms are highly toxic and designed to deliberately destroy the very foundations/principles of the NHS. They open the doors to mass profiteering, by commissioning groups as well as private providers, which will taking money out of the system that would have otherwise been spent on healthcare. 

They will also destroy the 'doctor-patient' relationship and any trust patients have in their doctors, due to clear conflicts of interest (made clear by the Royal College of GP's) that have not been addressed! Doctors will now have to balance any diagnostic decision (and any decisions about subsequent treatment) with reduced budgets and a new found ability to profiteer (e.g. from withholding/limiting any diagnoses/care provided). The reforms deliberately try to bribe GP's to ration healthcare (e.g. by offering them bonuses for doing so). Yet despite this, the vast majority of GP's directly oppose the bill and want to see it dropped, some out of 'principle', and some from the fact that they know they are going to effectively become a scapegoat and the focus of people's anger (as people realise that care is effectively being withheld by them, unless they can afford to pay). 

Indeed, this Government has been careful to deflect any blame on the future lack of healthcare provision away from themselves and onto local groups (a divide and rule strategy). GP's are clearly the main target but the Government have also effectively removed the world NATIONAL from the term 'National Health Service', as there will no longer be a national standard for the type, or level, of care offered across the country (with no-one taking overall responsibility for this). This will result in a "post code lottery" health service; destroying the concept/principles of a NATIONAL health service ... And if anyone thinks they'll be able to simply move doctors if they're not happy, think again, as the Government have not allowed this (you will effectively have to move house to change your GP surgery - and even then, it will still depend on you being able to find a different, and more caring, commissioning group)!

If offered treatment, patients are also seeing waiting times dramatically increase, with Government officials desperately trying to remove any remaining waiting time measures/targets (n.b. people are also seeing appointments offered, but repeatedly cancelled too). Increasing waiting times are also a crucial (but toxic and hidden) ingredient of these reforms, as they are needed to pressurize people into paying for health insurance and/or paying to queue jump (NB they will now be able to jump the queue, as NHS hospitals will be able to allocate up to 49% of their time/resources to those who pay, and those willing/able to pay will be treated first, by exactly the same NHS doctors and nurses ... which in turn will make waiting lists/times even longer).

This destroys the very foundations of the NHS, in that healthcare should be "based on clinical need and not the ability to pay". With these reforms this will clearly not be the case in the future. Indeed, it is noticeable that Government ministers are always careful not to use this particular phrase when defending their reforms, and only say the NHS is about care still being 'free at the point of delivery'.

With the destruction of the core principles of the NHS, what we are seeing is the dismantling of the NHS ... and a list of 'the guilty', who should be charged with 'crimes against humanity', can be found below, along with their respective roles:

David Cameron, for his lies, deceit and hypocrisy. Andrew Lansley, for cooking up this immoral plan to destroy the NHS. Both parties are guilty of pressing on regardless, ignoring fundamental issues/concerns raised by every healthcare professional group, and systematically manipulating/ circumventing democratic processes (e.g. publication of the risk register).

 

Nick Clegg, for allowing these reforms to progress at all (with no electoral mandate) and forcing Liberal Democrats to ignore all concerns/principles in order to vote for these reforms. Shirley Williams for selling her soul to help Clegg and switching from 'protector' to 'cheerleader' (NB Lord Owen, a previous Democrat along-side Shirley Williams, is still desperately trying to stop the bill without the publication of the risk register demanded by the Courts). 

 

Ed Miliband for 'throwing a sickie' and not attending a rally against NHS reforms, so he could accept a VIP invitation to watch Hull City play football instead.

Andy Burnham (and John Healey), for failing to articulate a clear (and proven) alternative to these reforms ... based on engaging and empowering the workforce to radically improve the service ... and in the process making the NHS more seamless and efficient (i.e. 'lean') ... n.b. the complete opposite of this Government's approach, which focuses on fragmenting (and destroying) the service, ignoring any advice and/ or concerns of healthcare professionals, and handing over the money to those seeking pure profit (e.g. McKinsey's, commissioning groups, insurance companies and private providers), and not those on the front-line who are passionate about the NHS and want to create better healthcare for all (i.e. the healthcare professionals).

and finally, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, for ditching socialism (in favour of crony capitalism, self-interest and 'spin') and for abandoning all the 'ordinary', hard working, people they were supposed to represent. Their failures (e.g. bank deregulation, bank bailouts and the subsequent pressure to slash public services to pay back all the resulting debt) in effect created an 'open door' for the Conservatives to step into, impose a slash and burn strategy, and blame the Labour party for having to do it! 

RIP NHS ... a casualty of self-interest and greed, and a lack of real democracy ...

and why ... well this is down to a combination of ignorance and apathy.

RIP Britain ... and watch out for impending riots.

Aristotle once said ...

"Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers"

"In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme"

Those currently in power are desperately trying to ensure that this will never happen ... and indeed the opposite remains true ... by wielding all the power at their disposal (including the deployment of paramilitary forces armed with water cannons, tear gas, tasers and plastic bullets) ... and the answer to this ... mass protest ... withdrawal of labour ... and the use of 21st century technology.