PROGRESS IN ACTION

One of the defenses of modern capitalism is that although it is far from perfect it is gradually improving. Improving for whom? "The richest one per cent of Americans earn nearly a quarter of the country's income and control an astonishing 40 per cent of its wealth. Inequality in the US is more extreme than it has been in almost a century - and the gap between the super-rich and the poor and middle class people has widened drastically over the last 30 years." (ALJAZEERA, 2 August) Socialists would disagree with a few things in this article. The use of the term "earn" for the parasitical capitalist class and the usual confusion about a non-existent "middle class". Despite these disagreements we still think it well illustrates the gigantic gap between the working class and the capitalist class. RD

Over-worked

Nurses are "propping up" the NHS by repeatedly working more hours than contracted and providing last-minute shift cover, a union has claimed.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland said a survey of its members found just only one in 10.

96% reported working in excess of their contracted hours, with 27% saying they did this every shift.

More than a quarter said they provided last-minute cover for absentee staff at least fortnightly.

29% of nurses said they missed their meal time at work at least three times a week.

One in six said they rarely or never took the breaks they were entitled to.

One in five nurses said that in the past six months they had spent a week or more at work despite feeling too ill to be there.

Let hear it for the lazy workers once again!!!

Women and children first

Women now make up almost one-third of Scotland’s unemployed. The number of females out of work north of the Border has soared 20% in the past 12 months. 47,000 women aged 16 and over in Scotland are now claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance out of a total claimant count of 146,900. The figure compares with 39,000 in July 2010.
Public sector cutbacks were blamed for the growing toll of female unemployment. The rate of female redundancies is also accelerating, according to separate figures for April to June this year which showed that women accounted for 45% of all those laid off

Youth unemployment north of the Border is racing ahead of the UK average, with the statistics revealing that Scots aged 18 to 24 accounted for more than 30% of Scotland’s JSA claimants, compared with a national average of 18.5%. There were 45,000 young Scots claiming JSA in July, a rise of more than 5000 on the previous month. Youth unemployment is up 10% on July 2010 and there has been a 40% rise in the number of 18 to 24-year-olds in Scotland who have been claiming JSA for between six months and a year.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/unemployment-among-women-soars-by-20-1.1118303

independence from what?

Ex-Labour MP and the man who raised the West Lothian question on devolution, Tam Dalyell, says independence is now inevitable.

Socialists don’t take sides in the debate about whether it is better for workers there to be ruled from Edinburgh or from London. The SNP argues that the problems facing workers in Scotland are due to “Westminster rule”. If only there was an independent Scotland, they say, separate from the rest of Britain, then there would be full employment, higher wages, job security, better state benefits, a healthy health service and all the other things politicians promise at election times. This view is echoed by the so-called Scottish “Socialist” Party and Tommy Sheridan’s Solidarity. Nor should our opposition to the nationalist parties be interpreted as support for the Union or the Labour, Liberal or Tory parties that support it. A plague on all their houses.

Independence would be a purely political, not to say mere constitutional, change which would leave the basic economic structure of society unchanged. There would still be a privileged class owning and controlling the means of production with the rest having to work for them for a living. Just as now. An independent Scottish government would still have to operate within the constraints of the world capitalist system. It would still have to ensure that goods produced in Scotland were competitive on world markets and that capitalists investing in Scotland were allowed to make the same level of profits as they could in other countries. In other words, it would still be subject to the same economic pressures as the existing London-based government to promote profits and restrict wages and benefits. Ireland, which broke away from the UK and things have never been any different.

The Scottish nationalists see themselves as visionaries but they cannot see beyond the narrow confines of the nation-state, conceived in pre-medieval times and as outmoded as the clan system it replaced. It is the Socialist Party who are the true men and women of vision, who look forward to and struggle for a new world of common ownership and democratic control of society's resources.

If only we had known

According to ex-Labour MP Tam Dalyell memoirs, the veteran Labour politician's suspicions about Blair were first aroused when he spoke to one of the former prime minister's teachers at Fettes.

The teacher said: "Be careful of Blair – he's a superb actor, he's good at getting others into trouble but avoiding it himself. In fact, he's a shit..."

Pigs in the trough

Finance Secretary John Swinney, whose main home is in his North Tayside constituency, bought the four-bedroom apartment on one of the capital’s most desirable streets for £355,000 in December 2003 while SNP leader. At the time, the two-storey terraced property was the most expensive second home ever bought by an MSP. Mr Swinney, who earns £100,000 a year, used parliamentary allowances to pay the interest on his RBS mortgage, ultimately claiming more than £60,000 from the public purse. He also claimed around £10,000 to pay council tax for the Band G property on Morningside’s Hermitage Terrace. (Only former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott used Holyrood expenses to maintain a more expensive second home after buying a £380,000 house in 2005.)

The sales prospectus praised its “magnificent” 23-foot drawing room, private front garden, “delightful leafy outlook” over Blackford Hill to the rear and it was sold for £430,000 was made to Registers of Scotland on August 1. After capital gains tax, Mr Swinney made a profit of around £57,000. Mr Swinney’s gain on the property is one of the largest ever recorded by an MSP.

The largest was made by fellow SNP minister Alex Neil, who made £105,505 before tax when he sold up last year, after billing taxpayers for more than £87,000 for mortgage interest, security, utilities, council tax, factoring and insurance on a two-bedroom flat over a decade. Mr Neil’s ministerial responsibilities at the time included affordable housing and homelessness. He and his wife had stumped up just £4720 for a deposit on the property.

Swinney and Neil’s claims were made under the Scottish Parliament’s discredited Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance, which paid for MSPs to stay overnight in the capital.
Some stayed in hotels or rented flats, but some bought homes, reclaimed mortgage interest, and sold at a profit. Past beneficiaries of EAA who sold for a profit include former LibDem deputy first minister Jim Wallace, who made £69,400 before tax; Tory MSP Alex Johnstone (£60,000); SNP MSP Gil Paterson (£50,000); and former SNP homelessness minister Stewart Maxwell (£34,500). After an outcry over MSPs cashing in, since May they have only been able to claim for rent or hotel costs. The change is prompting some MSPs to sell.

Announcing a Treasury-imposed £1.3 billion cut in public spending in February, the Scottish Cabinet Minister Swinney said “Hard choices must be made.” Now he has made one of those "hard"choices, making a lot of unearned money while he’s currently freezing public-sector salaries and squeezing public services.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/swinney-makes-75k-out-of-home-sell-off-1.1117785

Warts and All

Since the SPGB was founded in 1904 generations of its members have had to examine whatever social, political and economic events arose.

For example, there were two world wars, the Bolshevik  seizure of power in Russia, the rise of fascism, the Wall Street crash, the Social Credit movement of the 1930s, the election of Labour governments, the threat of nuclear weapons, inflation and much more.

Of course the party has made a few mistakes none of which were serious, but these are nothing compared to its successes which are truly remarkable since they were achieved by ordinary working class men and women and they did this by simply applying Marxist theory when most of the phoney Marxist floundered in reformist politics.

The branch meeting is at 8pm in the Community Central Halls, 304 Maryhill Road.
admission free, be there by 8.30pm to hear comrade Vanni's accounts

Fore!!

A street of unassuming terraces in St Andrews will this week cement their reputation as a millionaire's row when a double upper flat goes on the market for £1.75 million. Its panoramic views across the famous Old Course and its hallowed 18th green - where Open Championships are won and lost - have brought the 2011 valuation of the three-bedroom property with no garden that will only appeal to the very wealthy. Just a few yards away, luxury apartments in the Hamilton Grand, a former St Andrews University halls of residence being redeveloped by American billionaire Herb Kohler, start from £1.35m. Some of the properties do not even have a view of the Old Course but are still highly prized for their location at the centre of the traditional Home of Golf.

The last home to be sold on The Links, which changed hands for almost £4m last year, became the priciest property per square foot in Scotland at £1,350, putting it among the most expensive property markets in the world, such as London and Monaco.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/House-bought-for-5000-now.6818282.jp

PROFIT IS A KILLER

Drug companies like all other capitalist concerns like to portray themselves as selfless benefactors of mankind. The image of dedicated men and women in white coats researching in a ceaseless bid to rid the world of disease is one they constantly try to project. In reality of course they are ruthlessly trying to increase their profits by any means whatsoever. "US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has started making long-awaited compensation payments to families over a 1996 drug trial blamed for the deaths of 11 children and disabilities in dozens of others. ...The payments were part of a $75 million out-of-court-settlement reached between Pfizer and Kano state government in July 2009 over the drug trial." (Daily Telegraph, 12 August) In order to survive inside capitalism companies have got to beat of competition from their rivals. If that means the death and disability of some children in some far-off underdeveloped country - so what? RD

Reading Notes

Tim Flannery in "Here on Earth – A Natural History of the Planet"
provides some good reading and worthwhile scientific information. But as is usual for the reformers of the world, he gets the solution all wrong. After detailing the environmental problems we face, he writes, " In light of this sorry history, it would be easy to blame the Medean nature (i.e. self destruction) of the post-war period on unconstrained human ingenuity, or a rampant capitalist system (yeah, he's got it!). But evidence from the communist countries suggests that something far deeper was at work, for those countries mounted their own wars on nature which were, despite the lack of chemical weapons, as lethal of those of the West. (Oh no, he's lost it!) In Mao's China, brute human effort was the tool of choice, following the aphorism ren ding sheng tian (Man must conquer nature), in just a few decades, turned China into an environmental basket case." He goes on to show how little efforts here and there are making a difference but was deeply disappointed in the outcome of Copenhagen. How is it that intelligent, well-educated writers cannot grasp the simple nature of the problem? John Ayers

STANDING STILL IS A CRIME

The economic downturn has led to a bizarre piece of legislation in Belarus. Because of worsening conditions workers there had to come up with subtle ways of expressing their displeasure. All political protest in Belarus has to have a government permit and that is never given if the demo has any criticism of the government. They tried suddenly breaking into crowd clapping or having their cell phones all ringing at the same time but the government arrested them so the authorities have come up with this weird legal enactment. "Belarus have responded to a burst of creative modes of protest by young protesters with a rather surreal innovation of their own: a law that prohibits people from standing together and doing nothing. A draft law published Friday "prohibits the joint mass presence of citizens in a public place that has been chosen beforehand, including an outdoor space, and at a scheduled time for the purpose of a form of action or inaction that has been planned beforehand and is a form of public expression of the public or political sentiments or protest". Anyone proven to be taking part in such a gathering would be subject to up to 15 days of administrative arrest, the draft says." (New York Times , 29 July) Plainclothes police officers have detained nearly 2,000 people since the so-called clapping protests began in June, in many cases because they were seen clapping or standing near people who were. More than 500 have received sentences of 5 to 15 days. Capitalism is an extremely restrictive society but making a crime of just standing still takes a bit of beating.RD

Scotland on the Dole

There has been a dramatic rise in people out of work in Scotland's poorest areas, including Glasgow.

In North Ayrshire, Scotland's worst-affected area, unemployment rocketed to 11.9 per cent - an increase of 5.5 percentage points in the three years covered by the survey. In Glasgow, the jobless rate rose to 11.7 per cent, up 4.8 points. A total of 6.3 per cent of Edinburgh's population was unemployed at the end of 2010, which represented an increase of two points over the three years. In Dundee, unemployment stood at 9.2 per cent - up 2.6 points.

Scotland's overall unemployment figure had increased from 4.7 per cent in 2007 to 7.7 per cent in 2010. Scotland's levels of economic inactivity, which includes all those who are not in work or claiming unemployment benefit, such as people with long-term illnesses or disabilities rose from 22.5 per cent in 2007 to 23 per cent over the three-year period covered by the survey. Figures also showed that the percentage of people in work in Scotland fell between 2008 and 2010, with the figure going from 73.5 per cent to 71 per cent.

There were also tens of thousands of young unemployed, aged 16-19, who were not in any sort of education of training. The survey showed 36,000 - or 13.7 per cent - of 16-19 year-olds were not in education, employment or training (NEET) - a figure that remained unchanged between 2009 and 2010.

Tough Times Ahead

Charities have warned that more Scots will be forced into poverty by soaring prices after the Governor of the Bank of England said inflation could reach 5% by the end of the year. Mervyn King said Britain faces a long slow recovery from its financial woes. Families and pensioners will be among the worst hit as fuel, food and clothing costs soar should the prediction by Mervyn King come true. With consumer spending being squeezed and wages failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living, charities believe many families and pensioners will be the worst hit.

The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland claimed many children could suffer as parents struggle to make ends meet. “If prices continue to rise, we’re going to see a significant increase in child poverty and this is going to have an impact on factors such as children’s health and education outcomes. Families are really struggling as living costs are rising rapidly and incomes aren’t moving to match them. Lots of families are worried about the future, they’re struggling to make ends meet and that’s going to lead to a lot of debt”.

Charity Age Scotland said that more older people could be facing poverty if bills continue to rise. Doug Anthoney, of Age Scotland, said: “If inflation reaches that point, it will have a significant impact on older people, many of whom are really struggling to pay for energy and food. “This is coming on the back of massive increases in fuel costs and it could well mean that more older people are found to be living in poverty.”

Peter Kelly, director of The Poverty Alliance, claimed that the poor would be the worst affected. “Not surprisingly higher rates of inflation will hit some of our poorest families hardest. The increases in fuel costs will make life increasingly tough for these families. When we add to this the fact that the costs of many other basic goods and services are rising, then it is clear our economic and social policies are not protecting those most in need."

A survey conducted by information management firm Nielsen showed that almost one-third of householders claim that they have no spare cash due to rising prices and the Consumer Confidence Survey also showed that 65% of shoppers are switching to cheaper grocery brands in a bid to save money.

WHO ARE THE "PRIMITIVES"?

For thousands of years small tribal groups have lived in the forests between what is now Brazil and Peru. They are looked upon by many as "backward" or "primitive", but nevertheless they have survived in isolation in relative security. The advent of capitalism has changed all that. "The head of Brazil's indigenous protection service is to make an emergency visit to a remote jungle outpost, amid fears that members of an isolated Amazon tribe may have been "massacred" by drug traffickers. .... On 5 August Brazilian federal police launched an operation in the region, arresting Joaquim Antonio Custodio Fadista, a Portuguese man alleged to have been operating as a cocaine trafficker.But after the police pulled out, officers with the indigenous protection service (Funai) decided to return fearing a "massacre". They claimed that groups of men with rifles and machine guns were still at large in the rainforest. Reports suggest the traffickers may have been attempting to set up new smuggling routes, running through the tribe's land." (Guardian, 9 August) RD

Free Access

A spirit of free comedy has broken out in Edinburgh as performers and festival-goers shun expensive venues in favour of free shows. 607 out of 2,542 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, which began last weekend, are free of charge, the highest proportion in the festival's history. The Free Fringe, a spin-off under the overall Fringe umbrella, has 40 per cent more participating shows than last year.

"Smaller venues, which are lent to artists free of charge, represent a better deal for the public and artist," said Free Fringe founder Peter Buckley Hill. "It's always the case that if you have good shows at zero pounds a ticket, and good shows that cost more, people will come to the free shows. It's more in keeping with the spirit of the festival." Buckley Hill, says “is almost a moneyless exercise”, adding, “we have found the right way of doing this – it is taking the Fringe back”.

The Free Fringe was founded in 1996 as a counterpoint to the high hire costs charged by the city's best-known venues. Performers are typically forced to hand over 40 per cent of their box-office takings to such venues.

workers defy management

Workers at Scottish Water have rejected a pay freeze. The GMB union said there were fears the ground was being laid for a wage freeze which could last for five years.

“Members resent the fact that five directors will share a bonus pot of £90,000 each while they are being asked to accept a pay freeze.” Richard Leonard, the GMB organiser for Scottish Water said.

The union's membership had rejected the pay freeze offer, which came with a one-off payment of £250 for employees earning less than £21,000, by a margin of 62 to 38 per cent. Strike action could see key employees such as emergency call-out staff and water sewage treatments workers staying away from work during the winter.

Food for thought

The Toronto Star editorial (July 6, 2011) revealed that the Afghanistan War has cost Canada $20 billion, plus $2 billion in aid, 157 lives and many more injuries. The editorial concludes that it was worth it because Canada had the courage to confront terror at its source and the grit to work wonders in a violent, lawless land! Obviously they could look closer to home to confront terrorists.
In China, the desire to run for office as an independent rather than on the "communist" platform seems to be on the rise. No problem for the government – simply make them disappear. That was the fate of 43 year-old businessman Cao Tian. The government wants to keep the status quo by giving only "communist" candidates just as we have only capitalist
candidates.
In an excellent series on mining by Jennifer Wells of the Toronto Star, she tells of Toronto-based Banro Corporation who has spent $450 million developing the Congo's first industrialized gold mine in 50 years. It sent former child miners to school and built a new village. But soon, jobs will be replaced by machines and education will be out of reach. Capital only works in its own interests – no labour needed, no benefits.
Heather Mallick writes in the Toronto Star about buying Ikea furniture and inadvertently tells us how capitalism works, " So why am I buying it? Because it costs next to nothing. The backs of Billy bookcases are now made of what can only be called fancy cardboard, which is why Ikea can boast that one of its classic items gets ever cheaper." Crapitalism is a good synonym for the products we get today. John Ayers

The air you breathe is poisoned

Air pollution is risking the lives of thousands of Scots, the Scottish Government has been warned.

A lethal pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, is being spewed out by traffic in such large quantities in four areas of the country that Scotland is in breach of levels set by the European Commission. The pollutants have been found to reduce the life expectancy of everyone in the UK by an average of seven to eight months and in central Scotland alone 600 deaths each year are attributed to air pollution. The EU restricts emissions of NO2 and other pollutants because of their health impacts. High levels of air pollution are associated with respiratory illness and are estimated to cause premature death for up to 50,000 people a year in the UK.

The Scottish Government plans next month to ask for an extra ten years to meet the targets in Glasgow city centre, and five more years for Edinburgh city centre, central Scotland and the North-east. In total, 82 miles of roads in Scotland exceed the pollution limits. If air quality in these areas does not improve, the government could be taken to court by the commission and risk hefty fines.

Dr Dan Barlow, head of policy at WWF Scotland, said: "It is shocking that in the 21st century so many people are still being exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution in Scotland. Scotland has had plenty of time to take preventative action, so it is completely unacceptable that not only are we set to breach air quality targets, but attempts are being made to delay compliance by a further decade. This situation is a direct result of Scotland's failure to produce a sensible strategy that adequately addresses air pollution and climate emissions from road traffic." He added: "With air pollution already responsible for bringing forward the death of hundreds of people in Scotland, the longer we delay action to address this, the more lives will be put at risk."

The environmental law organisation ClientEarth has issued legal proceedings against the UK government for its failure to meet air pollution targets. Chief executive James Thornton said: "Since air quality laws were introduced, successive governments have failed to clean up the air we breathe. We cannot afford to waste any more time by ignoring this invisible killer."

For all of us concerned with the degradation of our lived-in environments by air pollution removing the link between money and work will us free to address these matters.

THE MADNESS OF CAPITALISM

During the present economic crisis many capitalists have looked for alternatives to the stock market to invest their money in. Some have bought up gold or silver as a hedge against the following dividends. Some have even taken up stamp collecting. Stanley Gibbons the stamp sellers have reported increased profits as the rich scramble for stamps. "It's a horrible time to be rich," said Michael Hall, the company's chief executive. Not that I'd complain." (Times, 6 August) Apparently China is proving to be a big market with 24 Penny Blacks sold there for six figure sum and a particularly rare local stamp fetching £625,000. RD

Food for thought

As mentioned previously, Toronto's mayor was elected on the "stop the City hall gravy train in Toronto" which is right-wing speak for slashing  programs for the needy and saving the rich from tax increases. Mayor Ford commissioned a $3 million report which failed to find much in the way of gravy but lots in program cuts, such as closing branch libraries and cutting the hours of operation at others, closing day care for low-income families so they could to go out to work, recreation programs for city children and youth, breakfasts for needy children, cutting transit routes. Ford gave the people a chance to present their cases – an all night session, designed so that many would go home and get ready for work rather than stay up all night. But the voters fell for his pitch and may well do so again as the Conservatives are challenging in the upcoming provincial election with a 'tough on crime line', i.e. full serving of sentences that will crowd the jails, and getting prisoners to clean up the highways, Georgia style. Time for the electorate to wake up and start afresh with common ownership and real democracy. John Ayers