Scottish Poverty

More on Government poverty figures , further to our previous blog on poverty .

Almost one million people in Scotland are living in relative poverty, according to latest figures.
The statistics showed that 980,000 Scots were living in relative poverty (after housing costs) in 2005/06 - an increase of 20,000 on the year before.

The statistics showed that the number of working age adults in relative poverty was up by 30,000 to 620,000.

The figures showed a standstill in the number of children in relative poverty (250,000) and absolute poverty (150,000). 12% of all youngsters live in absolute poverty.

The figures for the number of pensioners affected by relative poverty remained at 150,000.

And according to another report from Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes . More than 1.7 million households have become "fuel poor" since 2003 as a result of rising bills . Overall three million households spend more than 10% of their income on electricity and gas - the definition of fuel poverty, the group said. In 2001 the government said it wanted to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 - another political spin yarn from Labour .

"For thousands of people, the prospect of a warm and comfortable home is now a luxury that they cannot afford," Nicholas Doyle, a spokesman for the Partnership said. "The stark reality is that many people from low-income backgrounds are now faced with the unenviable choice of deciding whether to heat their homes or provide for their family ."

Capitalism Cannot be Reformed

From The Guardian

New figures showed the first rise in the number of children living in relative poverty in nearly 10 years.

Despite New Labour's key promise to halve the problem by 2010, today statistics revealed a 100,000 jump in the number of children living in relative poverty last year.
Official figures showed that 2.8 million children were living below the relative poverty line in 2005/06, with the figure rising to 3.8 million after housing costs were factored in. This represents an increase from 2.7 million and 3.6 million respectively on the previous year.

The chief executive of Barnados, Martin Narey, called it a "moral disgrace"

Colette Marshall, the UK director of Save the Children, added: "The child poverty target, supposedly one of the government's chief priorities, is now in serious jeopardy. If the government is genuinely committed to the target of halving child poverty by 2010 then urgent action and investment is needed, not just the piecemeal measures that have been announced so far."

What we said in June 1999 :- "Poverty is an inescapable part of capitalist society. It can be abolished, but only when there is a fundamental change in how we organise society. That is way beyond any policies or even concepts of the Labour Party."

What we said in April 2002 :- " Because it relies on the uncertainties of the market system and the use of money, the hope of any Labour government ending child poverty is impossible. Labour and Tory governments having been making the same promise for many years and they have all failed. "

To fight the same old welfare reform battles over several decades is demoralising enough, but when previous reforms are put into reverse the case against the system which puts profits before needs is stronger than ever.

A longer life, who benefits the most?

Altering atoms in food, it is claimed, could increase our life span.
The Metro, march 26th 2007.
Worms fed nutrients containing natural isotopes reportedly lengthened their life by a tenth. Scientists believe they may have found a way to slow the ageing process and say that, if further tests are successful, the implications are profound.
The article names some of the scientists and gives more details concluding that, preliminary findings indicate that ‘this approach can potentially increase lifespan without adverse side effects’.
Living longer is a problem in capitalism; the recent debate re increasing the retirement age and pensions still goes on. So who benefits the most if this all proves a reality?The answer is not difficult to find, members of the capitalist class will continue to live a life of wealth and luxury while making sure we retire at further distant retirement ages, that is unless we the working class refuse to abolish the capitalist system and the adverse side effects.

Another Banker

Further to the previous post , according to the BBC

A Barclays Bank executive earned £22million in salary, shares and bonuses last year, becoming the highest earner among firms in the FTSE 100 index . The total pay for Bob Diamond, head of Barclays investment banking service, dwarfed chief executive John Varley's salary and bonus package. Mr Diamond's basic salary was just £250,000 - with the rest made up of bonuses and cashed-in share options.

So are you struggling to pay your bank account over-draft off ?

Another Bunch of Bankers

From The Herald :-

Just exactly where are some of those bank charges that you are paying going to ? :-

Andy Hornby, chief executive of HBOS, banked a pay and benefits package worth £1.75m last year for 5 months work , the bank's annual report revealed . Hornby's 2006 remuneration included a cash performance bonus of £606,000

Peter Cummings, chief executive of Bank of Scotland Corporate , had a salary of £547,000 swollen by a performance bonus of £825,000, which took his total package including other benefits to £1.5m.

Jo Dawson, formerly group risk director and now chief executive of the insurance and investment division from March 1 pocketed £514,000 for the year, including a bonus of £211,000.

Benny Higgins, spirited away from Royal Bank of Scotland by HBOS to head the retail banking division, was recruited on a basic salary of £625,000 but with the potential to earn £2.75m in a full year. He received £1.1m in 2006 after joining HBOS on May 1, including a bonus of £435,000.

Sir James Crosby , the ex-chief executive of HBOS banked £1.2m in his final year.

Who owns the North Pole ?

An article about one of the lesser discussed effects of the global warming .

It could open the North Pole region to easy navigation for five months a year, according to the latest Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, an intergovernmental group. That could cut sailing time from Germany to Alaska by 60 percent, going through Russia's Arctic instead of the Panama Canal.

Or the Northwest Passage could open through the channels of Canada's Arctic islands and shorten the voyage from Europe to the Far East.

And provide easier routes to Arctic areas that the U.S.Geological Survey estimates holds as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas and Russia reportedly claims its slice of the Arctic sector possesses a potential in minerals approaching $2 trillion.

And the geo-political effect - a scramble for sovereignty over these suddenly priceless seas.

" We all realize that because of global warming it will suddenly be an area that will become more accessible" said Peter Taksoe-Jensen, head of the Danish Foreign Ministry's legal department.

Norway and Russia have issues in the Barents Sea; the U.S. and Russia in Beaufort Sea; the U.S. and Canada over rights to the Northwest Passage; and even Alaska and Canada's Yukon province over their offshore boundary. Canada, Russia and Denmark are seeking to claim waters all the way up to the North Pole, saying the seabed is part of their continental shelf under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Norway wants to extend its claims on the same basis, although not all the way to the pole.

Canada and Denmark have both staked their claim to Hans Island , half-square-mile of barren uninhabited rock, just one-seventh the size of New York's Central Park, wedged between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Danish-ruled Greenland , at the entrance to the Northwest Passage , with flags and warships.

Canada says the Northwest Passage is its territory, a claim the United States hotly disputes, insisting the waters are neutral. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged to put military icebreakers in the frigid waters "to assert our sovereignty and take action to protect our territorial integrity."

Russia contests Norway's claims to fish-rich waters around the Arctic Svalbard Islands, and has even sent warships there to underscore its discontent with the Norwegian Coast Guard boarding Russian trawlers there. "Even though they say it is about fish, it is really about oil,"

In 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the sovereignty issue "a serious, competitive battle" that "will unfold more and more fiercely."

Capitalism - cut-throat competition

“ This is pocket money for me.”

(Subscribe to the revolutionary press)

According to the press , Japanese property mogul Genshiro Kawamoto , one of Japan’s richest men , has handed over three of his many multi-million-dollar homes in Oahu’s most expensive neighbourhood to homeless and low-income native Hawaiian families.Dorie-Ann Kahele’s accepted the key to a white-columned house worth nearly €3.8m. Her family will live in the mansion rent-free.Kawamoto plans to open eight of his 22 Kahala neighbourhood homes to needy Hawaiian families, who will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years.

Kawamoto laughed when asked if he was concerned about losing money on the effort, saying: “This is pocket money for me.”

Kawamoto owns dozens of office buildings in Tokyo and his been buying and selling property in Hawaii and California since the 1980s.He has been criticised for evicting tenants of his rental homes on short notice so he could sell the properties, as in 2002, when he gave hundreds of California tenants 30 days to leave. Two years later, he served eviction notices to tenants in 27 Oahu rental homes, saying they had to leave within a month. He said he wanted to sell the houses to take advantage of rising prices.

I believe readers of this blog will tend to agree with the comments of the neighbour who stated:-

“Everyone’s paying homage to him, but in reality, he’s the problem,” said Mark Blackburn, who lives down the street from Kahale’s new home.“Houses are homes. They’re made to live in; they aren’t investment vehicles.”

And it is also suspected that Kawamoto's real motive is to drive down local property values so he can buy even more houses .

POVERTY UNCOVERED AGAIN

The Lanarkshire World: East Kilbride, Friday 16th March 2007 was dropped through my letterbox with a leading article headed OAP POVERTY ANGERS MSP.
My first thoughts were it must be election time; poverty among OAPs has been with them to varying degrees, forever it seems, it certainly will remain while we continue with capitalism.

Central Scotland SNP MSP Alex Neil, reported his concerns after uncovering figures that show 145 cases of malnutrition were reported in Lanarkshire hospitals during the past year.
“I am particularly concerned that this is a problem among the older generation”.
“Pensioner poverty is all too consistent an issue in Scotland and in Lanarkshire. All too often, older people must choose between adequately heating their homes or feeding themselves. That is an absolutely gross state of affairs in the 21st century”.

Nothing new in this, inadequate heating, maybe the malnourishment is a new problem? I don’t think so, do you?

Mr Neil added: “The Scottish Executive admit the figures may represent an “undercount of the true number of cases” because malnutrition as an underlying reason for admissions to hospital may not always be recorded”.
“We need to see improvements in the state pension to ensure that pensioners can afford to feed themselves. That will go some way to bring down the number of malnourished cases”.
Concern has been raised after Lanarkshire had the third-highest level of malnutrition of all the health board areas in Scotland in 2006, after Lothian (514) cases and Greater Glasgow (503) cases.
So malnourishment is not a new problem and I’m expecting it will be uncovered again, possibly undercounts among other than OAPs.

WHEN HARRY MET TONY, THE SHOWDOWN

In the second instalment the cause of the struggle between Harry and Tony was revealed and the stage set for their BIG showdown.

So there had to be a showdown between Harry and Tony at Paul Foot’s flat in posh Hyndland and, as a pal of Paul’s, I was invited.
When I arrived Harry and Tony had already locked horns: each was trying to out shout the other and the air was thick with angry accusations and denunciations.
This was not my scene and after a short stay I made my excused and left. Out on the street Harry and Tony could still be heard bawling at one another.
Cliff must have triumphed because several of the Govan and Gorbals lot followed him down to London and were active in his organisation.
Was this the end of Harry? Well, no, he went on to become Labour MP for Govan for a few years.

Tony triumphed over Harry in their battle for the hearts and minds of the Govan and Gorbals Young Socialists.
In 1962 I was still in the Labour Party and visited Cliff’s house near Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium. Gus McDonald, by then editor of Cliff’s youth paper “Young Guard”, was pounding a typewriter in the back room while Cliff was pontificating in the parlour. He was sat like a king on a throne with a semi-circle of young people literally sitting at his feet. Among them was John Palmer, later European editor of the “Guardian”, and Cliff was telling them, “When the workers are armed then you have the embryo of the workers’ state”.
Just the usual Leninist nonsense.

What became of those Govan and Gorbals firebrands? Some have died and others seem to have sunk without trace excepting, of course, Lord Gus McDonald who has done very well for himself.
An old comrade of mine told me that the political progress of leftists resembles reading the words on a page – start on the left and work to the right. McDonald is the perfect example of this. V.V.

A SPRAT OF A TIME

One group of the populace who wouldn't get past the doorman at Aspinalls have recently had news from the government that must cheer them up no end.
"The minimum wage will increase by 17p an hour to £5.52, the government announced today. The rate will come into force in October and will mean an increase in pay for more than one million workers, of which two-thirds are low-paid women. Separate rates for young employees will continue, but hourly pay for 18 to 21-year-olds will rise 15p to £4.60, while 16 and 17-year-olds will receive 10p more per hour at £3.40." (Guardian, 7 March)
No chance of Rolls Royces or Boeing747s from that windfall we imagine. R.D.

WHEN HARRY MET TONY, INSTALMENT 2

The first instalment introduced the rival would be Lenins, Harry Selby and Tony Cliff, and their epic struggle in Glasgow in the early 1960s.
What was this struggle all about?
It was over a bunch of youngsters who were part of Labour’s Govan and Gorbals Young Socialists who included Gus (now Lord) McDonald.
Harry got to work on them and they were soon ardent Trots. Paul Foot, who was working as a journalist in Glasgow, had teamed-up with the Govan and Gorbals bunch. However, he met Cliff in London and was so impressed that he invited him to come to Glasgow and meet the rest of the gang. V.V.
The big showdown tomorrow.

A QUICK FIX SOLUTION?

Newspapers and television are alarmed by what they portray as a growing crime wave and are anxious to put forward solutions to the problem.
These range from the "hang 'em, flog 'em" brigade to the " hug a hoodie" squad.
Sir Alan Sugar, the millionaire has entered the lists with his answer.
"People with guns are beyond saving," he tells Q Magazine. "Flatten an island off Scotland, build some huts and leave 'em there." (Times, 6 March)
We can assume "people with guns" refers to a few poor, ill-educated youths living in ghettoes: or does the great man mean the British Army? They have a lot more guns than the gangs of South London! R.D.

WHEN HARRY MET TONY

This is a tale of a struggle that took place in Glasgow in the early sixties between two would-be Lenins.
They were Tony Cliff, ex-Trotskyist and leading light of the “International Socialists” which later became the SWP. His opponent was Harry Selby who was attached to one of the four rival Forth Internationals – I forget which one but the joke at the time was that there were more Forth Internationals than there had been Internationals!
Harry didn’t have his own party but he and his tiny group controlled the Govan Labour Party.

Intrigued, enraged? Well there is more to come so don’t miss the next instalment tomorrow. V.V.

AN EXPENSIVE TOASTIE

"When an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on one of their pizza pans on Ash Wednesday the dinner ladies at Pugh Elementary School in Houston knew that it had to be more than just the cheese and pepperoni talking.
This had to be a message from God. ... Within hours the apparition had become the talk of Houston and the focus for pilgrims. ... This is not the first time that the Virgin Mary's face has appeared in unlikely places. Previous examples of simulacra - religious images appearing on inanimate objects - include a grilled cheese sandwich bearing the outline of the Madonna, which fetched $28,000 (£14,250) on the internet for its Florida owner in 2004. In 2005 hundreds of visitors left flowers, candles and rosaries in a Chicago underpass after salt residue created a stain resembling the Virgin Mary. " (Times, 26 February).
Oh, ye of little faith - to think that the last sannie that you munched without checking for simulacra might have been worth £14,250. Just your luck! R.D.

WHEN HARRY MET TONY

The Glasgow Left in the sixties, Right! Up to the moment.
Harry Selby and Tony Cliff. The rivalry between them,
the views of Victor Vanni,
member of the
Glasgow branch of the Socialist Party.
First instalment this Monday 12th march,
Not to be missed.
Read it here.

The New Landed Gentry

This Land is Your Land as the song goes - But only if you have the odd million or two spare .

For the first time in Scotland , plots of development land for single houses have been sold for £1million. Property experts estimate that the buyers will spend at least another £1million building a house on it .

It's , of course , Location , Location , Location - Two people have already paid more than £1million each for their separate plots of land in the 850-acre Gleneagles Hotel and golf resort , three other properties are currently under offer and wealthy people from all over the world are said to be lining up to make offers for the nine remaining plots, which are on sale from £850,000 and vary in size from 0.55 to 0.86 of an acre.

When completed, the 14 properties and land within the private gated development, to be known as The Queen's Crescent, will be worth in excess of £30million . Buyers of the plots also receive two years' free golf membership for two at Gleneagles, which would cost a total of £7800 and a free two-year membership for four people to the hotel's health spa which costs £4000.

"Uniquely for a development of this type, we will be providing a concierge who will live in the gate lodge " George Graham, development director at Gleneagles said , whose job-description no doubt will include tipping his hat to these new lairds as they pass by .

Last year it was estimated that the average cost of an acre of building land to developers in Edinburgh was around £6million and in Glasgow, around £4million.
A one-acre site can usually hold up to 60 homes of various sizes and with some penthouse suites in the centre of Edinburgh selling for up to £1.5million there are still big profits to be made.

And now you know why your kids can't get a foot-hold on the bottom rung of the property ladder .

More of the same Michael Meacher

From the Independent :-

Q. Are you a socialist? What does that mean today?

A. Michael Meacher ex-Labour Party minister and presently a contender for the leadership :-

" Yes, I am. A socialist believes that while the market has its proper place, the fundamental principles underpinning society should be equity, social justice, equality of opportunity, and democratic accountability. Even where the market is a dominant force, socialists believe it should be regulated to ensure high environmental, social and labour standards."...

..." I own four flats. I have saved throughout my life, and put my savings into property. I don't think that is contrary to socialism."

In other words , landlord Meacher is actually an advocate of Capitalism - but "nice , friendly " Capitalism - as if there was such a thing .

A Shocking Reward

The Herald reports that Philip Bowman, who has been chief executive of ScottishPower for 13 months, is in line to receive £4million in cash and shares when it is taken over by Iberdola .

Unlike us mere mortals Bowman's contract with ScottishPower included detailed provisions to protect his financial position in the event of a takeover. The Herald estimates Bowman is entitled to receive a year's salary of £700,000, a bonus of £1,050,000 and £300,000 in lieu of pension contributions. He owns shares worth £1.9million based on the Iberdrola offer.

Bowman previously received £17. 6 million when Allied Domecq was sold to Pernod Ricard .

The Observer newspaper reported that ScottishPower finance director Simon Lowth would also receive a year's salary (£460,000) and a bonus of the same amount if he left following the takeover by Iberdrola. Lowth has shares worth around £2.7million .

Not bad for some , eh , when many are struggling to pay heating and lighting bills ?

Capitalism Makes you Depressed

Nearly a quarter of residents in some of Scotland's most deprived communities turned to their GP with depression in a year, according to a survey. These are among the first disturbing findings of a survey of more than 6000 people in Glasgow, the largest project of its kind in Europe.

Across the study, 22% of those interviewed had seen their doctor about such mental health issues in the previous year.This rose to one-third and above in Shawbridge, Drumchapel and St Andrews Drive, on the south side.

Scotland-wide, the number of antidepressants prescribed trebling to 3.5m a year over the past 10 years .

Dr Michael Smith, consultant psychiatrist, said "It does look as if there is something about inner city deprived, urban environments that does actually make you ill."

This along with data about the influence people feel they have over decisions which affect their community, suggests residents lack a sense of control over their lives.

Dr Carol Tannahill, director of the Glasgow Centre for Population Health said: "Our emerging understanding of how good health is created would suggest that the issue of having control and influence is very important."

Only confirms what the Socialist Party has been saying since its inception - Captalism is bad for you .

INEQUALITY

The inequalities of modern capitalism are well summed up by the following news item.

"With annual economic growth averaging more than 8 per cent since 2003, India is already one of the biggest emerging markets for luxury goods like clothing, cars and cosmetics. Although about 250 million Indians earn less than a dollar a day, the country is now home to at least 27 dollar billionaires and an estimated 83,000 millionaires." (Times, 26 February)

Karl Marx once explained this process as the primitive accumulation of capital in a little known volume called Capital. Every worker should read it; it explains our position of wage slavery beautifully. R.D.

THE "MARXIST" CLUB

A few years ago I attended two meetings of the Glasgow Marxist Club. Its members were, university lecturers, graduates or students and nearly all were members of the SSP, SLP, etc. At one point a club member said that these meetings were important because they prepared members to better explain Marxism to workers.

This was really rich because that’s something their various parties NEVER do.

Listen to their speakers, read their newspapers and election manifestoes, there’s never a mention of Marxism. All you’ll hear or read are their multitude of proposals for tinkering with the capitalist system, and many of these proposals aren’t even aimed at getting gains for workers but only about preventing the loss of already existing gains. These people are Marxist in name only. V.V.

GEORGE SQUARE CONFUSIONISTS

Four members of Glasgow branch attended the SCND Rally in George Square to distribute our leaflet Protest Without End explaining why the rally was yet another waste of time and effort.

There were many other leaflets being distributed and we have singled out three, one each from the SSP, SWP and Solidarity.

The SSP’s contained the usual demands all of which, if achieved, would still leave us living in capitalism. As usual, they described this reformist nonsense as “socialism”, a concept they know nothing about.

The SWP’s seemed to be claiming that the Anti War Movement ( AWM ) is responsible for some British troops being withdrawn from Iraq when the real reason is that the government has decided that their withdrawal is in the best interests of British capitalism. The AWM is simply ignored.

Solidarity’s claimed that the war in Iraq if all down to Bush and Blair. Genuine socialists know that capitalism is responsible for ALL modern wars. The leaflet includes a “Please sign up for Solidarity” slip.
Anyone can join this “socialist” organisation and no questions asked. V.V.

Scottish Poverty Report

From the Sunday Herald :-

A report was written by a host of academics from The Open University, Glasgow Caledonian University, the University of Paisley and the University of Strathclyde. Experts on health, childcare, economics, community development, education, law and social policy also helped compile the report. The most damning data used came from Holyrood own official statistics.

One-fifth of the Scottish population, 910,000 people, live in poverty.

One in four Scottish children, 240,000 boys and girls, live in poverty.

Nearly a quarter of all children living in poverty are in households where an adult is working full-time.

77,000 children officially recognised as living in poverty don't get a free school meal.

One in 10 of Scotland's rural population is officially poor.

30% of "poverty pay" - wages which leave the employee below the poverty line - come from the public sector: jobs which are paid for by the government.

60% of low-income families believe they will never have enough to live on.

However , instead of laying the blame on what causes poverty - capitalism - and demanding the real revolutionary change - its abolition , this report The Poverty Alliance by the Child Poverty Action Group, the Scottish Poverty Information Unit and the Scottish Drugs Forum repeats the usual bleating demand from time immemorial - an appeal to political parties to make things all better with parliamentary policies and reforms , a forlorn hope .

DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES

Socialism and capitalism are probably the most misused and misunderstood terms in the English language. The newspapers and television are probably the guiltiest of this confusion but here is a recent example from someone who declares himself to be a socialist.
The SSP, and the breakaway Tommy Sheridan has formed, Solidarity, look as if they will be punished for their mutual antagonism, although he doesn't think so.
“They can fight over the 3 per cent of voters if they want”, he said of his former colleagues. “Solidarity will be chasing 53 per cent to join Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the People's Republic of Cuba in a new international socialist alliance” (Observer, 18 February)
In Cuba and Venezuela they have capitalism not socialism, and in Cuba they have a ruthless dictatorship that imprisons all who would dare oppose them. Sheridan's dream of a socialist future is in fact a state capitalist nightmare. R.D.

The Labour Party and the Atom Bomb

Another video to watch .

Socialist Party member Richard Headicar can be viewed giving a talk on the Labour Party and the Atom Bomb . Richard , a veteran of the CND protests who has also served jail time due to this activism brings to bear his great knowledge to describe the deceit shown by Attlee and the other Labour Party leaders when it came to the development of Britain's atomic bomb .

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-C-01GHlww

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nrL-FcxDo

Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBviOrTGtVw

Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr_HhKGsymc

Hope and Deception

Available to view on You Tube web-site in 4 parts is a video of Socialist Party member Steve Trott's talk on the 1945-51 Labour Government .

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLxbKgB0rvo

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wEl8KEPBIs

Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFrmcDVYh8

Part 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVwlXRFRohI

Good watching , comrades .

ARE YOU OPPOSED TO WAR?

A recent posting was urging
IF YOU ARE OPPOSED TO WAR

Either oppose capitalism in all its forms

Or settle down to a life of protests…
I know this is not November the 11th, however
For war protesters who protest at this war or that war
Read a socialist’s poem


THE MUTED MOCKERY OF POPPY (COCK) DAY

The ribbons arrayed the honours displayed
The medals jingling on parade
Echo of battles long ago
But they’re picking sides for another go.

The martial air, the vacant stare
The oft-repeated pointless prayer
“Peace oh’ Lord on earth below”
Yet they’re picking sides for another go.

The clasped hands, the pious stance
The hackneyed phrase “Somewhere in France”
The eyes downcast as bugles blow
Still they’re picking sides for another go.

Symbol of death the cross-shaped wreath
The sword is restless in the sheath
As children pluck where poppies grow
They’re picking sides for another go.

Have not the slain but died in vain?
The hoardings point, “Prepare again”
The former friend a future foe?
They’re picking sides for another go.

I hear Mars laugh at the cenotaph
Says he, as statesmen blow the gaff
“Let the Unknown Warriors flame still glow”
For they’re picking sides for another go.

A socialist plan the world would span
Then man would live in peace with man
Then wealth to all would freely flow
And want and war we would never know.

(J. Boyle 1971)

PROTESTS WITHOUT END

One year on since the invasion of Iraq by US and British led forces, people across the World have joined together to protest against the war policies of Bush and Blair.

Most believe the sickness of war can be sorted out within the usual channels offered - either a UN force moves in or the troops come home. The former will only compound the problem. The latter can only leave the region further unstable, with warlords and-the varying shades of the region's religions vying for political power.

As on previous demonstrations, placards and banners will carry a myriad of messages, some demanding, "Bush Must Go" and "Bring the Troops Home", with others screaming in assorted bright colours "No War for Oil" and "End the Occupation. "

We need to address the root of the problem - the capitalist system itself and vicious competition for profits - and how the problems capitalism creates can only be solved when we abolish the capitalist system itself.

While it is important that workers oppose war, we need to recognize in whose interests wars are waged. It's hard to think of a single war that did not have its roots in the need of small elite to make profits. All wars, even small-scale conflicts tend to be fought over resources, foreign markets and areas of influence, trade routes or the strategic points.

To end war - and the need to demonstrate- capitalism has to be ended. It needs to be replaced by a global system where the resources of the Earth are common to everyone. Competition and conflict between elites over resources must give way to cooperation for the benefit of all the world's inhabitants.

If you lend your support to a political party or organization that fails to oppose the real nature of capitalist society, how our world is organized for production and how power is distributed, then you are, in effect, supporting a system that breeds wars.

The Socialist Party asks: Do you want to protest endlessly against each new war as it arises? Or work for a new world of common ownership, democratic control, peace and human welfare.

IF YOU ARE OPPOSED TO WAR
Either oppose capitalism in all its forms
Or settle down to a life of protests…
“The World for the Workers”

Blair and the SSP are not so different.

The Scottish Socialist Party are lucky that there isn’t a political equivalent of the Trades Description Act or they could be prosecuted for fraudulently describing what they are trying to sell as “socialism”.

Historically, socialism was generally seen as a worldwide system of common ownership and democratic control in which the watchword would be “From each according to ability, to each according to need”. It would mean the end of the wages system along with money, buying and selling and the capital/labour relationship.
This has been watered down over the years until even Tony Blair calls himself a socialist. Compare what socialism originally meant with the SSP’s programme of reforms of the capitalist system. The difference between Blair and the SSP is only in the detail – both are all for patching-up capitalism but cannot agree on how this should be done. V.V.

Scottish Malnutrition Numbers Increases Again

The BBC reports the number of malnutrition cases recorded by Scottish hospitals has risen for the fourth year in a row.

A total of 1,900 patients, almost all of them adults, were diagnosed with the condition last year, a fifth more than in 2002. NHS Lothian saw the sharpest rise, with more than 500 cases recorded in 2006.
Ministers admitted that some cases, where malnutrition was a secondary concern, would still be missed from the statistics.

MORE LEFTIST ILLUSIONS

The Scottish Socialist Party claims that if only Scotland was politically independent then this would lead to universal “social justice, environmental sustainability and an end to war”.
All over the world there are independent nations and yet we still have the very opposite of what the SSP thinks political independence will bring.
Many of these independent nations have had leftist governments, which all claimed they could solve capitalism’s problems but failed because the system’s problems are inseparable from it. The SSP simply hasn’t noticed that we live in a global economy over which they could have no control. Capitalism’s problems are global so their solution can only be global.
This means world socialism and not the narrow, nationalist proposals of the SSP. V.V.

Don't mention the War!

The elections cause all types of vote seekers to promise you benefits by voting for them: a lot of the benefits are directed at people on the poverty line. Page 12 of the February Socialist Standard is worth your attention.

It’s not quite election time and a copy of the EK Labour News has been delivered informing constituents we live in a time of record levels of employment, [i.e. capitalists are benefiting from the efforts of more workers] low inflation, [i.e. capitalists are managing to keep their prices down, a great benefit when in competition with other capitalists] low mortgage rates and increasing investment in schools and hospitals. [i.e. great for builders selling houses, hospitals and schools]
Ten years ago it was all in reverse: what changed it all? The answer is Politics.
“Some people would have you believe it’s a dirty word but politics and politicians make a difference”.
We are assured New Labour has demonstrated that in creating a strong UK economy [i.e. capitalist economy] you can deliver on the principles of social justice and fairness.
If we have any lingering doubts we must look inside the leaflet, because, as the proverb says, “A picture is worth a thousand words”
Inside the leaflet there are pictures of new schools, hospitals and housing developments but no contrasting pictures of Iraq, the devastation to housing, the weak economy and levels of unemployment, no reference to the lack of social justice and fairness, however, it could be the East Kilbride Labour Party is very disciplined and only obeying their leaders. The following article, Labour told: Don’t mention the war is an example of give us your vote and leave it all to us. Think only of what we tell you and we say things can only get better. [But for whom?] More promises in four or five years. No doubt!

Why I Fight

I often get asked, generally by people who know me, why I keep fighting to change the world.

I will tell you what I tell them, because it is the right thing to do.

The world we live in kills, or allows to die, so many people unnecessarily. People who die for lack of food, in a world which can give each of 6 billion people on the planet an adequate supply of nutrition.

A world which has the capacity to give clean water and sanitation to all but does not.

A world which can give medicines and cures to so many people, but does not. Are you a relative of someone who has been denied medication for cancer, Alzheimer's, M.S. or a miriad of other diseases because of cost? well I fight for you. I argue the case where these medicines should be given.

I argue the case against spending so much money and using so many resources, (both material and mental) on killing people, when if, we used these resources to create the cures for the diseases that afflict us and put the minds of those especially capable of providing these cures, to these ends, rather than their antithesis, (taking lives),our lives could be enhanced beyond measure and our pain and grief at losing loved ones prematurely, ended, or at least eased. Knowing that the world we live in, had done its utmost to prevent the above.

But we do not live in that world. But that world is a possiblity. It is only a possiblity however, when the world and everything in and on it, is owned by us all collectively. When we all have a collective say in how this world is run, (real democracy) . Without recourse to leaders or minority interests, as is the case today.

You have the vote! Change the world.

I am trying to, what are you doing about it?

Yours Sincerely,

Steve Colborn

Written by a member of the Socialist Party from the N.E. of England to his local paper

SPREADING THE WORD ???

On occasion, a newspaper article or letter prompts a response from me. Immediately prior to the 2005 G.8 Summit, "Metro" featured in its "60 Second Interview" one, Norrie MacQueen, Head of Politics at Dundee University - "a published expert on international peacekeeping" and "noted for his writings on African politics".This latter interest stemmed from his days as a radical student, when, "realising that revolution wasn't going to happen in the 'First World'", he perceived that,"Africa seemed to offer a blank sheet that a genuine socialist future could be written on".(!!)
Identifying, correctly, the G.8 as a "self-selecting elite", he nonetheless hoped that despite previous rhetoric,they would this time somehow arrange and honour an agreement of sorts, however flawed this might prove to be! His dearest wish for Africa was for an "international agency to be established to manage its resource relations and ensure fairer distribution of its wealth". He conceded, however, that multitudinous vested interests rendered this impossible!
Ever the cock-eyed optimist, I posted off a copy of our "Africa" booklet, the current "Socialist Standard" plus other assorted leaflets and duly received a courteous acknowledgement that he was looking forward to reading it all. In a frenzy of excitement therefore I awaited his profound responses------and awaited------and awaited------.
Clearly, the learned professor hadn't a clue what the word "socialism" meant, but if he did actually read our material, would rapidly have found out. Why then the failure to engage and why the advocation of strategies that, by his own admission, were doomed from the outset?
Is this guy simply one more of those dinosaurs we all encounter, impervious to reason, seemingly hard-wired to trudging the dreary old leftist/ reformist highway that (genuine) socialists for the past century have pointed out leads nowhere? Or, is he cute enough to know that the nice little career he has carved out for himself depends upon the perpetuation of the GREAT DEBATE? The last thing the GREAT DEBATE needs is the GREAT SOLUTION - which is of course the universal replacement of Capitalism with Socialism.It is an obscenity that human beings across this planet, including the highly-developed "First World", die annually in their millions for want of food, medication, sanitation, etc. etc. Production solely for need; not profit can end this at a stroke. And you don't have to be a sodding academic to work that out!
Andy Armitage.

The Sick Society

The Independent has a report from The Samaritans about the mental well-being of the British population .

Money worries, long hours at work and family pressures are driving up stress levels across the country .

Half the population say they feel more stressed now than five years ago and more than 10 per cent say they have felt suicidal, twice the level in 2003.

One in five Britons felt their life was out of control .

70% of 16-to-24 year-olds saying they felt more stressed than five years ago. 16% had contemplated taking their own life.

And the Samaritans response to this - a Stress Down Day .

Sad that those who are sincere in doing some good can never see further than gesture politics and never try to deal with the root cause of why most people suffer from the stress of life - Capitalism .

Industrial War!

In this blog we have demonstrated that the capitalist class see planet Earth is their arena for total exploitation of the working class. Not only do they invite workers into the various countries they control in order that they compete with each other for jobs, they can in many cases also move their factories into other parts of the planet if the wage rates are lower there.

As a consequence socialist say we, (the working class providers of the world’s wealth, can extricate ourselves from the abundant problems caused by this system of production) must replace world capitalism by world socialism.

An article in the BBC news today carries an excellent example of some members of the Indian capitalist class’s thinking about replacing possible deficiencies that may arise should the supply of skilled labour in the computing market cause a global war for talent.

I pick and emphasize this part of the article, which shows the class thinking we should be made aware of.

"But industry analysts wonder whether the rising wage bill will eventually make Indian software companies uncompetitive in the world market. After all, lower labour costs are what gave them their initial advantage.
The Indian companies answer that it is their global production systems and their skills, not low wages, that give them comparative advantage.
But they are also hedging their bets.
All the Bangalore tigers have set up development centres in China, where they can employ software engineers for considerably less than they are currently paying their Indian staff".

Notice the use of the words in this article "global war" and "the battle for India's future in a globallized world is being waged" "global outsourcing industry".

Can you agree to revolutionary change? We can! why not you?

Workers must think globally, act globally

Just a Reminder if you are in Edinburgh tonight, Glasgow tomorrow.

Well if you are in Edinburgh tonight or Glasgow tomorrow Tristan Millar is giving an interesting alternative talk to Bill Gates one.
About the speaker: Tristan Miller is a research scientist in the field of computer science and digital information
management. He has been an active developer of free software since 1999.
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Edinburgh/posters.html

Free Software
dot.communism..?

A socialist analysis of the Free Software and Open Source movements.

Tuesday 30 January 2007 at 20:00
Quakers Hall
Victoria Terrace (above Victoria Street) Edinburgh
--------------------------------------------------------------
Glasgow
Wednesday
31 January 2007
at 20:00
Maryhill Community Centre
304 Maryhill Road Glasgow
I hope some of you can make it through.

When Profits disappoint.

In a previous posting it was pointed out that making a profit was a class thing, no profit no employment. That is why socialists want the working class to recognise that while we have a capitalist system, the profit motive will always create for them insecurity and crisis.

There is some interest in this recent report for me. I’ll comment in brackets

US manufacturer NCR has been criticised for cutting 650 jobs in Dundee, after its quarterly profits rose 16%.
[ I don’t think the criticism will be from the shareholders ]

The Amicus union said Dundee's "loyal" workforce helped NCR achieve a £88m net income towards the end of last year.
Amicus officer Gillian McKay said: "Amicus and the Dundee staff are vindicated in their view that NCR's only motivation in switching production to Hungary and closing its Scottish plant is to add to their already huge profits."
[ I agree with officer McKay, the profit motive is the reason although NCR shareholders probably think they are not huge enough ]

Dundee West Labour MP, Jim McGovern, said: "As we witness these large profits all I can do is express my disappointment that a company with this level of profitability is making 650 redundant."
[What level of profitability would remove this disappointment? I’m sure many of the 650 workers will be anxious for their futures no matter what the profits are for NCR]

His Scottish Parliament colleague, Kate Maclean, added: "This is going to leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of the people that are going to lose their jobs."
[I should hope the bitter taste is in the mouths of the people who are in employment as well. It’s possibly members of their family are among the redundant, it is a class thing after all]

An NCR spokesman said: "The competition we are facing in the ATM marketplace is affecting our profitability. That is why we need to restructure global operations."
[Well there you have it, the competition of the capitalist marketplace brings poverty to the working class when profitability is affected]

Socialists say organise for a change, organise for Socialism. Get rid of this class thing, don’t express your disappointment at the huge profits, get rid of the profit system, get rid of employment.


Central to the meaning of socialism is common ownership. This means the resources of the world being owned in common by the entire global population.

Social mobility

From The Scotsman :-

Alan Milburn, the former Labour cabinet minister who grew up in a single-parent family on a council estate, yesterday said it would be harder today for someone from a similar background to get ahead in society than it was a generation ago. Mr Milburn, a close friend of Tony Blair, said that "shamefully", Britain has become a less socially mobile society in recent years, questioning whether today's deprived children will be able to break out of poverty in adulthood.

A London School of Economics report in 2005 showed declining social mobility in Britain, with more poor children becoming poor adults, and more rich children staying rich in later life.

The LSE team found that 31 per cent of boys born in 1958 in the lowest-earning group stayed there in adulthood. But that rose to 38 per cent of boys born in 1970.

Also according to the LSE data, 27 per cent of British boys born in 1970 ended up in the same earnings group as their parents.

How to Make Socialists: Lenin’s View

This article below from the Socialist Standard February 1933  is a timely reminder to workers and others that some of the tactics and methods which left -wing parties claim are orthodox,"boring from within" workers struggles,concentrating upon," immediate demands", and so on,do not always stem directly from Lenin ,but may indeed be distortions of his own writing on the matter.There are of course different interpretations and Lenin himself often contradicted in action his own previous statements as events dictated to him.The links in the text allow you to make up your own mind as they take you to the work in question.
M.C.

How to Make Socialists: Lenin's View

Most of the Communists who say that the way to make Socialists is not to theorise, but to concentrate on "immediate demands" in the day to day struggle against the employers are quite unaware of Lenin's view on the subject. He set it out at some length in an article, "The Working Class as Champion of Democracy," written apparently about 1901 and recently republished in What is to be done (Martin, Lawrence, Ltd., 175 pages, 2s.).Wikipedia Commentary

In this article Lenin vigorously rejects the policy of concentrating on immediate demands. He

points out that any trade union secretary does this work admirably (he mentions Robert Knight, who was a Boiler Makers' official well-known in England). He contrasts Knight, the trade union secretary who "conducts the economic struggle against the employers and the Government" with Liebknecht, who "engaged more in the propaganda of brilliant and finished ideas." Lenin plumps for Liebknecht's method and rejects Knight's.

Lenin writes: —

"The economic struggle merely brings the workers 'up against' questions concerning the attitude of the Government towards the working class. Consequently, however much we may try to 'give the economic struggle itself a political character,' we shall never be able to develop the political consciousness of the workers ... by confining ourselves to the economic struggle, for the limits of this task are too narrow." — (Page 76.)

"The workers can acquire class political consciousness only from without, that is only outside of the economic struggle, outside of the sphere of the relations between workers and employers." — (Page 76.)

"Robert Knight engaged more in 'calling the masses to certain concrete actions,' while Liebknecht engaged more in 'the revolutionary explanation of the whole of modern society or various manifestations of it.'" — (Page 78.)

The whole article is well worth reading. It will be noticed that here, as on certain other questions, Lenin's view was nearer to the S.P.G.B.'s view than to that of the Communist Parties.

(Socialist Standard, February 1933).

Mental health and redundancy

In a previous blog and in another Socialist Courier discussed redundancies and the inhumanity of employers and their business plans when it comes to discarding workers .

The psychological effects upon workers made redundant has been well documented but new research reveals that even amongst those workers who escape dismissal , the continual fear and threat of redundancy increases the stress and anxieties .

Researchers found that men made redundant during downsizing were 64% more likely than those in completely unaffected workplaces to receive prescriptions for drugs such as antidepressants and sleeping pills. However, their former colleagues still working were not far behind, with men having a 50% increased chance of being prescribed the such same drugs.

The researchers said that it was clear that downsizing could increase the workload and reduce job security of those who stay in their jobs and may pose mental health risks among employees.

"The trouble is that employees don't tend to believe their employer when they're told there is no risk of further redundancies ..." Professor Cary Cooper, who carries out research into organisational psychology at the University of Lancaster .

A frightened worker is a docile worker !!

Not such a taxing year for some

My , isn't the State generous to certain capitalists .

The Aberdeen -based oil and gas company Venture Productions have had a boom-time in 2006 with a 50% increase in output helped by bringing fields onstream and strengthened by acquisitions. It averaged a net production for 2006 of 44,706 barrels oil equivalent daily and conducted a £153m takeover of CH4 Energy .

"2006 was a record year for Venture and we have continued to make great progress in increasing both production and reserves," said chief executive, Mike Wagstaff.

In September it announced a profit of £97.7million in the six months ended June 30 .

YET:-

Venture said it probably would not have to pay any tax on its 2006 profits after claiming 100% tax relief .

THE ROAD TO HELL- Revisited

Vic Vanni’s posting on this site has generated a lot of comment at the Socialist Standard MySpace blog

Vic doesn’t have a computer so he apologises for the delay of this response.
(Could Darren post this on his MySpace blog?)


Sorry, but I can’t reply to all of the responses to “ The Road to Hell” but there are some that I must comment on.

First, I want to make clear how much I admire Michael Moore. I’ve watched all his TV programmes, his movies and read some of his books. Many others criticise some of what capitalism does – we have John Pilger, Mark Thomas and others, but, like Michael Moore, they have nothing to put in its place, but Michael Moore is special.

He’s special because of his originality, humour and, above all, his courage. I would never have the nerve to beard the lions in their dens as he does, but it still isn’t enough.

I’ll begin with you, Hollywoodartchick.
I can agree with much of what you said but I’m a tad wary of “the coalition” you want to see built. The trouble with coalitions is that they are made-up of groups, which have different agendas and have only come together over some single issue or other. What is required is a united, worldwide movement determined to replace capitalism with the new society of common ownership and democratic control.

This movement would need to understand and desire socialism: Karl Kautsky was a master of Marxist theory but was, in his political activity, just another reformist, even so, he did explain this need beautifully
“Every conscious human action presupposes a will: the will to socialism is the first condition for its accomplishment”.
I wish I’d said that.

Phil, you think that consciousness doesn’t come in a flash but comes step by step.
You are right and I’m a case in point. I could never have made the leap from near political ignorance to any kind of understanding of Marx’s theories without being influenced by others along the way.

You see Michael Moore as a stepping-stone to a growing consciousness for many. I started in the British Labour Party and learned from some of the people I met there, but stepping-stones, if they are to be useful, should lead to somewhere worthwhile, but I would never have got there if I hadn’t stumbled across those who introduced me to socialist ideas. Getting that introduction is absolutely essential.

Next up is you, Carl. Michael Moore was your hero but is no longer because, despite his attacks on capitalists, he has supported politicians who are itching to run American capitalism. He is only following in footsteps of generations of “progressives” who usually justified supporting these politicians because they were “the lesser evil”. Of course, if elected, they would do whatever it takes to maintain and extend the interests of American capitalism. We only have to remember Kennedy, Carter and Clinton to see that.

Cindy, you’re kidding yourself if you think Michael Moore “knows very well how capitalism works”. If he does then he should at least know that profits can’t be “fair” or “reasonable” as he would like. They MUST be maximised, not out of greed, but because this is necessary for businesses to keep up with or get ahead of the competition.

Malcolm, your views are truly a gospel of despair. Their implication must be that capitalism will last forever because people have been brainwashed into accepting it. Capitalism can’t last forever, Malcolm, nor can anything else in the universe. It is just another stage in social development and, unless it destroys us all first, will eventually be replaced by the “full-blooded socialism” you mentioned. This, of course, would depend on what people like you and me do about it.

I’ve kept the best to the last.
Courtney, you have shown that you understand very clearly that humans are conditioned by circumstances, that it is the capitalist system (or any other property society) that makes we humans do the awful things we do to one another. I found your contribution most heartening. My thanks to you.

While I’m at it, my thanks once again to all who responded and if, as I suspect, I’ve stood on some toes then please visit us again. Finally, if any of you want to know more about us then log on to…. The Socialist Party

V.V.

Iraq denies UN casualty report

Iraq has dismissed a United Nations report that put the number of killings across the country last year at 34,400, saying it did not correspond with reality.
Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Malaki, said Thursday that the report, released Tuesday, "does not reflect the reality on the ground. It is based on individual stories."
The United Nations based its findings on data provided by the Iraqi health ministry, which collated figures from hospitals around the country as well as from the Baghdad morgue.

But Dabbagh said: "Unfortunately the report is not based on official sources."

When asked if the Iraqi government could provide its own casualty figures,The spokesman said:-

"We do not have casualty figures because we have been unable to gather them due to security reasons."

ERRRRRRRRMMMMMM , WHAT'S ZAT !!!

A Bit of Light Relief

A joke Courtesy of Wee Matt

This little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"

Dad says,"Well son, let me try to explain it this way. I'm the bread-winner of the family, so let's call me Capitalism. Your mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you Human Needs. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense."

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now."The father says, "Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is about."

The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, Human Needs are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit."

Meeting..Free software..dot . communism ? In Edinburgh-Glasgow

Tuesday 30 January 2007 at 20.00
Quakers Hall
Victoria terace (above Victoria street)
Edinburgh
----------
Wednesday 31 January 2007 at 20:00
Maryhill Community Centre
304 Maryhill Road
Glasgow
Click on image above or text image below to enlarge.

Tuesday 30 January 2007 at 20.00
Quakers Hall
Victoria terace (above Victoria street)
Edinburgh
---------
Wednesday 31 January 2007 at 20:00
Maryhill Community Centre
304 Maryhill Road
Glasgow

Click on text image above to enlarge.

The Insecure Society

In Dundee after the Second World War the NCR Company in Dundee employed over 7,000 workers, but over the years this has fallen to less than 1,500. So when Bill Nuti, the company's chief executive announced 14 months ago that he was "one million per cent committed to the Dundee operation" the remaining workers felt relieved, but capitalism doesn't work that way.
Their American employer dismissed a total of 650 factory workers in Dundee via transatlantic video link yesterday after being told that production was to be switched to cheaper plants overseas.Employees at NCR, which makes automatic teller machines, were summoned to a meeting at midday yesterday where amidst angry scenes, the job loses were announced by video-link by Bill Nuti, the company's chief executive." (The Times, 12 January) R.D.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT WEAPON

If anyone has any doubt your unemployment (poverty) is a concern for the bosses maybe this will change your mind.

More than three quarters of UK bosses think their companies would benefit from an annual quota of staff dismissals, a report has found.


The survey by recruitment consultancy Hudson UK spoke to 562 senior managers.
It found that one in six executives thought their company could target up to 20% of its workforce each year for dismissal without damaging productivity and morale. Less severely, 43% of bosses agreed that dismissing up to 5% of staff each year would be healthy.

"Sometimes the best career direction for an employee is out of the company."

Notice the use of healthy and benefit, would you like the benefit of healthy dismissal?

I think the best direction would be towards common ownership of the means of production, that’s the healthy beneficial career direction the working class could arrive at.

CARING REFORM?

Almost six million workers throughout the UK - more than 500,000 of them in Scotland - will receive extra four days holidays this year.
I certainly won’t refuse this, but are the bosses being generous?

The deal, which was thrashed out before the 2005 General Election by the government and the trade unions, will bring UK workers closer to their European counterparts, who enjoy a more generous holiday entitlement.

The government has wrestled with holiday entitlement, wanting to introduce it in a way that will not alienate the business community.

The changes are expected to cost business around £4bn a year which the DTI said amounted to 0.4% of the total wages bill. The department also pointed out the cost of absenteeism in the workplace, which the new measures are expected to reduce, was estimated at around £11.6bn.

Well I think saving the business community £7.6bn must have been the arm lock the government used. Like a lot of other welfare reforms, its not caring and sharing that motivates the business community.

Downward pressures on wages

American and Japanese firms are welcomed into Britain. They provide earnings for unemployed workers, can’t be bad? However, when they decide to move their business to another part of the world, questions get asked, we have dealt with some of them on this site. Sprawling Prawns and THE ROAD TO HELL are worth a read.

Workers may not have noticed that overseas capitalists maybe think the lower wages paid in Britain were the attraction, even if they were aware of this, a wage is a must have and certainly better than social insecurity.

The dismissal of 650 workers by NCR means The fall-out could put as many as 1000 out of work as smaller companies dependent on the American firm shed staff.

Attempts will be made by some to blame the foreign worker and use nationalistic propaganda as a solution, however. I’m sure you will be aware of local bosses doing the same sort of thing when they are not making a profit; it’s a class thing, no profit, no employment.
The bosses struggle against each other, here in East Kilbride at the end of this month, the CO-OP will close its main shopping mall. All the staff will be redundant because of the competition from outlying areas such as Kingsgate.
Not a lot is made of this closure, no big number, these things are happening all the time; the result is the same, anxiety, uncertainty and worry for many members of the working class.

Industrial and financial experts may be called in to help the hundreds of jobless make a profit for someone.
There will be no end to this until the working class think globally and act globally in their interest, by establishing common ownership of the means of production, i.e. Socialism.

A distasteful flavour of the menu presented to the Dundee workers follows.
Just over a year ago management gave assurances that manufacturing in Dundee would be unaffected by the new plant in Budapest.

NCR’s president and chief executive, Bill Nuti said he was “one million percent” committed to the Dundee operation.

These are the assurances given to the workers in this Dundee factory. However, the profit motive evidently overrides the promises. Caring and Sharing? No way!

Dundee operations director Allan Valentine said, “This is a very difficult but necessary proposal in response to changing market conditions. Our competition is also moving its manufacturing operations to lower cost areas.”

The production of automatic teller machines, the ubiquitous “hole in the wall” cash dispensers whose development was pioneered in Dundee, will now go to Hungary, China and India.

“The proposed re-alignment of our manufacturing operations will help create a level playing field that will enable us to become more competitive by lowering costs and freeing up resources to invest in new product innovation.”

Well are they thinking of your welfare?

Paid too Much

The name Martin Gilbert cropped up in a previous blog on Socialist Courier for being an over-paid fat cat parasite . Seems as if we aren't the only ones who question his worthiness .

Pirc, which advises largely public sector pension funds has singled out Aberdeen Asset Management for criticism in its latest review, branding as "excessive" last year's £4m pay package for chief executive Martin Gilbert. The company's annual report revealed at the end of December that Gilbert was paid a £2.6m bonus during the year, on top of a basic salary of £435,000, and also received pension contributions of £890,000. The total of £3.95m compared with £1.2m the previous year.

Pirc is urging its members to vote against Aberdeeen's remuneration report at the annual meeting next week claiming that its chief executive annual bonus equivalent of 656% of salary and an LTIP (long-term incentive plan) award of 312% of salary is indeed extravagent .

Pirc is very welcome to contact the Socialist Party and we will gladly furnish them with a further list of overpaid capitalist bureaucrats .

The State of the Welfare State

Councils in England are restricting access to social services such as home care, day services and respite care. The Commission for Social Care Inspection warned this was happening by default, and without debate.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection chairman Dame Denise Platt said many people were being left to make their own arrangements because access to services was being tightened to include only those deemed to be in the most serious need.

Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said the system was in crisis, and accused the government of being unwilling to provide sufficient funds to help people with serious medical conditions.

Age Concern's director general Gordon Lishman said: "This is a damning indictment of a social care system that is failing older people. Not providing services for people with so-called moderate needs causes much anguish for the individual - but can also result in much higher and more expensive care needs in the future."

Dame Denise said: "In some cases people rely on family and friends, in others they pay for their own care. Some people have no option but to do without. "
Nearly five million people are classed as carers, with 1.5 million of those providing over 20 hours of care per week.
Dame Denise said: "They are doing this without the proper infra-structure in place. It is a complex sector, but they are often given no help navigating through it."

The promise of care from the cradle to the grave was one that was boasted of by the social reformers of the Labour Party - A promise that can be broken and forgotten , as we see .
And as Dame Denise states , it is not the power of the Capitalist State but mostly actual people-power who look after family and friends . Another reason to forgo this forlorn society .

THE ROAD TO HELL

Michael Moore, American TV programme and movie maker, is a compassionate guy who hates what capitalism does to people and strives to right what he sees as wrongs. Sadly, he hasn’t a clue about how capitalism works and is a prime example of the idealist who fights effects but leaves causes untouched.

He thinks that corporations and the filthy-rich should be content with less wealth and should share profits with their workers. What a hope, but here in Scotland we have our own version of Michael Moore in showbiz personality in Elaine C. Smith.

In her column in the SUNDAY MAIL (December 31st) Elaine, having applauded “the risk-takers” and endorsed the capital-labour relationship, lambastes business fat cats who pocket huge sums of money and asks, “Do they really need all that money? Couldn’t they have just put a couple of hundred quid in the pay packets of their workers?”

What Elaine doesn’t realise that those fat cats get their wealth by trying to ensure that their business MAXIMISE their profits and keep shareholders happy. What investors want is not smaller but bigger profits and dividends.

It’s not just fat cats and shareholders who want more: everybody does, even working class savers with, say, building societies look for the highest rate of interest. That’s what capitalism is all about.

Michael Moore and Elaine C. Smith want a caring, sharing capitalism and although they mean well they should remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. V.V.

Burnt out at 50

Scotland's ageing population does not represent a "crisis" according to a Holyrood think tank.
A year-long study by the Scottish Parliament's Futures Forum says the nation can afford to grow old, if it rethinks its approach to retirement.

"An awful lot of people are peeling out of the workforce at 50, burned out," said Lord Sutherland "That shouldn't happen. There's something wrong with the way that we're operating in society if that's the case."

Indeed there is something wrong with this society - it's called capitalism . A social system that does indeed use and abuse people , prematurely sending them to the poverty of Invalidity , Incapacity and Sickness Benefits , then on to an early grave .
That is the real crisis - we aren't able to age long enough and enjoy it long enough .

Just some local news

The second 'Social Atlas' of the Borders just published by Scottish Borders Council.
Earnings in the Scottish Borders are about £80 a week below the national average .

Average income is just over £355 a week compared to £436 across Scotland.

SCOTTISH Executive defines households being in fuel poverty when they have to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on all household fuel, and while there are varying degrees of fuel poverty across the Borders it is generally widespread across the region.

The percentage of the population suffering chronic mental health problems continues to increase and over a twelve year period between 1992 and 2004 the percentage of the population taking prescribed anti-depressant drugs increased from 1.9% to 8.3%."According to Scottish Executive statistics, the Scottish Borders has the second highest rate of the population prescribed drugs for anxiety, depression or psychosis in Scotland, after Dundee City.

And talking of Dundee , data from the Tayside Economic Review 2005 showed that wages had fallen by 1.2% across the region, while the Scottish average increased by 3.1%.

So are we one Scotland ?

Gates and Profits

Mailstrom , has posted an interesting blog concerning Bill Gates and his charitable foundation based on a recent article in the L.A. Times . How the hunt for profits is often the primary motivation for the fund managers investment policy . And how the need to protect Microsoft profits leads to the defence of the drug companies monopolies over medicines by use of patent rights .

It is of interest because at the end of the month Edinburgh Branch of the Socialist Party will be hosting a public meeting later in the month that is in many ways directly related to this subject .

SSP tames Capitalism!

Reformist political parties in opposition always claim how much better everything would be if only they were in power and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is no exception.

One of their policy documents tells us they would provide free public transport and that this, on it’s own, would bring fabulous benefits in just about every area of life.

Everything would be better: the NHS, the environment, the economy, business efficiency, productivity, road safety, more tourists, etc. On top of all this there would be savings of many millions, even billions, of pounds, giving us all more spending power as well as big savings for businesses.

And how is all this to be achieved? By two old leftist illusions; taxing the rich and nationalisation (disguised as public or social ownership). Apparently, nationalisation would be more efficient and cheaper, despite the evidence of past experience, and taxing the rich must mean that we’ll still have them. The source of their riches is the surplus value wrung from the working class but the SSP seem not to have noticed this.

We are grateful that the word “socialism” isn’t mentioned once in this document because its contents have nothing whatever to do with socialism. The SSP’s aim is really just the same as all the other reformist parties – they try to solve capitalism’s problems by merely re-organising it. If all their proposed reforms were adopted – nationalisation, the multitude of changes in the tax system, defence budget cuts, etc., we’d still be living in a money-driven, buying and selling economy, still working for wages and salaries, still insecure, being hired and fired, in short, in capitalism.

Free transport for all can really only be achieved in a worldwide, moneyless, production for use society in which ALL goods and services would be freely available to everyone. That’s what genuine socialists campaign for and what the SSP NEVER does. V.V.

Unpaid overtime

Workers put in £23bn of unpaid overtime last year, losing out an average of £4800 each, according to a study which highlights Britain's long-hours culture.

Scottish employees who do unpaid overtime lose £79.82 a week for the extra six-and-a-half hours they work. This is the equivalent of £4151 a year in lost earnings.According to figures released yesterday by the Scottish TUC, Scots worked £1728m worth of unpaid overtime last year.

A survey by the TUC found employees work an average of seven hours and six minutes extra every week and if they did all their unpaid work at the start of the year, the earliest they would be paid would be February 23.

On February 23, employees will be encouraged to take a proper lunch break and go home on time. Employers will be asked to use the day to thank their staff by buying them lunch or taking them out after work.

Is this really going to be the response of the STUC ? To request a free meal from management for us working for our bosses for nothing ?

And of the working class ?? It is one of the cornerstones of Marxist economics that unpaid labour is the source of the Capitalists' profit - the Labour Theory of Value . It is why we in the The Socialist Party call the Capitalists thieves for appropriating this unpaid labour . Now , to actually do even more extra unpaid work beyond our contractual hours of employment , that's an act of the greatest charity by workers - and the Capitalists go laughing all the way to the bank . Indeed we are truly the ragged trousered philanthropists .

FUNNY SOLUTIONS FOR NOT SO CHEERY PROBLEMS

Elaine C Smith is an entertaining woman; she has a full page in the Sunday Mail
(31st December 2006).
Among her solutions for the alcoholic problems that are filling the accident and emergency departments are dearer prices in supermarkets for alcoholic drinks. I agree drunkenness at time leads to anti-social behaviour but does this apply to old age pensioners? Not the pensioners that write to her complaining their quiet pint is to dear, because they are the ones who don’t arrive at the A&E on Saturday and Sunday she thinks they should get their pint at a cheaper rate.
Well I did say she was an entertaining woman; I was thinking of asking her if raising the price of food with cheaper rates for slim people could solve the obesity problems plaguing the NHS.

Social problems need a lot more thought than that expressed in the Sunday Mail. Pensioner’s poverty and anti-social behaviour are an expression of an anti-social system called capitalism; I think socialism is worth a thought.