nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd
Yes I thought, given they only mentioned five events, given the rich tapestry of economic disasters, they could have actually chosen any month...
nostr:npub1g0tuf634rz4suczwj7kgnecr6cyt0eu9xmp3sp0fku68mqehq4msp3tvm4 It's looking like the perfect storm, with wealth moving from those at the bottom to those at the top. How many repossessions and rent increases will people tolerate though?
nostr:npub1640d8xmw8qgxle5a684nknj22wy7p9tmxja66gchz8rl0dz7zx2qerhvu6
The British unwillingness to take to the streets n the face of attacks by Govt.s seems to be partly a national characteristic of increasing hopelessness, but also a figment of the #Tories very public clampdown on protests... it may not discourage the very angry, but for the mass dissatisfied public coverage of the policing of demonstrations has had (I think) a major cooling effect... which is then compounded y a more historic trend towards quietism
As the human race stares the #climatecrisis in the face & some warn of a growing chance of major population attrition as living conditions on #earth become less & less amenable to human life, it seems that around 800,000 our distant ancestors suffered from similar #climate pressures & pre-humans only just managed to survive.
It would seem extraordinarily pessimistic to assume we're heading that way again.... but....
Anecdotal evidence suggests that in the #housing market increasingly cash is king:
It seems, partly driven by the difficulty of getting a #mortgage in the first pace, but also by mortgage lenders increasingly pessimistic valuations (sometimes coming in well below the offer price), vendors (encouraged by #EstateAgents) are giving preference to cash buyers...
Yet one more way the #housingcrisis is consolidating #inequality & the flow of assets to the cash-rich; for the rest #rental hell beckons
Meanwhile in Germany, Aurubis (Europe's largest #copper producer) has found 'massive' shortfalls in stock (against its records) leading the firm to suspect it has been subject to a major theft.
The #metals sector is increasingly looking like it needs to keep a better eye on its assets; you'll recall a few months ago, supposed bags of nickel were found on inspection to contain stones (a fraud perpetrated on Trafigura).
This makes stealing copper wire from railways look like hobby-criminality!
nostr:npub1wyu5tn758hc399kq7z0gcf0s4tqxs8z8rn2me5672pnks4429s2s66t407
Yes, I agree on your second point, it is a long(er) term problem.... but on your first point, there's plenty of price gradient in #privateschools.... around 7% of the age cohort attend private schools & many parents sacrifice a lot to get them in there - this is the market the #Tories are trying to stoke, not necessarily the elite providers (i.e. Eton etc.) but the more regular (and frankly often not very good) cheaper non-state alternatives
Fiona Katauskas (Guardian) on funding #schools
nostr:npub1w2qg9vdhkeuctvvys758ht5f8qeujezmgrh4xxqgsl0w5tjuxpys2l2ptm
No I haven't... I'll try to have a look... having supervised two PhDs on the definition of neoliberalism & while still a working Prof., having read quite a lot of the critical literature, I have become ever less satisfied with it as a term that accurately captures much - not least of all its use is so indiscriminate among critics of #capitalism - much of which I have sympathy with, nonetheless
nostr:npub1w2qg9vdhkeuctvvys758ht5f8qeujezmgrh4xxqgsl0w5tjuxpys2l2ptm
I'm glad its rhetorical as I have some difficulty with the catch-all term 'neoliberalism'.... but I think we can definitely agree that this is a direct result of a country being run for the benefits of a specific segment of capital.
nostr:npub123857pfhnez29k7fpnhjvwurzt3k5zr5cdl90cht33zjc95rgzss8pv0uw
yes the competition to manage decline is going to make for a pretty grim #election
nostr:npub1nd8jmjpcwlalfkhgenqtg0p6rg0qheg62p57hahdqv7zxrltfpyqvrtjww nostr:npub1q9ma5xxhn8m69ztdj3lrefpnarszxgh3gk8wykkq53gfsl80mlssulzgdu
fair comment... they're a mixed bunch
Kate Picket on #Labour's declared #economic 'strategy':
'the initial signs from Labour are that the party itself is now trapped, spellbound by an economic argument that is as empty in ethics as it is destructive in impact'!
For many the #NHScrisis is fatal... the numbers dying while on waiting lists for treatment has doubled in 5 years....
Yet more evidence that the #Tories have little regard for the wellbeing of the population, only the wealth & interests of their chums.
#GTTO
The impact of #inflation on #workers in one graph:
the gap between nominal wages & #inflation adjusted real wages is growing & confirms that for #workers real wages have stagnated....
The UK is an economy where real rewards flow upwards to the elite, whereas the rest of us are slowly but surely seeing our income & wealth stagnating or reduced.
No wonder workers are increasingly (rightly) convinced the economic system in the UK works against them & their families!
nostr:npub1zpwdah54j2839wuu4lnh5wz38dxmjxmwrza348udhfslkgw2a6fshfdk8l nostr:npub1q9ma5xxhn8m69ztdj3lrefpnarszxgh3gk8wykkq53gfsl80mlssulzgdu
I think that's a fair point, but there is an issue of sequencing.... the latter groups only do the associated roles you identify *after* the techies have done those, so perhaps different levels of complicity?
Well, who'd have predicted that (answer: pretty much everyone):
The #Tories look likely not to bring froward promised reforms in the regulation of the #audit sector & associated #corporategovernance rules;
apparently there is 'no political will' for reform, despite the shredded reputation of the UK Big Four (and some of the smaller auditors) after a string of scandals, mistakes & wilful deception here & abroad.
Of course, the #accountants will be claiming that voluntary measures are better.
The #EU's aspiration to wean itself off #fossilfuels from #Russia is not going so well... imports of #LNG have actually risen not fallen.
That said, while most EU countries have managed to reduce imports of Russian LNG, its Spain & Belgium who account for the actual increase, with their expansion outpacing the reductions by other countries.
If you wanted to reduce dependence on Russian supplies & also reduce funds flowing to the war machine, this looks like a major policy failure by the EU!
nostr:npub1l0xn8scmlds3xya4wk3vw20nfhz2srcxf7e8phtharmk8rj98ucq69ckv7
That was pretty much his conclusion too....
nostr:npub1g0tuf634rz4suczwj7kgnecr6cyt0eu9xmp3sp0fku68mqehq4msp3tvm4 Gibson way ahead of his time...
nostr:npub15zu89j2k6sja8qgcs5qdu2pfra5kemhlgeern2cpcw2svkuvkudqu3s7lx
yes, i recently (re)read Neuromancer & (again) enjoyed its prescience very much
nostr:npub15zu89j2k6sja8qgcs5qdu2pfra5kemhlgeern2cpcw2svkuvkudqu3s7lx just reminded me/us (by quoting it) of William Gibson's classic bon mot:
'The future is already here, just not evenly distributed'
And as Glyn uses it, its a perfect summation of where we currently stand with the #ClimateCrisis