The Landlord

 Inflation seems inexorable,

No prospect it might relent.

Where’s the cash for heat and food bills,

School uniforms and the rent?

The landlord’s not unreasonable,

His property well maintained,

But it’s not his fault or concern

If tenants’ incomes are drained.

It’s just a matter of business,

Not moral dereliction;

He is not unsympathetic,

But still pursues eviction.

For him, the house is not a home,

But an asset that must earn.

Yet, if rent’s unpaid, then it’s just

Capital without return.

D. A.

Kent & Sussex branch are contesting this year’s local elections on 4 May, in Folkestone.

Here is our election manifesto:

Homes for People, not Profits

If you ever need to see the brutal reality of capitalism at work, look no further than the new apartment blocks being built along Folkestone seafront.

According to a County Council report, parts of both the Harbour and Central wards of Folkestone are among the 10 percent most deprived areas of England, so how many residents do you think will be able to afford the multi-million-pound apartments now being constructed in their front yard?

How many Folkestone residents got any real say in what the development would look like?

Of course, we already know the answer to those questions.

Like everything in the capitalist world we live in, profit is the only driving force. The only purpose in building homes under capitalism is that somebody somewhere makes a big fat profit. So despite the real housing needs of local residents, these apartments are not built for them.

The Socialist Party of Great Britain stands for the common and democratic ownership of the means of producing and distributing wealth in a global community without borders.

This means all of us will actually own the Folkestone Seafront. When we controlthe resources of the earth –from the farms to the mines and quarries – nothing will stop us building the best quality houses, with real community participation, for the people that need them. Access to these houses and apartments will be freeaccording to our real needs.

If we own everything, why do you need money?

Extend that to food production, clean energy, clean rivers and oceans. When we own the world, we will ensure that we live in harmony with nature. Taking what we need to live well and not destroying the planet in the name of profit.

That is why we are asking for your vote. We cannot fix the problems of poverty and conflict within capitalism. And that is why we stand for a world free from borders, free from wars over markets and trade routes – a world where our fellow humans are no longer forced to risk their lives to seek a dignified life.

This is a revolution. A world revolution. And it has to start somewhere – so why not Folkestone on Thursday, 4th May?

The basic state pension is going up this week and the full rate will be just over £10,000 a year. This is the amount workers will be robbed of if the retirement age goes up a further year, as it will in three years’ time when it goes up from 66 to 67. There could then well be a Labour but you can safely bet they won’t do anything to stop it. Maybe they will be faced by French-style opposition with Starmer as the British Macron.

There’s talk of it going up to 68 before 2044 as currently scheduled. It’s a political hot potato which no government wants to be left holding as it won’t be popular. But there is another aspect to this.  Professor Sir Michael Marmot, an expert on health inequality, points out: 

“The most deprived two-thirds of the population do not have disability-free life expectancy as long as 68, so if you make the pension age older than that, you’re going to find a huge swath of the more deprived can’t work to 68 and will have less time time to enjoy this pension.” (Times, 31 January)

In other words, they will die before or soon after retiring. In fact this must be happening now to some extent with the retirement age at 66 and will to a greater extent when it goes up to 67. How convenient for the finances of the capitalist state. 

If you can’t work you are no use to capitalism, just an expendable drag on profits.

 Manufacturers of electric cars are using exaggerated driving ranges as the official tests to not reflect real life, a study has revealed.

More than 70 electric vehicles were analysed in independent tests by consumer champions Which? showed that real-world ranges were almost 20 per cent lower than what car makers advertised, on average.

Tests also found that electric car batteries will need around 15 per cent extra power than what has been advertised to fully charge – resulting in higher running costs.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11926701/Electric-car-manufacturers-use-exaggerated-vehicle-ranges-publicity-study-reveals.html

Socialist Stanza No. 4

The Socialist Way

Meandering and uneven

Appears the onward road,

And few the hopeful travellers

Who have set out abroad

Towards the shared destination,

Beyond those distant hills

That can seem too steep for climbing,

Which commonly instils

Reluctance to take the first steps,

Although most would advance

If they could be persuaded it’s

Not too great a distance.

Maybe tomorrow the journey

Might finally make sense,

Or will the road be untraveled

For generations hence?

D. A.

 Last year, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, called on workers to exercise self-restraint over wage demands so as not to cause inflation to get established. Last week he called on businesses to exercise self-restraint on price increases for the same reason.

Neither workers nor businesses are taking any notice. In Tuesday’s Times, it’s Financial Editor, Patrick Hosking, explains why business won’t be any more than workers:

“Surely, when first introduced to an economics textbook, Bailey learnt that firms are not driven by altruism or patriotism but by market forces and profit? They will charge what the market will bear (…) While modern-day corporations have to consider many stakeholders, they still see their primary duty over the long run to maximise profits for the shareholders.”

There you have it.

Explaining what “charge what the market will bear” means, Hoskins adds:

“Until businesses see more capitulation by their customers, the price escalation will go on. Business will stop lifting their prices only if enough customers defect to competitors, trade down to cheaper lines or find near-substitutes. Or stop buying at all. For the poorest households, this has happened already.”

Nice system capitalism, isn’t it?

 Dr Richard Werner, a Professor of Banking and Finance at the University of Winchester,  claimed some years ago to have found evidence that an individual bank on its own can create money ‘out of nothing’:

More recently, in an article on his blog,  he argues that banks should not be allowed to fail because they create most of the money needed to keep the economy going. He seems to think that banks have two quite different and unrelated functions: to act as a safety deposit box, keeping safe money that people don’t want to use for the time being, and to create new money. Apparently, for him, the two are unconnected.

 The Socialist Party is very rarely mentioned in mainstream media, even during elections in which we campaign, leaving us to agree with Oscar Wilde when he stated ‘the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about’.   Here’s the latest rare exception:

The Socialist Utopia: Why socialism is ‘misunderstood and misrepresented’ – Ivo Vegter

‘One man with an idea in his head is in danger of being considered a madman: two men with the same idea in common may be foolish, but can hardly be mad; ten men sharing an idea begin to act, a hundred draw attention as fanatics, a thousand and society begins to tremble, a hundred thousand and there is war abroad, and the cause has victories tangible and real; and why only a hundred thousand? Why not a hundred million and peace upon the earth? You and I who agree together, it is we who have to answer that question.’

William Morris 

The French are up in arms because French capitalists, through  the auspices of the executive that runs France on behalf of capitalism, wants to prolong the age at which French workers can cease to be wage slaves. Note that even having ceased to be in receipt of a wage or salary, and retired, the vast majority still remain part of the working class. The proletariat cannot be expected not to kick against the pricks when it feels the provocation warrants it. Workers are not beasts of burden but must often feel they are treated as such. The working class produces the whole cake; it should looking to own all of it, not a few crumbs. Do these protests signify a new wave of class consciousness ? Not in the sense that those protesting are calling for the replacement of capitalism by socialism. That requires a majority understanding  of, and desire for, a class free, money free, state free society in place of the present exploitative system which is run to benefit the minority. Alongside ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité,’ the rallying cry should be, Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!

‘French authorities struggled on Thursday to suppress the protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. Over a million demonstrators took to the streets across the country in what some security sources described as an “insurrection” against the government in Paris.

Tens of thousands of workers went on strike and protesters blocked public transportation, schools and oil refineries. Attempting to break up the protests, police used tear gas, water cannons, flash-bangs and batons. Videos making rounds on social media showed heavily armored officers clubbing unarmed demonstrators. 

The  entrance to the city hall in Bordeaux, the regional capital of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, was set ablaze at one point. At least one unit of firefighters switched sides and joined the protesters. Multiple eyewitnesses described the situation as “out of control.”

“It’s war in Paris, no time to post, take care of yourself,” tweeted one independent media outlet.

Almost 150 police officers and gendarmes have been injured, Interior Minister Garald Darmanin said on Thursday evening, calling this “absolutely unacceptable” and demanding harsh punishment for the attackers.
Darmanin also told reporters that 172 people were detained for questioning about the “looting and arson” in Paris, and that 190 fires had been set in the French capital, 50 of which were still burning as of 10 pm local time.

The interior minister blamed the “extreme left” and “black bloc” anarchists for the worst of the violence.

The police estimated more than a million protesters were in the streets.

The outpouring of popular discontent was triggered by President Macron’s announcement that the retirement age will be raised from 62 to 64, starting next year. Macron insisted that the change was necessary, otherwise the pension system would go bankrupt within the next several years. 

The Elysee Palace imposed the change without consulting lawmakers, who have been trying to deal with the controversial proposal since January. Protesters responded by calling on Macron to resign. 

Appearing on TV on Wednesday, Macron said his only mistake was “failing to convince people” of the decision’s merits, but insisted he would not back down, even if that meant having to “shoulder unpopularity.”

While there is a constitutionally protected right to protest, Macron said, if the malcontents use violence, “then that is no longer democracy.” 

Though heavily criticized due to the harsh coronavirus lockdowns and mandates, Macron easily won re-election in 2022, eventually defeating Marine Le Pen by a 17-point margin. The runoff election saw the lowest turnout since 1969.’

RT24/3/23

Dave C

Consumer prices in the UK unexpectedly surged in February, driven by soaring food and energy bills, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Wednesday.

Annual inflation as measured by the consumer prices index ran to 10.4% last month – exceeding the 9.9% consensus forecast among economists – up from 10.1% in January, placing further pressure on British households.

The ONS attributed the sharp increase to the growing cost of fresh food, non-alcoholic drinks and the rising price of restaurant meals.

“Food and non-alcoholic drink prices rose to their highest rate in over 45 years with particular increases for some salad and vegetable items as high energy costs and bad weather across parts of Europe led to shortages and rationing,” ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said.

Overall inflation for food and non-alcoholic drinks surged to 18%, the highest level since 1977.

The surprise surge in inflation during February followed three consecutive months of slowing price increases, which gave hope that Britain was moving further away from October’s 41-year high of 11.1%.

The data comes ahead of the Bank of England’s announcement on interest rates on Thursday and is likely to add pressure on the regulator’s decision amid an unfolding upheaval in the global banking sector. The UK central bank has been increasing borrowing costs aggressively in an effort to tame inflation.

“Given the market movements of late, this puts the Bank of England in an incredibly difficult position as it may not be enough for [it] to press pause on the rate hikes,” Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, told Reuters.

Households in the country continue to struggle with soaring food and energy bills, while workers across a range of sectors have launched mass strike action in recent months amid disputes over pay and conditions.

24//23

Dave C