When I heard about David Cameron and what he had done in Europe my first thought was "now we will be an offshore tax haven" then I thought don't be silly and didn't think about it again until I heard a political commentator make a joke about becoming a tax haven and the Tory politician he had been interviewing laughed and agreed.
David Cameron's party is bankrolled by the very richest men and companies in the UK and he served his masters well in Europe this week, he has protected the City of London against the transaction tax, the regulations which will control feral banking practices and he has delighted his party by using the veto and in their minds starting the process of taking Britain out of the EU, no wonder they all had a big party at the Mansion House.
Years ago I saw Bette Midler at the Paladium, she was wonderful and she had a joke in her act where she said "when it's 15:30 in the afternoon in New York it's 19:40 in London" at the time I thought that was a bit unfair about us but it was only a joke about England being old fashioned. I don't think its 1940 any more I think we have gone further back in time than that. The politicians seem to think we have an Empire again and are a great and powerful country again. We don't have an Empire any more, we don't have any natural resources, we have no industrial base and we have no influence.
I know what I am saying will upset the people who wave the Union Jack and turn out for the Queen "God Bless Her" and really mean it but we have become a client state of America and act as her native troops fighting in her wars and hoping for the crumbs and we have just isolated ourselves from the one power base which would have helped us out of the Depression we are in, we could have become a big prosperous player in Europe and we the people not the City of London, would have lost nothing and gained so much.
But the City of London would have had to pay a transaction tax, would have had to follow regulations which in their minds would stop them making money so the Con Dems turned their backs on the national good and have gone back in time to the "golden days of piracy" I hope I am wrong but we may end up being a tax haven run by privateers, buccaneers and pirates with David Cameron as a version of Francis Drake, Captain Morgan of Jamaica and Captain Jack Sparrow but with we hope better personal hygiene. Britain as a ship anchored off France - 24 hour a day casino banking? That's the Captain's Cabin, corrupt speculation you need the Quarter Deck, hedge fund bets down the gangway to the Purser's Cabin while the ordinary people well, we are in the bilges pumping out the sea water, being flogged with a cat o nine tails when we dare to complain - what a terrible thought, I hope I am wrong.
Here's another fine mess you've got me in
When I wrote "Days of Thrift" back in March of this year I never thought that in the first week of December everything would be so changed. We are looking at a new Europe emerging very quickly from the ashes of the Eurozone implosion, a Europe Britain will have very little influence in if the politicians don't start to change their ways. I never thought when I was writing the chapter about being unemployed and how to buy cheaper food and how to barter that so many millions would be on the dole and more losing their jobs every week and some driven to suicide by the awful situation they found themselves in.
Back in March I didn't understand what the Government was doing, I thought that they were just stupid, too stupid and lazy to think through their policies but I think I have worked it out. They are aping the right wing extremist ideology of America. All the policies for shrinking government by sacking public workers, privatising health care, closing libraries, encouraging schools to become sponsored acadamies, early childhood projects and youth clubs must all be supported by sponsorship from business, rich people must not be taxed or questioned too closely about their wealth and the poor when they lose their homes due to a cap on benefits will not be "homeless" they will be socially mobile i.e they can move their cardbox anywhere they want to. These are the cruel ideas of the Koch brothers, the Bush clan and all the others who believe only in money and power and have no social responsibility.
I think that these ideas and the situation in Europe will destroy our coalition government. The reason I say that is there is a schism in the Conservative Party over Europe, Cameron has been out manouevered by Germany and France who are going to go forward with what you could call the Republic of Europe Britain has no control over this because we are not in the Euro and Cameron has already been told to stop annoying the grown ups while they sort Europe out. If treaties are re-written or new treaties created part of his party will want to pull out of Europe and they will demand a referendum about Europe to get their way ignoring the fact that Britain cannot withdraw if for no other reason than our trading and export links. This row will shatter the Cons.
As the catastrophe of the ConDem policies have overtaken our country more and more people have become politicised, people who have never stood on a picket line have gone on strike, UK Uncut, the various blogs and sites, left wing comedians, some interesting documentaries about money and power and the serious talk shows have started to talk truth to power and there is no Murdoch Press to spread lies and the right wing agenda because the Leveson Inquiry is showing all of us just how disgusting they have been and that they are not to be trusted to put the cat out.
I am not looking forward to any of this, I wish we had intelligent people in government not greedy, ignorant fools only interested in finding the next trough to stick their snouts in but that is our reality and we owe it to ourselves to think, read, discuss and understand politics and not say things like I don't have any opinions some one else who is cleverer than me can decide what to do, that isn't democracy and we need more democracy not less right now
Back in March I didn't understand what the Government was doing, I thought that they were just stupid, too stupid and lazy to think through their policies but I think I have worked it out. They are aping the right wing extremist ideology of America. All the policies for shrinking government by sacking public workers, privatising health care, closing libraries, encouraging schools to become sponsored acadamies, early childhood projects and youth clubs must all be supported by sponsorship from business, rich people must not be taxed or questioned too closely about their wealth and the poor when they lose their homes due to a cap on benefits will not be "homeless" they will be socially mobile i.e they can move their cardbox anywhere they want to. These are the cruel ideas of the Koch brothers, the Bush clan and all the others who believe only in money and power and have no social responsibility.
I think that these ideas and the situation in Europe will destroy our coalition government. The reason I say that is there is a schism in the Conservative Party over Europe, Cameron has been out manouevered by Germany and France who are going to go forward with what you could call the Republic of Europe Britain has no control over this because we are not in the Euro and Cameron has already been told to stop annoying the grown ups while they sort Europe out. If treaties are re-written or new treaties created part of his party will want to pull out of Europe and they will demand a referendum about Europe to get their way ignoring the fact that Britain cannot withdraw if for no other reason than our trading and export links. This row will shatter the Cons.
As the catastrophe of the ConDem policies have overtaken our country more and more people have become politicised, people who have never stood on a picket line have gone on strike, UK Uncut, the various blogs and sites, left wing comedians, some interesting documentaries about money and power and the serious talk shows have started to talk truth to power and there is no Murdoch Press to spread lies and the right wing agenda because the Leveson Inquiry is showing all of us just how disgusting they have been and that they are not to be trusted to put the cat out.
I am not looking forward to any of this, I wish we had intelligent people in government not greedy, ignorant fools only interested in finding the next trough to stick their snouts in but that is our reality and we owe it to ourselves to think, read, discuss and understand politics and not say things like I don't have any opinions some one else who is cleverer than me can decide what to do, that isn't democracy and we need more democracy not less right now
