H/t to Sunny Hundal for the BBC embed tech, also on YouTube (via cellabiao & Lenin)
Prem Sikka:- According to the Sunday Times Rich List, the collective wealth of the 1,000 richest people in the UK rose to £335.5bn in 2010. 53 of the richest 1,000 are billionaires. In 1997, when Labour came to office, the collective wealth of the richest 1,000 stood at £98.99bn. No other group has received such a massive boost in its wealth. Even if they have all the clothes, mansions, cars, yachts and jets they want, they still cannot spend it all. They came into this world empty-handed and will exit in exactly the same way, but leave behind impoverished citizens and employees when they could easily give 25%, or some £84bn of their wealth away without any noticeable effect on the quality of their life. This redistribution would reduce and probably eliminate the need for deeper cuts.
Surely it is far better to inconvenience 1,000 people than destroy millions of lives. If rich turkeys don’t voluntarily vote for Christmas they could be helped by a mansion tax, a wealth tax, the end of their offshore tax haven shenanigans, higher rates of income tax and a higher rate of value added tax on luxury goods.
As I tweeted, with that in mind, Austerity Doctrine- It is far better to destroy millions of lives, than to inconvenience 1,000 rich people. And part of that process is the use of state violence on the people you are stealing from. I think a national strike, workers, students, unemployed, disabled, everyone, close down the country for several days in 2011, blockade refineries, occupy tax cheating shops and offices, MP’s offices, kettle their homes and the homes of the ACPO thugs, before we go the way of Ireland. Student arrestees should have a donation path to help them, as I couldn’t afford the trip to London I will be sending money their way to help with the aftermath.
Next week 15th December protests against Housing Benefit cuts that will create a mass wave of tens of thousands of homeless, Facebook page here.
