The Jobless Society
by Xavier Connolly.
2010-01-11
CREATIVE COMMONS: Attribute, non commercial, no derivs.
KEYWORDS: economy, economics, debt, mortgage, recovery, loan, industrial, jobs, politics, society
by Xavier Connolly
So how does a nation pay its way when it makes nothing to export, has no services to sell that other nations cannot provide more efficiently for themselves and must import much of its food and most of its fuel?
That is the sorry state Britain is in, and though it should not be a comfort to anybody America is not much better placed to cope as recession turns into slump. Where Margaret Thatcher who contrary to legend was the most centralising, most financially profligate Prime Minister we have ever had in Britain declared war on the working class by declaring war on the working class by deliberately destroying the industries of our economic base that provided the well paid, skilled and semi skilled work that sustained communities and provided the tax revenues that financed infrastructure and social development, the hapless Barack Obama over the pond has declared war on both working and middle class. Tough luck if you are American and not part of a racial, religious or sexual minority.
Gordon Brown's government in Britain believe, as all Labour governments of the past have believed, the nation can make up for lost jobs in industry by creating public sector employment. The Obama administration with their loonytoons economics and reliance on Chinese generosity to fund their burgeoning deficits seem to be heading the same way.
In both Britain and America there is talk of a "green economy" leading the recovery and "green jobs" providing work for future generations. It is all hogwash, empty political propaganda aimed at masking total systemic failure until the politicians, corporate managers and the academics who advise them can find a way to blame Joe Public, me and you, for their disastrous incompetence.
Can anybody define a "green economy." Might it not be closely related to the "cow dung economy" that, according to India's first Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru, Gandhi would have imposed on his country after independence had he survived.
In Britain we have had a period of intense cold since mid December. As the government trumpets the need for green power and announces plans to build massive wind farms those whose scepticism often gets us accused of not understanding science have noticed throughout several weeks of near zero or subzero temperatures there has been little wind. Had we already ben committed to the idiot government's target of generating 25% of our power from wind a quarter of British people would have been shivering in the dark throughout the cold spell. Belatedly the government has realised that if we want to reduce carbon emissions we must build nuclear power stations to fill the gap between the current generation of coal, oil and nuclear power plants becoming obsolete and new, reliable tide, wave, marine current and run of river generating technologies to be developed.
Power generation, whether by fossil fuel, nuclear reaction or hundreds of giant windmills is not a great creator of jobs. Most of the jobs involved in generation from coal were in the mining industry. Jobs will be created in the manufacture of wind turbines but after the initial surge of construction few people will be required to maintain the system.
Power generation, whether green or grey will not be the salvation of the economy. Were the power generated being used to drive machines in factories and mills it would be at least a component in the recovery. But when it is being used to power call centres, public authority offices, care homes for the elderly while it may be put to worthwhile use it is not contributing to a sustainable economy.
This then is a brief illustration of hoe the lack of vision from governments of both free market and stateist political parties has brought the west to a state of near collapse. In 2010 we urge those of you who will have the chance to vote on the loonytoons economics of stateism, centralising of power and control by a small political cabal, to use your votes to elect independents, mavericks, members of fringe parties, anybody except the candidates of the main parties. This cosy consensus has served corporate capitalism for too long and while it has done so it has betrayed the majority of voters. You have been deceived by political trickery, distracted by almost unlimited cheap credit and robbed of your freedoms, rights and privileges. It is time to fight back.
THEY CAN'T PUT US ALL IN PRISON.
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