It isn’t how to pay off the deficit but what happens to the money when you pay it across to them…what are the implications…
There is a serious long term problem with paying off the deficit with spending cuts with no action on bank regulation or a crackdown on offshore tax havens and the rest of the superstructure of neo-liberal financial arrangements. Quite simply we are feeding a monster. The question that should be asked is not how we can render forth the danegeld but rather, what will happen to it once it has been rendered across the bankers who created the mess?
The result of all the suffering will be huge amounts of money including all the interest in the hands of private institutions of one sort or another. Money paid by the working class throughout Europe whether in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Britain and yes the workers of Germany who have been roped into coughing up by the mechanism of the Euro. Lots of money footloose in the international financial system looking for a quick profit. It will be held by a large number of competing financial “players” each looking to outdo the others in getting rich.
So instead of social investment more speculative activity maybe property maybe stocks and shares maybe something else. Property booms have of course been a popular option up to now but who is to say what it will be next. Where of course there is a boom there is a bust as we now know Gordon Brown was wrong on the nature of capitalist progress. Boom and bust are necessary to create the conditions for the creation of huge accumulations of capital. The next bust will be a nasty big bust as well. More demands for the working class to suffer again to pay for the new crisis.
If the deficit is to be paid if should be by taxing the rich and the banks properly. Regulation of the financial system and the clamping down on tax havens and offshore banking. It can be done although the establishment do not want to do it.
Why do people still talk use antiquated terms like working class?. So outdated!!!
The class war is dead and there is a lot of social mobility.
When you watch that geneology programme ‘who do you think you are’ (or similar). It was interesting to see the people who thought they were working class, came from wealthy backgrounds in their past and vice versa. Life can change from one generation to the next.
I just feel when you talk about ‘working class’ ‘middle class’ you bring in divisin into society.
Exactly what do you mean by ‘social investment’?
You are right about the tax loopholes. The ‘super rich’ can escape a lot of taxes just look at the likes of Lewis Hamilton, who spend their time in Monaco to escape British taxes. The super rich have a lot of clever tax accountants working for them. So how do you want tax the likes of Lewis Hamilton to pay for the banking crisis?.
A lot of blame for the present crisis has to go to Gordon Brown. I knew somethign was wrong, when you could get a couple earning 50k each buying a £500,000 home with little deposit. But it was home buyers who are to blame for paying silly prices and driving up the housing boom. Everyone mad rush to get on the property ladders.
But you comments are short sighted, instead of taxing people, we should find ways of helping lots of business start up. It is crazy that today IT world is dominated by big American companies e.g. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun, Dell, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, Twitter, Intel, IBM….. there has to be something wrong in Europe??. The likes of Nokia and Ericson are falling beyind in favour of the Blackberry and iPhone….