i see the tory government will announce today plans to encourage investment in small business. The idea is to create jobs by expanidn the private sector.
They are going to invest 200 million pounds in this. The encourage banks to lend to small businesses.
Now.. we have just had massive cuts to public spending so I'm not sure where the 200 million pounds is coming from.
Also the banks have been bailed out with massive amounts of public money ..so I presume the money they will be encouraged to lend to the private sector may be the money we paid to get them out of the hole they had dug for themselves ( by lending too much without thinking!)
So they will use our money to lend (and receive interest on repayments) to private companies who will employ people at poor rates of pay ...or even move abroad if going gets tough..taking those jobs with them.
So to put it simply..the tax payers' money has been used to shift investment from public to private sector. The banks have been saved in order for them to return to their habit of lending. If the businesses they lend to are going to make money then we need people to buy their goods....to do this , people need to have money...to have money they need to have jobs. We have been told there will be at least 500,000 unemployed as a result of the massive public sector cuts...
Would it not have been possible to;
a/ spend less on bailing out banks..surely if the tories believe in capitalism then public money should not have been used to prop up failing businesses
b/ invest more in public sector
I will admit that iam not great at 'sums' and not that knowledgable in economics..but i am quite good at history and i have seen this 'shift of investment' by right wing governments before. The result will be greed.. corruption.. and private business pulling out as soon as going gets tough...taking YOUR money with them and leaving you unemployed again.
However..in the meantime the tories can guarantee votes ( and money) from these businesses.
Monday 25 October 2010
Wednesday 20 October 2010
deepest cuts
so here we go..the feared government cuts We are told that the country is in a mess and something needs to be done..I'm sure there is truth in that but believe me the reasoning behind this ( so called ) coallition government's action is not simply based on concern for the welfare of its people.
These little spawn of thatcher have been waiting years to get the chance to shift power back to their mates in big business...the liberal democrats have finally shown themselves to be watered down tories hooked firmly to the leash of their bigger master. They couldnt resist the chance to experience 'power'...i hope and trust it will be the one and only time they ever taste it!
In the coming years..watch carefully and see how many fat cats will lose their jobs or take real pay cuts.
Add up their salaries and bonuses and calculate it against how much they could donate towards cutting the debt. A debt that ( contrary to tory lies) was not solely the responsibility of the previous government but a result of the greed and arrogance of big banks.
Watch ..in the next few years how many banks go out of business and how many bankers suffer hunger.!
Yes there is waste in all sectors...yes there is abuse of the system in all sectors...yes their are those who abuse the system in a sections of society but you will find that when politicians talk about people on benefit abusing the system they will use terms like 'scrounging' and even ( as was reported recently) likened to 'muggers'. When the same politicians are forced to discuss the abuse of benefits by POLITICIANS they will talk about 'honest mistakes'!! Neither will they use such severe terms when referring to bankers greed.
Why?...because banks have power....people on unemployment benefits usually don't!
This not just about where and how to cut debt..this is about showing who you really support most..and in the next 2 or 3 years we will see a new generation of the 'yuppies' we saw in the eighties...selfish,greed driven little 'loadsamoneys'
If we have to cut ..yes it has to be done but please don't insult our intelligence by conveniently forgetting the abuses of those who now have power.
PS....Forgive me Mrs Thatcher if I dont send you a get well card
These little spawn of thatcher have been waiting years to get the chance to shift power back to their mates in big business...the liberal democrats have finally shown themselves to be watered down tories hooked firmly to the leash of their bigger master. They couldnt resist the chance to experience 'power'...i hope and trust it will be the one and only time they ever taste it!
In the coming years..watch carefully and see how many fat cats will lose their jobs or take real pay cuts.
Add up their salaries and bonuses and calculate it against how much they could donate towards cutting the debt. A debt that ( contrary to tory lies) was not solely the responsibility of the previous government but a result of the greed and arrogance of big banks.
Watch ..in the next few years how many banks go out of business and how many bankers suffer hunger.!
Yes there is waste in all sectors...yes there is abuse of the system in all sectors...yes their are those who abuse the system in a sections of society but you will find that when politicians talk about people on benefit abusing the system they will use terms like 'scrounging' and even ( as was reported recently) likened to 'muggers'. When the same politicians are forced to discuss the abuse of benefits by POLITICIANS they will talk about 'honest mistakes'!! Neither will they use such severe terms when referring to bankers greed.
Why?...because banks have power....people on unemployment benefits usually don't!
This not just about where and how to cut debt..this is about showing who you really support most..and in the next 2 or 3 years we will see a new generation of the 'yuppies' we saw in the eighties...selfish,greed driven little 'loadsamoneys'
If we have to cut ..yes it has to be done but please don't insult our intelligence by conveniently forgetting the abuses of those who now have power.
PS....Forgive me Mrs Thatcher if I dont send you a get well card
Friday 15 October 2010
get a life
as i sit here and watch live coverage of the miners in chile being brought to the surface one by one I, like so many others, feel a great sense of hope and positivity . I dont know these people, I don't know much about Chile but I do know how important freedom is.....both literally and metaphorically. I also know how much effort governments make to prevent our freedom. ..and how little companies care about their workers.
We are reminded of the important values...life...love....freedom.
This morning I watched anews item on TV discussing the fact that some shops had run out of luxury handbags!...Two different headlines which sum up the extreme dilema we have got ourselves into.
As I watch the actions of an essentially greedy society I just despair!
The media is an arm of this greedy society...indeed it is one of the drivers of it. When we criticise the media they cry 'freedom of speech'..but the truth is that the media companies are the dictators..supported by business and needing public popularity to survive. So the give us what they think we want, not what we need.
They try to create a belief that the sale of luxury handbags or the fate of some talentless bimbo pop singer is important to our lives!...and you know what is so sad?..we get sucked in..we have become such a dumb and dumbed down society that we rarely challenge anything.
So many have lost the ability to prioritise values. Why?..because its an easy option..its easier not to challenge or fight..its not worth the 'hassle'...and goverments and media know this! So we get the lying, greedy , selfish politicians we voted for!
So what about those mners in Chile? We have been lifted by their courage and reminded of the value of living....but bellieve me the media will change our 'diet' of TV news quickly..back to the handbags and the bimbos....for too much truth and too much exposure to thinking about the important things is something those in power fear. It COULD make us challenge things...it could make us less interested in handbags!
...we cant have that can we?
...and whilst the miners are free....society is kept buried in the darkness of media controlled igorance.
We are reminded of the important values...life...love....freedom.
This morning I watched anews item on TV discussing the fact that some shops had run out of luxury handbags!...Two different headlines which sum up the extreme dilema we have got ourselves into.
As I watch the actions of an essentially greedy society I just despair!
The media is an arm of this greedy society...indeed it is one of the drivers of it. When we criticise the media they cry 'freedom of speech'..but the truth is that the media companies are the dictators..supported by business and needing public popularity to survive. So the give us what they think we want, not what we need.
They try to create a belief that the sale of luxury handbags or the fate of some talentless bimbo pop singer is important to our lives!...and you know what is so sad?..we get sucked in..we have become such a dumb and dumbed down society that we rarely challenge anything.
So many have lost the ability to prioritise values. Why?..because its an easy option..its easier not to challenge or fight..its not worth the 'hassle'...and goverments and media know this! So we get the lying, greedy , selfish politicians we voted for!
So what about those mners in Chile? We have been lifted by their courage and reminded of the value of living....but bellieve me the media will change our 'diet' of TV news quickly..back to the handbags and the bimbos....for too much truth and too much exposure to thinking about the important things is something those in power fear. It COULD make us challenge things...it could make us less interested in handbags!
...we cant have that can we?
...and whilst the miners are free....society is kept buried in the darkness of media controlled igorance.
Friday 1 October 2010
temporary contemporary
it seems to me that the term 'contemporary' art is increasingly used by so called 'curators' who really have no understanding of art history.
I must begin by confirming a personal interest ( gripe) here in that as a painter I am very aware that in many areas this medium is somehow seen as not being worthy of the term 'contemporary'. However , i believe that i understand why this may be the case.
It is a sad fact that some institutions of learning ( particularly in fine art) have lost the teaching staff who are;
a/ working artists themselves
b/ have high levels of technical skill
The result is that students do not have access to a full range of creative methods and techniques. The emphasis is shifted to concept rather than construction. Many of these students themselves fall into teaching and the cycle is continued.
Meanwhile ( as i have metioned in earlier posts) in order to secure funding from the arts council or similar bodies, public galleries need to justify an education programme. In some cases this is done by forming links with local universities. As a result, the gallery's programme of events becomes associated with the 'colour' of that particular university. If the learning institution is of the type described above, what we have is a recipe for a kind of monopoly on what the public are told is 'contemporary art'.
This is of course not a new phenomenon. The links between galleries and art schools goes back a very
long way and it is in theory a very healthy relationship. However the evolution of our 'tick box' culture has created a generation of teachers and curators who are concerned with the completion of the criteria on the assesment and funding forms. The filling in of all those little boxes without which there will be no money! We may have come to believe that without funding there will be no art!! So there are fewer people in the arts who will lift their heads, step back and simply ask 'Is this good art?..Is this worthy...Is it effective..and ( dare I say it?) .Is this VISUALLY interesting???...Why? ..because they are essentially administrators and not educationalists or critics.
The result is often that the term 'contemporary art' is not neccessarily associated with that which is dealing with todays issues in today society..it is associated with certain media and methods preferred by particular institutions. We sometimes end up seeing exhibitions of what I call 'novelty art' rather than 'new art'.
How do we address this? I am not really sure to be honest but what I do believe is that before recovery can take place, one must admit there is a problem. Wouldn't this be a truly creative and couragous challenge for us all!
I must begin by confirming a personal interest ( gripe) here in that as a painter I am very aware that in many areas this medium is somehow seen as not being worthy of the term 'contemporary'. However , i believe that i understand why this may be the case.
It is a sad fact that some institutions of learning ( particularly in fine art) have lost the teaching staff who are;
a/ working artists themselves
b/ have high levels of technical skill
The result is that students do not have access to a full range of creative methods and techniques. The emphasis is shifted to concept rather than construction. Many of these students themselves fall into teaching and the cycle is continued.
Meanwhile ( as i have metioned in earlier posts) in order to secure funding from the arts council or similar bodies, public galleries need to justify an education programme. In some cases this is done by forming links with local universities. As a result, the gallery's programme of events becomes associated with the 'colour' of that particular university. If the learning institution is of the type described above, what we have is a recipe for a kind of monopoly on what the public are told is 'contemporary art'.
This is of course not a new phenomenon. The links between galleries and art schools goes back a very
long way and it is in theory a very healthy relationship. However the evolution of our 'tick box' culture has created a generation of teachers and curators who are concerned with the completion of the criteria on the assesment and funding forms. The filling in of all those little boxes without which there will be no money! We may have come to believe that without funding there will be no art!! So there are fewer people in the arts who will lift their heads, step back and simply ask 'Is this good art?..Is this worthy...Is it effective..and ( dare I say it?) .Is this VISUALLY interesting???...Why? ..because they are essentially administrators and not educationalists or critics.
The result is often that the term 'contemporary art' is not neccessarily associated with that which is dealing with todays issues in today society..it is associated with certain media and methods preferred by particular institutions. We sometimes end up seeing exhibitions of what I call 'novelty art' rather than 'new art'.
How do we address this? I am not really sure to be honest but what I do believe is that before recovery can take place, one must admit there is a problem. Wouldn't this be a truly creative and couragous challenge for us all!
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