This week isn’t going to be another morbid musing on the
disaster which is the modern Mammon-made, merry yuletide madness (see blog 58 for that).
I'm simply highlighting – in reference to Osborne’s line that we are ‘moving
forward’ and breaking out of the economic doldrums - that this is unreliably fuelled
by household debt and hammering the most vulnerable in society. If there is an
upturn (and clearly that depends on which stats you decide to read) it’s over a
massive black hole which is the hidden domestic fiscal fiasco of households responding
to ad-land delirium of buy-now-pay-never. And this year – if the state of the nation’s
economy private and public is anything to judge by - will be the all time
Christmas credit carnage.
Thrashing about for new ways to keep money pumping to the
top is nothing new. After the initial heady period of the Industrial Revolution
where new products and new markets seemed never ending, the profiteers hit the
skid patch where growth slows, markets are saturated and the only way to keep
the profits up is to cut wages and conditions, degrading the workforce utterly.
We already see an echo of that in the public sector where there is
understaffing, pressure to work more for less and with less security and worse
conditions. This is coupled with an attack on the weak, the sick, the
unemployed while whipping up a fever against Johnny foreigner as per the usual script.
But Osborne has
another income tool that his forebears could never have
dreamt of – easy personal credit. People without money can still spend. And
with the insatiable appetite of that voracious modern beast – Rampant
Consumerism – people need little encouragement. We know that personal household
debt will not prevent millions tramping the streets or the internet for those
must-have items that will be staring up at them all unpaid for and lacking in
lustre on Boxing-day. This is what is fanning the faint embers of recovery.
It’s a mean fire that won’t keep many people warm.
If anyone is in any doubt as to the disgraceful depths some
employers will sink to in order to keep making profits – just look at the recent
estimates of the numbers of human beings living and working in what is
described as ‘modern slavery’ in Britain today – 10,000
But at least MP’s are being looked after. IPSA has proposed 11% pay rise that the poor dears can
DO NOTHING ABOUT mwoooahL.
To commiserate, here is a new version of Jingle Bells – feel free to borrow the
lyrics if you are at all musical.
JINGLE BELLS
(Down-wind of Westminster version)
Chorus 1.
Jingle
bells, something smells
MPs
need more pay
They
hope Santa’s bringing
Some
money on his sleigh
Verse 1.
IPSA
says it’s time
MP’s
should be updated
Maybe
wages should be
Per-for-mance
related
Even
Knickers Clegg
That
shameless little twit
Gets
paid to be in Westminster
And
he’s a lying git
Chorus 2.
Jingle
bells, something tells
Me
they are a herd
Of
bovine morons on the take
To
pay more is absurd
Verse 2.
Cameron’s
a crumbly
Elitist
through and through
Can’t
say what I think of him
Because
it’s all too blue
We
need opposition
To
work and make a stand
But
all we’ve got are stooges
Ed
no-balls and Ed Bland
Chorus 3.
Jingle
bells, jingle bells
Are
we going mad
Mediocrity
is king
And
we have all been had
Weee
– have – aaaaallll – beeeeeeen – haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!
Season’s
Greetings
For
this week’s cartoon click on the orange Amanda Baker in the top right hand
column of the blog.
Brown
girl will be back January 7th 2014.