THE MADNESS OF CAPITALISM

Capitalism is an insane society. Millions die with easily prevented or curable diseases whilst millions of dollars, pounds, Euros and yens are spent on new ways to destroy human beings with ingenious methods of military mayhem, but surely capitalism has reached the epitome of madness when children are trying to exist on less than £1 a day and we can read of the following insanity. "It's simple, but no less appealing for that. Celine's classic box bag may cost a pretty penny but its sleek lines make it among the most wanted bags of the season.Price: £2,150." (The Independent, 20 September) Yes, the equivalent of years of nourishment for a child spent by some parasite as a gift to his latest girlfriend. Mad, mad, mad! RD

ALL RIGHT FOR SOME

Top management, company directors and top bankers, all have managed to increase their bonuses and perks while workers in lower paid jobs face wage cuts and unemployment. This summary of this article indicates there are others doing very well for themselves.

Investigation by Paul Hutcheon, Sunday Herald 26 Sep 2010

Police chiefs are receiving lucrative housing allowances on top of generous salaries and in some cases bonuses from the taxpayer, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

Chief constables are still receiving an outdated property perk that was taken away from officers who signed up to the service after 1994.

The total bill for the subsidies across the Scottish forces amounts to millions of pounds a year.

The UK and Scottish Governments are set to slash funding for all public bodies, including Scotland's eight police forces.

Plans being drawn up by police bosses to fill the black hole include laying off thousands of civilian staff and moving towards a single force north of the Border.

Les Gray, the chair of the Scottish Police Federation, has already warned ministers that planned cuts of up to 25% could lead to an increase in violent crime.

However, the cuts are coming in spite of police forces spending millions of pounds every year on a perk that was axed for most officers 16 years ago.

Before September 1994, police officers were granted an allowance that contributed to their housing costs.

The then Conservative Government scrapped the handout for new recruits, who had to make do with their salary.

But existing beneficiaries did not lose their entitlement to a rent or housing allowance, which can work out at around £3000 a year for ordinary beat police, and nearly £6000 per annum for chief constables……..

THE FAILURE OF CAPITALISM

"This Monday, world leaders are gathering at United Nations headquarters in New York City to address the UN's "Millennium Development Goals." The fight against hunger, along with education and healthcare, tops the list. The delegates have failed categorically on the first point. Leaders at the UN summit in New York in the millennium year 2000 declared food security their top priority, setting a goal of reducing the number of hungry in developing countries by half by 2015, compared to 1990 levels. That would involve reducing the total to around 600 million people. No discernable progress has been made toward this goal. In fact, quite the opposite is true -- the number of hungry has increased sharply in recent years, at times to over 1 billion. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 925 million people currently suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Estimates say a further billion are undernourished, suffering from so-called silent hunger." (Der Spiegel, 20 September) RD

THE HUNGRY SOCIETY

In an age of increasing food insecurity, more than one billion people today woke up not sure where their next meal is coming from. This is not solely the fate of those in poorer, developing countries. According to the Department of Agriculture, 14.6 percent of Americans regularly have to limit the amount they eat near the end of the month for reasons of cost. With the added stress of epidemic levels of home foreclosure and mass unemployment, the numbers of people unable to adequately sustain themselves is on the rise. (The Nation, 16 September) RD

we don't want crumbs

About 200 striking Tunnock’s workers who make the world-renowned teacakes, caramel wafers and logs sang a protest song to the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine on the picket line after downing tools in a pay dispute yesterday.

“Come to Tunnocks, come to Tunnocks. It’s a place of misery. There’s a signpost in the foyer saying ‘welcome unto thee’.
Don’t believe it, don’t believe it, it’s all a pack of lies. If it wasn’t for Karen and Fergus it would be a paradise. Build a bonfire, build a bonfire. Put Karen on the top. Put Fergus in the middle and we’ll burn the bloody lot.”

One placard read: “We Don’t Want Crumbs”

The entire 500-strong Tunnock’s workforce, who are taking part in two 24-hour walkouts after they accused management of pleading poverty to keep wage costs down while giving themselves huge pay increases. They are protesting over a 1% increase in their average £7-an-hour salary last year when executives and directors received a 62% pay increase in the year to 2009. Adding to the discontent was the scrapping of overtime bonuses worth £200 for a Saturday and Sunday shift.

poverty in scotland

New figures revealed this week by the Save the Children charity show that the education gap between poorer children and their classmates remains wide open. Save the Children says it has found a stark link between levels of deprivation at home and a child's success in the classroom. Children from wealthier homes in the Borders perform on average more than 60 per cent better in school than those receiving free school meals.
Douglas Hamilton, Save the Children's head for Scotland said "Too many children in Scotland are not reaching their potential at school simply because they are poor.
Poverty continues to be a key determining factor in how well a child will do at school and this is absolutely scandalous. Many of Scotland's poorest children live in substandard housing, have fewer books and educational games at home, lower aspirations and less confidence in their own ability to achieve their dreams. At every stage of school, children from poorer backgrounds do far worse than their better off classmates."

Also in the news:

More than one in three of the 600,000 Scottish carers battle poverty and depression as a result of caring for a family member, new research revealed. A survey conducted by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers found that 40% of carers in Scotland said they did not want to wake up in the morning because of dire financial circumstances. 73.3% have had to borrow money from family and friends. Nearly half fear they will lose their homes, and almost two thirds have been forced to spend their savings as they struggle to make ends meet. Almost a third of those surveyed say they are "fearful for the future".

CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?

"This summer, it took London real-estate firm Marsh & Parsons less than a month to sell a pricey property in Kensington, one of the most prestigious parts of the British capital. Sixty-three potential buyers flocked to view the white row house, which has five bedrooms, a ground-floor kitchen and a strip of gravel for a garden. The sale price of £6.75 million ($10.4 million) was both above the asking price and the home's price in 2007, when it was previously for sale and the market was at a record high before the global financial meltdown. A Kensington house recently sold for £6.75 million - above both the asking price and the home's price in 2007, when it was last for sale. Real estate in the most upscale parts of London has enjoyed a roaring comeback from a short dip during the downturn, with prices for the area's luxury homes back to stratospheric." (Wall Street Journal, 14 September) RD

CANADIAN POVERTY

"The recession may be officially over, but six in 10 Canadians are still surviving from paycheque to paycheque, a national survey showed Monday. Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian workers say they would be in financial trouble if their paycheque was delayed by just a week- the same proportion as last year when the economy was still mired in a downturn, according to a poll of 2,766 people by the Canadian Payroll Association. The survey comes as the OECD today warned that record high debt levels have left many Canadians vulnerable to any future adverse shocks." (Globe and Mail, 13 September) RD

BEHIND THE RHETORIC

Politicians' stock in trade is pretending to represent the whole of society when in fact only representing the owning class. Thus we have Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats claiming that he is concerned about the poor and exploited at election time, but in power forced to declare his real aims. "Poor must accept benefit cuts: Clegg on collision course with own party by backing welfare axe. Nick Clegg has waded into the row over welfare reform by warning that benefits should not be there 'to compensate the poor for their predicament'. On the eve of the Liberal Democrat conference, the Deputy Prime Minister backed the Coalition's programme of welfare cuts and dramatically shifted his party's policy on the subject." (Daily Mail, 16 September) If you represent the owning class, despite your glamour TV image, you sometimes have to tell the truth. You are poor? So what, we are not here to "compensate" you! RD

WAR MEANS BIG BUCKS

 

 "The Obama administration is set to notify Congress of plans to offer advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia worth up to $60 billion, the largest U.S. arms deal ever, and is in talks with the kingdom about potential naval and missile-defense upgrades that could be worth tens of billions of dollars more. The administration plans to tout the $60 billion package as a major job creator—supporting at least 75,000 jobs, according to company estimates—and sees the sale of advanced fighter jets and military helicopters to key Middle Eastern ally Riyadh as part of a broader policy aimed at shoring up Arab allies against Iran." (Wall Street Journal, 12 September) RD

CLOSING PRISONS AND BRINGING COURTS TO A STANDSTILL!

Socialists can't tell just how everything will operate in a socialist society; one thing they can say is the tremendous amount of social energy used in the protection of private property will be available for other purposes once the common ownership of the means of production is a fact.
In this article from the September issue of Labour Research, claims an annual budget of £9 billion; the general secretary warns there is an alternative, unfortunately, it's an alternative that leaves the working class producing wealth for the profit of the bosses.

One in five justice jobs at risk

The PCS civil service union has warned that 15,000 of the 80,000 staff at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) could be at risk of losing their jobs. The warning follows an announcement that the department has to make £2 billion worth of cuts from its £9 billion annual budget. As the MoJ is the first department to agree the actual scale of the cuts, the PCS is expecting more bad news to come. General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: "This is the first indication of the true scale of the cuts being imposed upon departments by this coalition government, and it paints a devastating picture." According to the PCS, the cuts are equivalent to the entire budget for prisons, or the money the department spends each year on courts and tribunals. And it warned that cuts on this scale cannot be delivered without closing prisons and bringing courts to a standstill. "lt is clear that the civil service will simply not be able to cope," Serwotka warned. The union "will take every opportunity to remind the government and the public that there is an alternative and that these politically-motivated cuts are entirely avoidable", he said.

GRIM PROSPECTS

"Last week, defense group BAE Systems said it was cutting near 1,000 jobs, while 700 were lost at Connaught, the social housing group that fell into administration last week. BAE chief executive Ian King's comment at last week's defense select committee were chilling. He claimed the cancellation of a £5 billion contract for two Royal Navy aircraft carriers would jeopardise Britain's entire shipbuilding industry." (Observer, 12 September) RD

THE FAILURE OF REFORM

The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty. Census figures for 2009 the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat's presidency are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings. It's unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just seven weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated increase from 13.2 percent to about 15 percent would be another blow to Democrats struggling to persuade voters to keep them in power." (Yahoo News, 11 September) RD

CAPITALISM IN ACTION

Capitalism is a very wasteful society. When fruit growers have a more than bumper crop it is common to let some of it rot unpicked. When charities ask for the surplus they are told that to give it away would lower the price and that these charities at present pay for the crop that is picked. Here is a recent example in the retail clothing trade. "High Street retailer Primark has been criticised by charities for its policy of shredding damaged and unwanted clothes. Aid organisations have described the practice as "worrying" and "a shame" - saying items could be used to raise vital funds. Primark said the practice was common and was to protect consumers." (BBC News, 13 September) Overlooking the hypocrisy of Primark's "to protect consumers" remark, the purpose of all production inside capitalism is to sell goods in order to realise a profit. Capitalism isn't interested in protecting consumers or aiding charities. Fruit can rot while people go hungry and clothing can be destroyed while people go about ill-clad. That is how the capitalist system operates. RD

schooling

Save the Children's head of Scotland, said: "Poverty kills childhood and severely affects life chances. Too many children in Scotland are not reaching their potential at school simply because they are poor. Poverty continues to be a key determining factor in how well a child will do at school and this is absolutely scandalous.Many of Scotland's poorest children live in sub-standard housing, have fewer books and educational games at home, lower aspirations and less confidence in their own ability to achieve their dreams.At every stage of school, children from poorer backgrounds do far worse than their better-off classmates..."

Children from wealthier homes in Scotland perform around 60% better in exams on average than those from poorer backgrounds who get free school meals.

WHAT RECESSION?

A two stone ring with a rare triangular blue diamond the size of a quarter on a gold band with baguette-cut diamonds could bring at least $15 million when it is offered at auction in New York next month. At 10.95 carats, the stone is the largest triangular-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond ever to come to auction, Christe's told The Associated Press in advance of the Oct. 20 sale. It is paired with a 9.87 carat white diamond cut in the same shape. ( Yahoo News, 10 September ) RD

No religion too

The Humanist Society of Scotland yesterday unveiled the message that 40% of the population do not follow an organised religion. The billboard sits on Paisley Road West, near Ibrox Stadium, which is on the route of the Pope’s cavalcade.

It believes that the two million figure is an underestimate and suggests 66% of Scots are not religious.

Also see our early pamphlet Socialism and Religion

LOADED POLITICIANS IN USA

"The rest of the country is still struggling with high unemployment amid a sluggish-at-best economic recovery -- but the wealthiest members of Congress are in high cotton. Indeed, the top 50 wealthiest lawmakers saw their combined net worths increase last year, according to the Hill's annual analysis of financial disclosure documents. Combined, the 50 lawmakers were worth $1.4 billion in 2009 -- an $85.1 million increase over their 2008 total . ...The list of 50 lawmakers spans both parties (27 Democrats and 23 Republicans) and both chambers of Congress (30 House members, 20 senators), the Hill reports." (Yahoo News, 1 September) RD

HUNGER AMIDST PLENTY

"India's grain warehouses are bursting at the seams and sacks of rice and wheat lie rotting in the open for lack of storage space. These government-managed stocks are for offsetting a fall in agricultural production in the event of drought or floods, but are also meant for sale to the poorest segment of the population at subsidised prices. But because the public distribution system (PDS) is undermined by bureaucracy and corruption, 60m tonnes of grain is lying in warehouses or under plastic sheeting, and, according to the Hindustan Times, 11m tonnes of it has been destroyed by the monsoons. A committee of experts appointed by the supreme court has claimed that this is nothing short of "genocide", and last month the court ordered the free distribution of the grain to the poor rather than have it eaten by rats. Since the 1970s green revolution, agricultural production has continued to rise, but not to benefit the hungry. Half of India's children aged under five suffer from malnutrition, and the rate remained stable between 1999 and 2006 despite the economic growth in those years. India is the world's 11th largest economic power but still has more people in poverty." (Guardian, 7 September) RD

MODERN BRITAIN

"Nearly 54,000 children living below the poverty line will be pushed farther down the scale by cuts to housing benefit, according to figures from the charity Shelter. Their families will be left with less than £100 a week once housing costs have been paid. Of these, 33,00 children will be in families trying to live on under £50 a week." (Times, 7 September) RD