Author: Editor

Categories
Democracy youth

FU.IGM

The generation with the jobs, the ‘final salary’ pensions, the mutual fund accounts, the second homes and the cheap driver’s insurance. The free bus pass, the winter heating allowance and the holiday in the sun. The reason why music and art is still dominated by the 60s, 70s and 80s. And, most importantly, the slavish obedience of cow-towing politicians.

[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_large”,”fid”:”101″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”200″,”style”:”float: right;”,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”350″}}]]The generation that cares about animals, but not the future of our planet. The generation that cares about poverty in far away lands, but not about the future of our youth at home. The generation that cares about low taxes, but not poor social services.

They are the “Fuck you. I got mine.” generation, and they are driving our societies, our economies and our environment into the abyss on their way out. They are not evil, they are just careless. As far as they are concerned they worked hard for what’ve got, they fought the good fight, played the game, and made their way up the ladder, just like they were supposed to.

But just being a survivor is not the summit of human achievement. Realising that you are part of a circle, that you stand on the shoulders of those who came before you, and that you must shoulder those who come after you, those are the true virtues. Humility, care and service are the hallmarks of a truly great generation.

It’s your responsibility, the responsibility of those who are not blinded by their own struggles, to take the reins from those that are. We must assume the mantle that our great-grandparents gave us: the power of democracy to control the direction and destiny of our society. 

Only passive acceptance is holding you back, a natural deference to those that are older and should know better. The FU.IGM generation is a minority. The world belongs to those who are under 45 today, and everywhere you are the majority. You don’t need a bus to get to the polling booth, you don’t need permission to register to vote, and you have every right to reclaim what is rightfully yours.

Take control. 

Vote. 

Your vote can change the world, starting in 2015. 

Love. LIFE. Vote.

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Categories
budget economics

Math problems for the status quo

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a report today on the state of the world economy and national budgets. It makes for pretty dire reading – especially if you think we are already suffering under unbearable austerity. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23028023

Bottom line: interest rates will at least double before the next General Election, and none of the incumbent politicians has a plan to get debt down to anything that could be considered reasonable historically.

To cope with this and get back to firmer ground the government is going to face cutting spending by £100Bn, not the £10Bn currently being negotiated. This simply cannot be done without a wholesale rethink of how to fund our social security. No amount of tinkering will work, the numbers are just too big.

LIFE’s plan to change social security to services instead of benefits (WellFair), to a system that pays the people delivering the services, instead of those receiving them, is the only plan being proposed by any political movement that can possibly cope with the the future we face.

If you think LIFE’s policies are radical, you’re not paying attention. LIFE’s policies are the most gentle, humane and digestible way forward. Instead of plunging into an abyss of austerity and debt without end, we are proposing a way to balance and joy. You may think it sounds corny, but it’s deadly serious – do the maths.

Maths:

Start with £1,500Bn of debt (current).
Add £50Bn a year in interest (at current rates).
Add £70Bn a year in extra borrowing (current, with 2013 austerity).
Add £50Bn a year in interest at future rates (conservative estimate, could be twice this).
Add £50Bn a year to reduce the debt to £1,200Bn by 2020 (that’s still 80% of GDP)

= £220Bn reduction in spending required = 33% of all current spending.

Want to know how to solve this equation without destroying our society? Check the LIFE budget plans.

 

Categories
change

Change, how?

If you believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with the track we are on, and to continue down the current path will ultimately to disaster, then the question you have to face is what needs to change?

So the first question is: are we basically on the right track, and just need to make some adjustments?

If your answer to this is yes, then playing the game of contemporary politics, with a few policy adjustments here and there, is something that you believe will change the course and the destination from disaster to solution. In this case there is no need for a new political party, and the best thing to do is to roll up your sleeves, get involved with the existing parties, and then make sure the appropriate adjustments get made.

Note: you may also arrive at this conclusion simply because you have not considered there are any practical alternatives to the current system. This is not the same as believing that we are basically on the right track, and if you are only engaged with the current system because you cannot see any alternatives, you should really re-evaluate your position.

If your answer to first question is no, then the second question is: is there a viable alternative to what we’re doing today?

There are two basic categories into which the answers to this question fall: either they harken back to solutions which have already been tried historically, or they look forward to new solutions which we have not yet attempted.

Solutions from the past include communism, full-throated individualistic capitalism, despotism, dictatorship, caliphates and other forms of religious government, fascism, expansionist imperialism, a return to agrarian subsistence, and, last but not least, various forms of leftist socialism typical of European nations since WWII. Inevitably you will believe that these did not fail in the past because of any inherent weaknesses, but simply because of failures in their implementation. In our opinion you are deluding yourself, and these have all failed in the past for perfectly good reasons.

New solutions? Although there has been a dearth of new thinking in politics, economics and the science of human organisation in the last fifty years, we believe there is a new solution. A solution that takes the best from what we have already learned and fashions a new formula based on the best of those ideas and a realistic assessment of both the human condition and the environment we live in. Our best version of what that new solution looks like is what we are proposing in LIFE.

On the surface the policies proposed by LIFE are simply adjustments to the social-democratic-capitalist system commonly practised in the industrial world today. But underneath, LIFE’s policies actually propose a wholesale rearrangement of the social contract, and the structure of the economy. The mutual contract for unconditional social support is new. The understanding that economic activity falls into two distinct realms, hygiene and wealth, is new. The adoption of modern sophisticated democratic structures, the embracing of technology, and the fundamental appreciation of the role of individual freedom as essential to group function, are all new. And the fact that all of these policies are based on inherently natural human characteristics, imbues them with an almost unintentional, automatic consequence of environmental sustainability.

So if you believe we are fundamentally on the wrong track today, and you are not a fan of old solutions that failed in the past, then it behooves you take a long good look at the proposals of LIFE as the only reasonable, practical and available new alternative on offer.

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If you’ve decided to try and adjust the current system, we wish us all the best of luck; and if you have decided to return to historical failures, we wish you an early awakening.

Categories
competition enterprise problems WellFair

Proper Privatisation

The proper role of private enterprise in the delivery of public services is to improve the services.

Private enterprise is dependent on the existence of competition, risk and reward to function properly.

No public service should be controlled and managed by private enterprise unless competition, risk and reward are present. All private enterprise involvement in public services must remain democratically accountable.

Continue reading “Proper Privatisation”
Categories
Uncategorized

Queen’s Speech – Alt LIFE, 2013

My lords and members of the House of Commons.

My government’s legislative programme will focus on building a stronger nation so that the people of the United Kingdom can be assured of a full and rewarding life now and into the future.

 It will work to promote a fairer society that rewards everyone for their contribution to our common success.

 My government’s first priority is to strengthen Britain’s social fabric. To this end, it will support the strengths of our communities and encourage our self-reliance by replacing Councils with elected Assemblies with legislative responsibility for community affairs.

 My ministers will prioritise measures that reduce the deficit – ensuring interest rates are kept low for homeowners and businesses.

 My government is committed to building an economy where people who work hard are properly rewarded. It will therefore replace the benefits system with Wellfair services, moving everyone from welfare to the opportunity to work.

 Measures will be brought forward to support jobs and help small businesses by reducing the barriers to employment.

 A bill will be introduced to remove the requirements on businesses to provide pensions. A further bill will make it easier for businesses to protect their intellectual property.

 A draft bill will be published establishing a simple set of individual rights to remove the pernicious intrusion of the state on the private affairs of my citizens.

 My government will introduce a bill that reforms the Income Tax system and merges it with National Insurance.

 My government will continue to invest in infrastructure that frees us from reliance on fossil fuels and delivers jobs and growth for the economy.

 My government will introduce legislation to update housing, transport and energy infrastructure and to improve the water industry.

 My government is committed to a fairer society where aspiration and responsibility are rewarded.

To make sure that every citizen, old or young, has the opportunity for joy in life, regardless of background, further measures will be taken to improve the quality of all basic services for all the people.

My government will also take forward plans for new national food quality standards, a world-class regulation system and local community responsibility for ensuring that all my people have access to healthy sustenance.

 My government will also take steps to ensure that it becomes typical for those leaving school to start a traineeship or an apprenticeship, or to go to university.

 New arrangements will be put in place to help more people live in a decent home, with government support provided for adding 100,000 social housing units a year.

 My government is committed to supporting people in their retirement.

 Legislation will be introduced to reform the way long-term care is paid for, to ensure the elderly have access to support services irrespective of their income.

 My government will bring forward legislation to create a simpler state pension system that encourages saving and provides more help to those whose savings have been lost in the financial markets.

 My government will bring forward a bill that further reforms Britain’s immigration system by giving local communities the right to determine residency. The bill will ensure that this country attracts people who will by welcomed in their new homes.

 My government will continue to reduce crime and protect national security.

 Legislation will be introduced to reform the way in which offenders are rehabilitated.

 Legislation will be brought forward to introduce new powers to further reform the police.

My government will bring forward proposals to enable the protection of everyone’s right to privacy and to bring the benefits of technology to all.

 Measures will be brought forward to improve the way this country procures defence equipment, as well as strengthening the reserve forces.

 My ministers will continue to work in co-operation with the devolved administrations.

 A bill will be introduced to give effect to a number of institutional improvements in every region.

 Legislation will be published concerning the electoral arrangements for all future elections in the United Kingdom in order to provide a more accountable and effective democracy for all my people.. This legislation will provide the opportunity for all the regions of this land to remain part of the United Kingdom.

 Members of the House of Commons, estimates for the public services will be laid before you.

 My lords and members of the House of Commons.

 My government will work to prevent conflict and reduce terrorism. It will support countries in transition in the Middle East and north Africa, and the opening of a peace process in Afghanistan.

 My government will work to prevent sexual violence in conflict worldwide.

 My government will ensure the security, good governance and development of the overseas territories, including the removal of all tax haven protections for my territories.

 In assuming the presidency of the G8, my government will promote social and environmental sustainability, tackle tax evasion, encourage greater transparency and accountability while continuing to make progress in tackling climate change.

 Other measures will be laid before you.

 My lords and members of the House of Commons, I pray that blessing of almighty God may rest upon your counsels.

Categories
problems

Stress test your assumptions!

If you’re wondering what the fuss is about, or why a few tweaks here and there won’t solve our problems – then this page is for you.

Test your assumptions about what’s possible, and what changes are coming. We “stress test” our banks to try and see if they can survive the next financial meltdown, why not try the same thing for yourself?
If you still feel that there isn’t anything wrong, that there isn’t anything coming along that a few adjustments in current policy can’t handle, then you should vote for one of the old parties.

Growth will come
What we need is growth?Growth, in the sense of higher GDP of the current economy, is advertised as the fix to our social and financial problems: once growth returns we will all get jobs, tax revenues will rise, we will pay off our debts, and all live comfortably and affordably into our old age.

Is that true? Doesn’t “growth” mean all of the following too?

  • Every small signal of growth is matched by a rise in the oil price, because every industrial economy is dependent on fossil fuels. So economic growth just funnels more money to petro-states.
  • Industrial economies are not only dependent on oil, they are also very inefficient and resource intensive. Economic growth means more resource consumption and more waste.
  • The waste generated by increased industrial production is dangerously destabilising our environment, polluting our water, our land and our air.
  • Growth now means more trade, and trade relies on transport that runs on fossil fuels.

Growth without retooling our economy will only drive us into the ditch faster.

Many argue that growth will not come, and that it is time for the economics of enough. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2013/may/01/economics-of-enough

An ageing population
[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”300wide”,”fid”:”122″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”193″,”style”:”float: right;”,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”300″}}]]If we can’t afford to take care of ageing population today, how will we cope when it doubles in size over the coming decade?

Wasted youth
Where’s the work? There is increasing understanding that the modern economy will destroy more jobs than it creates. If we are expecting gainful employment without significant change, we’re betting on a fantasy.

There is work, lots of work! But it’s doing things that improve our lives, not making things destined for the rubbish tip. We have a massive backlog of house building and infrastructure, we can and should have many more trades and crafts people to build and repair things, and there’s lots of work looking after children, the aged and the less-abled. A society that enables all of those jobs will be one in which the cost of labour is lower, not higher.

Unprecedented financials
Ever since the collapse of 2008, the world’s banks have pumped extra cash into the financial system, partly to support failing banks and partly to try and stimulate the real economy by making everyone feel richer (because the price of their assets, like houses and shares, have been reinflated).

What has not changed significantly since 2008 is the level of debt carried by both countries and individuals. This is OK right now because interest rates are at historic lows.

As soon as things start to wobble, interest rates will go up. As soon interest rates rise millions of individuals will not be able to afford their debts, and dozens of countries will go bankrupt.

Today the UK is paying £5,000,000 an hour in interest, and borrowing £10,000,000 and hour. If interest rates rise by only 2% it would wipe out our whole defence budget, or half of our education budget![[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”300wide”,”fid”:”160″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”343″,”style”:”float: right;”,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”300″}}]]

There are a number of scenarios in which the wobbling starts, here are a couple:

  • real economic growth does not come (so far this is true), and so asset prices (houses and shares) start to look inflated, and start to fall because people want to sell them before others also see them as too high
  • the patience of some country or another, with either their austerity or another countries’ bailouts, runs out, and a domino of national bankruptcies starts

And that’s all without even addressing the changes needed to support climate stablity…

So if you look at these potential scenarios, and you ask yourself if our existing system is ready to handle any one of these, let alone multiple at the same time, do you still feel like we can make through with just a few tweaks here or there? 

 

Categories
Key Article legacy parties politics problems

The emperors have no clothes!

Why start the LIFE party? Does the UK need a new political party?

YES!  We all know about the problems we face, and their magnitude: we are living beyond our means, barely getting by as it is, and facing waves of change in the coming decade that will challenge every human society on Earth.

LIFE-Love-Vote-logo-848To address these problems honestly, we have to really change. We will have to change the way we live, the way our economy works for us, the way we make decisions, and how we take care of each other. And we must arrive at this new destination soon: a place where we are happy to live, where we are safe, and where we are in balance with the natural world that sustains us.

Not one of the existing political parties in the UK has a plan to get us to the destination we need to reach.

Continue reading “The emperors have no clothes!”
Categories
debt economics

Difference between Cyprus and UK?

Not enough!

See tables below:

  • Britain’s total debt as a percentage pf GDP is actually 5% higher than Cyprus,
  • our annual budget deficits are the same as a percentage of GDP, and
  • the UK banking sector is only 4 or 5 times the size of our economy, compared to Cyprus’ 7 times.

The whole of the EU doesn’t look terribly different and the US is in a not dissimilar position. The point is that this model of using debt to replace tax revenues is unsustainable, and we need to move to a sustainable economic model now. Post-2015 will likely be too late.

 

From Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/apr/22/eurozone-crisis-markets-rally-italian-president :

Debt/GDP table

And here’s the key details of today’s government debt figures from Eurostat ” onwards).

Government debt, as a percentage of GDP, 2012

Germany: 81.9%

France: 90.2%

Britain: 90.0%

Spain: 84.2%

Italy: 127.0%

Greece: 156.9%

Portugal: 123.6%

Ireland: 117.6%

Cyprus: 85.8%

Slovenia: 54.1%

Euro area: 90.6%

EU27 85.3%

 

Germany outshone the rest of Europe by posting a budget surplus, of 0.2%.

Annual surpluses/deficits for 2012, via Eurostat

Germany: +0.2%


France: -4.8%


Britain: -6.3%


Spain: -10.6%


Italy: -3.0%

Greece: -10.0%

Portugal: -6.4%

Ireland: -7.6%

Cyprus: -6.3%

Slovenia: -4.0%

Euro area: -3.7%

European Union: -4.0%

You can download the full details here.

 

From http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/03/18/cyprus-there-but-for-the-grace-of-god-goes-britain/ :

“There’s been a lot of head shaking in recent days about the size of Cyprus’ banking sector relative to its economy.

And it is indeed grossly inflated with assets and liabilities at around €126bn, or 700% of the island’s GDP.

If you have a banking sector that size you’re asking for trouble – for how can a state guarantee for depositors be credible? If the banks go under the state wouldn’t be able to rescue the savers.

How foolish.

Yet we’ve nothing to be smug about here in Britain.

This chart (below) from Albert Gallo, an analyst at RBS, shows that we’re not that far behind. Despite all the deleveraging of recent years our banking sector still has assets and liabilities equal to 450% of our GDP.

Remember this next time you hear from one of the banking industry lobbyists how vital it is for the UK’s economic future to have a massive banking sector. Remember Cyprus.

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Categories
Democracy

Broken democracy in Westminster

We are trying to run a modern country with an old and out-dated democratic system.

The principle of local representatives being sent to Westminster may have been appropriate in 1850 but it is outrageously ineffective today. MPs come mainly from party lists, they do a marginal job of representing their local constituents in national parliament, and they do a disastrously useless job of providing oversight and debate on national policies.

This report from the committee responsible for the effectiveness of government tells the story. 

LIFE will restore Britain’s great democracy, and give the people effective local and national representation. 

 

Categories
taxes

What is the proper rate for income tax?

Ask yourself, what is the reason why the income tax rate is at 22% or 40% or whatever it is currently at?

The answer to that question today, is that income tax is set at a rate by politicians which they believe will get them re-elected.

The proper answer to that question, is that income taxes should be set at the rate necessary to pay for the services that we have agreed are appropriate for our society. If we decide to spend more then income taxes will have to be higher, and if we decide to spend less then income taxes can be lowered accordingly.

LIFE will set income taxes at the rate necessary to pay for the wellfair services, and that is a simple and straightforward relationship that everybody can understand. And because everybody pays income taxes on all of their income, everybody has an interest in this balance.

The basic rate necessary to pay for the wellfair services as they exist today is 25%, an additional 5% is required to cover the cost of pensions.