Seven-point plan for Britain's crisis-KEN LIVINGSTONE

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

Seven-point plan for Britain's crisis

(Thursday 16 October 2008)







KEN LIVINGSTONE sets out an economic programme to protect Britain's most vulnerable from the effects of the oncoming global recession.

The core of the international financial crisis is the uncompetitive state of the US economy.


Its huge balance of payments deficit reflects the major overvaluation of the dollar. This, in turn, was reflected in an unsustainable overpricing of US assets compared to their real international values.

US assets would inevitably eventually adjust downwards nearer to their real international levels, which is why this crisis broke out in the most overpriced part of the US asset market, sub-prime mortgages.

But many other US assets, including shares on Wall Street, have also been overvalued in real international terms and will also inevitably adjust downwards either due to dollar devaluation or falls in their price or both.

The falling price of US assets has weakened or, in some cases, entirely wrecked the balance sheet of US financial institutions. This in turn has set up a severe liquidity squeeze as financial institutions are no longer able or willing to lend.

Contagion from this has spread through the rest of the world economy.

The devaluation of US assets is inevitable.

The markets have demonstrated that the US does not have the economic resources to maintain its present role in the world and its attempt to do so is spreading havoc through the world economy.
Washington must lessen the strain on its economy and retrench by cutting military spending and accepting a reduced role in the world economy.

The US must either accept this voluntarily, which would be the wise course, or it will eventually be forced through crisis to accept this, but, in the meantime, severe damage will be inflicted on everyone.
The US role as the world's sole economic superpower has ended. The US has become one very large power in the world among others, such as the European Union, China and India.

In the medium term, all this will require major shifts in the British economy, including the need for much closer relations with Europe, China and India. In the short term, the crucial question is how to protect ordinary people to the maximum degree possible.
To achieve this, seven key points must be included in any programme to deal with the economic crisis.

This financial crisis is continuing to develop and so, therefore, must programmes to deal with it. But there are already elements of the answers required that are clear.

Each corresponds to a particular and crucial part of the present crisis. Further measures to deal with other aspects of the situation will be required, but these seven points are indispensable in any adequate policy response.

First, in order to avoid huge contraction in the economy, the government must take over the running of large parts of the banking system.

The present scheme for the government to purchase shares in private banks was well intentioned but, due to the huge fall in share prices which may well continue, it creates huge risk and threatens losses to the taxpayer of over £40 billion.

It is likely that the real value of both HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland, once the balance of their devaluing assets and their real liabilities is taken into account, is not only far below the present share prices but may well be zero.

The government must not pay money for shares that may be considerably overpriced or even worthless. To do so would mean losses for the taxpayer that would damage public spending or require higher taxation for years to come.

The government should instead announce that it is ready to take over the running of any of the banks that turn out to have no value for shareholders. This means that deposits should be guaranteed but not shareholdings.

HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will almost certainly end up nationalised.

They are very likely already worthless in terms of real share value once their losses are fully revealed. This approach will avoid a large loss on share purchases by the taxpayer.

As shown by Northern Rock, which is now one of the most attractive banks in the country to savers, nationalised banks can be reorganised rapidly and effectively. Indeed, the productive economy will benefit as such nationalised banks resume lending.

Second, there must be further sharp reductions in interest rates and the government, through banks under its control, must start lending directly, as is already being done in the US.

Without this, severe damage will be done to individuals and viable companies.

Third, the government should be prepared to run large budget deficits.

Keynesian budget measures by themselves are not sufficient to overcome a financial crisis on this scale but they are necessary as a short-term measure to counteract recession.

Fourth, as the economy moves into recession, those with the least responsibility for the present situation, those on medium earnings and the least well off, are threatened most, while the highest paid will be relatively most protected.

This is not only economically and socially unjust but politically disastrous for Labour, whose support is precisely concentrated among those on medium incomes and the less well off.

There must be a shift to a more redistributive system of taxation to recycle resources from the best off to those on medium incomes and the least well off.

To finance this, a new 50 per cent rate of income tax for those earning over £150,000 a year must be introduced as a minimum.

Fifth, the most severe driving force of inflation is high energy prices, which are generating extra profits for the energy companies. Such extra profits must instead be redirected back to energy consumers by means of a windfall tax on energy companies that is used to subsidise those paying extra energy bills.

Sixth, the recession and a probable decline in the exchange rate of pound will shrink the economy both domestically and in real international terms.

In relation to incomes, an increase in taxation on the highest paid has already been dealt with.

But there will also be a squeeze in public expenditure.

Public expenditure on health, education and welfare must not be cut. Instead, resources must be released for these through reductions in military spending.

This means that the replacement for Trident must be cancelled, the new aircraft carriers must be cancelled and British troops must be taken out of Iraq.


'The markets have shown that the US does not have the economic resources to maintain its present role in the world.'



Seventh, polluters must pay. Given that the planet is threatened by climate change and ordinary people are suffering economic hardship, it is unacceptable that damaging and entirely unnecessary activity such as driving large petrol-guzzling and polluting cars is taking place.

In London, the £25-a-day CO2 congestion charge on petrol-guzzling cars must be reintroduced and nationally high levels of taxation on such cars much be strengthened.

There are of course many other economic and social effects of the financial crisis that must also be dealt with in any government programme.

As there is a severe squeeze in the private housing market, large-scale state-funded programmes of house-building will have to be undertaken.

Recession will mean an increase in crime or the threat of crime and, therefore, spending on the police must be maintained. This is another reason why military spending must be reduced.

The threat from racism will increase, as will the danger of domestic violence against women and, therefore, programmes against these must be stepped up.

The seven points outlined here, while not a full economic programme, are indispensable parts of any policy to deal with the present economic situation.


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[loki]

Sorry, but i met this cunt twice and the first time he laughed off the fact that leaseholders in this country were not given a vote to transfer from council landlords to RSL landlords. He actually made me look like a liar in front of a studio audience.

The second time i confronted him years later about the same subject and his views now, he refused point blank to answer my question. Which was basically the same, "Is it right that although leaseholders can vote in council housing stock transfers, but their votes are actually not counted?. Is that actually democratic?

Sorry TMI but this guys a cunt, and a drunkard at that. Now i have no problem with drinkers, but i dont want one in charge of huge public finances that drinks in the morning.

So again this guy is a useless drunkard cunt, and I would never subscribe to anything this prick has to say, because nothing the fucker says actually comes from the heart, its just all political maneuvering.

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

You've just described a careerist politician!
Long Live Lenin!

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

Diggin' the dirt on Winston Churchill

[loki]

I'll give you my own seven point plan:

1. Let any financial institution thats going to collapse, just collapse.

2. Guarantee all true savings in such institutions.

3. Seize all mortgages owned by the institution.

4. Pay the investors of the institution for every mortgage seized, 1% of the original mortgage price.

5. Give all true homeowners, ie family homes, first time buyers etc, a five year break from all mortgage payments freezing interest payments, encouraging them to spend savings into the economy. When repayments start let them know that as the government payed out 1% on their original mortgage price that now, their repayments have now become 25% of the original price, thereby lessening the burden.

6. Force all large scale buy to let scumbags that have already fleeced the economy enough to pay back within 5 years, or reposses the mortgage. Increase interest rates effectively crippling the fuckers. Ban private homes being rented to anyone on benefits.

• Invest in a massive council house building scheme.

• Seize all RSL properties, and place them back in council hands
• Investigate these RSL companies thoroughly and create prisonable offenses for any overcharging or other offenses

7. Cap all rents to reasonable levels.

Sorry but seven points is just not enough.

8. Send out the navy and every armed boat we can muster to retrieve our oil fields.

9. Reopen the mining pits and let them be run by localised co-operative associations.

10. Renationalise every institution that we have lost to privatisation, and permenantly cap charges.

• Again invetigate these private corporations or PFI's etc, and charge and imprison any practises that were against the nations best interests

11. Severe our ties with greedy drug companies that are also fleecing our once proud NHS. Set up nationalised drug companies that effectively test all drugs coming into the country and make perfect generic copies. Remember the Indians do and so do parts of South America.

12. Bring all our men and women back home from the countries we invaded.

13. Apoligise profusely to those countries, offering aid, and expertise in any area they feel they need help in rebuilding their own country.

14. Create a day of shame, a public holiday if you will that would help our nation to remember the terrible suffering we involved ourselve in inflicting on those nations.

15. Truly ban all arms sales, and aggresively pursue any one or company that operates in our country, or territories.

16. Force all corporations to pay every tax they are actually liable for.

17. Force all corporations to pay every tax they have ever been liable for. In fact if the fuckers refuse send in the army, hunt them down, and hang the fuckers for treasonable offenses.

18. Set up investigative panels chaired by community leaders, to investigate and charge all of these scumbags.

19. Bring back the death penalty only in cases of corporate manslaughter or murder, in fact any dodgy practises the cunts get up to.

20. Let banks operate freely in this country as long as we have huge oversight and regulations.

21. Let any part the of the UK that claims independance, let them have it, and cut off any ties, but stating that all terratories around the british isles belong to the UK, even if that just leaves England. I know this sounds harsh but the scumbags in power have been trying to divide us for decades, and the y have literally achieved this. I do not actually believe that its really in our best interests to be divided. Basically in the end its the lower classes who always get screwed.

22. Scrap all NHS charges, cut adminstration charges to a minumum, increase investment in doctors. In fact send students, if they want to cuba to be trained, they apparently offer the best training anyway. Offer cuba any help they need in exchange for free training of our students.

23. Invest massively in the NHS.

24. I'm sorry if these next parts sound rascist, but here goes.

25. Disallow any non uk citizen from being treated on the NHS.

26. Seize businesses and all assets that get caught employing illegal immigrants, and no, i do not care if they are european community members.

27. Reinvest money in customs and excise, increasing border controls.

28. Any new UK citizen can not claim benefits of any kind unless they prove they have worked legally in this country for 5 years.

29. True asylum seekers should still be encouraged to come to this country.

30. All companies should have to actively seek out UK citizens for employment, and explain the reasons why if this cannot be achieved.

• I used to work in the banking sector in my early years, and now these sectors are flooded with Americans, Australians, South Africans etc, etc. Our own youth, white, black, asian, chinese, are finding it almost impossible to break into these sectors of employment.

31. Actively encourage social cohesion, as much as possible, for too long this country has been divided by creating almost ghetto like areas, for the influx of migrants into this country. Sometimes no thought has been put into the social planning of these areas. Putting them under immense strain to deal with ever increasing numbers of people.

32. Bring back YTS like schemes for our youth, guarantee them a place on any training scheme they show an interest in. Create schemes for all areas of work that can be of use to our nation and the world as a whole, i.e; building trades, doctors, nurses, vets, service sectors, agricultural, shipping, etc, etc.

33. Cancel all debts odious or otherwise to all third world nations.

34. Send our experts out to those countries who really want our help and provide all training, advice, expertise, and supplies, with little or no cost

Thats enough for now.

All comments are welcome.

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by loki

All comments are welcome.

Have you ever thought of standing for Prime Minister? You have my vote.

Originally Posted by Nostalgia

Have you ever thought of standing for Prime Minister? You have my vote.

And an anonymous vote from me and friends too.

I did notice Ken mentioning congestion charge on cars. It always irks me when I hear that one, or any 'environment' related schemes for car drivers.

Most people armed with a computer and a network card can easily find out that cards DON'T need to run on petrol any more and don't need hydrogen tanks either.

It is perfectly possible to fit an electrolysis unit to most cars, splitting hydrogen and oxygen for combustion within the engine. The added benefit to splitting these elements at point of use (under the bonnet) means no volatile gases require storage.

http://waterasfuelcar.com/

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

And an anonymous vote from me and friends too.

I did notice Ken mentioning congestion charge on cars. It always irks me when I hear that one, or any 'environment' related schemes for car drivers.

Most people armed with a computer and a network card can easily find out that cards DON'T need to run on petrol any more and don't need hydrogen tanks either.

It is perfectly possible to fit an electrolysis unit to most cars, splitting hydrogen and oxygen for combustion within the engine. The added benefit to splitting these elements at point of use (under the bonnet) means no volatile gases require storage.

http://waterasfuelcar.com/

Hi, you should post that information in the alternative fuel section.
Thanks for posting here.

[ZingPao]

Loki is fired up!!

I enjoyed your rant and I'm with Nostalgia; you would have my vote.

[Nostalgia]

Loki, I didn't see anything about holiday homes in your post?
I also suggest that we take away from any resident uk or otherwise a holiday home based in the uk.
Holiday homes are totally unnecessary and may even harm the uk tourism business and push up the price of affordable homes for local people.
Then as people cannot find homes because the greedy others have one or more, it then causes a strain on the environment due to excessive house building.
More houses means less habitat for wildlife.

"For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected."