Thursday, September 26, 2013

To create equality - political, economic and income - and, thus freedom and sustainability

----------------------------

26 September 2013

Dear friends, all


After the account, below, of Ed Miliband's Labour Party 2013 Conference speech - is the following response from the US:

   "This is the sort of argument that must be won about what [peoples']assemblies should be for, beyond organising against cuts to Welfare and privatisation of the NHS. It is not sufficient to be merely defensive of the state, now is the time to take forward a positive vision of what sort of political economy (or constitution) is needed to take the whole political frame to the next level and to start promoting it and thinking up demands that would incentivise it vigorously throughout the land."

Accordingly I respond with two attached resources:

1) Since there are five mechanisms that both create inequality* (political, economic and income):

 - the attached is a set of proposals that abolish those inequalities

*(Which are: Theft, Rent, Interest, Profit and Unequal-pay for work: TRIP-Up)

For more, please see the papers' section at www.interestfreemoney.org

2) As far as the political/constitutional change to bring this about:

The replacement of the UK's House of Lords (and Senates elsewhere**) with 'Randomocracy Houses of People's Advice' (or some such far better name) based on selection by lot from every constituency of one representative, for service for three years, retiring by thirds:

  --  to advise the elected House on - principally - income ratio, then the message of The Spirit Level (see video lectures, etc on www.equalitytrust.org) becomes operational.

**Of course, an enlightened local government some-where, any-where could do the same as far as a local 'Citizen's/People's Assembly' is concerned.**

So:

The relevant, second attachment is such a petition:

 -  by our Bromley Income Equality Group (BIEG: see FB page for Bromley Income Equality Group),

    which, collected has 800 or so signatures, collected over the past year at Saturday street Stalls in Bromley High Street each first Saturday - and which the London Borough of Bromley's ruling group has tried to run out of town (see the News Shopper coverage) is a local model for action.

Watch out for details of its presentation at the Bromley Civic Centre at 11al Thursday 26th October . . .

Could be lively!

Hope this helps!

For all

john

********** 

This message is from the Google Groups "lsxcampeconomics" group.

> Extracted from
> http://www.hsj.co.uk/news/hsj-live/hsj-live-2492013-ed-miliband-pledges-to-rescue-the-nhs/5063583.article?blocktitle=Most-popular&contentID=-1
>
> *4.29pm* Here are some extracts from Ed Miliband’s speech,transcribed by
> Politics
> Home<http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/85377/ed_milibands_speech_to_labour_conference.html>
> .
>
> “There’s so much more our countries could be doing for our grandmas and
> granddads. Just putting a £50 grab rail in the home stops somebody falling
> over, prevents them ending up in hospital with the needless agony, and all
> of the money that it costs.
>
> “The 1945 Labour government raised its sights, even in tough times. I want
> the next Labour government to do the same: to raise our health in the NHS.
> Bringing together physical health, mental health, and all the care for the
> needs of the elderly: a true integrated National Health Service.
>
> “But we don’t just need to improve the health service, friends; we’ve got
> to rescue it from these Tories. And the Liberals too…
>
> “Before the election I remember the speeches by David Cameron; one where
> he
> said the three most important letters to him were NHS - he’s got a funny
> way of showing it hasn’t he? When they came to office they were still
> saying how brilliant everything was in the National Health Service. Have
> you noticed they’ve changed their tune recently? Suddenly they’re saying
> how bad everything is in the National Health Service.
>
> “…the reason David Cameron is running down the NHS is not because the
> doctors and nurses aren’t doing as good a job as they were before, it’s
> because they’ve come to a realisation, the health service is getting worse
> on their watch, and they’re desperately thrashing around finding someone
> to
> blame: doctors, nurses, the last Labour government - that’s what they’re
> doing!
>
> “…when you heard David Cameron casting around for someone to blame for the
> NHS, it’s as simple as ABC - Anyone But Cameron. We know who’s responsible
> for the needless top-down reorganisation that no one voted for or ever
> wanted, for the abolition of NHS Direct, we know who’s responsible for not
> just an annual A&E crisis but for an A&E crisis for all seasons: this
> Prime
> Minister. It’s the same old story; we rescue the NHS, they wreck the NHS,
> and we’ll have to rescue it all over again - that is what the next Labour
> government will do.”
> Some have already made the point, quite rightly that EM doesn't mention
> anywhere the privatisation of the NHS.
>
> Later in the excerpt, it goes on to say
>
> Sarah Calkin: “EdM: even in tough times we can raise our sights, like govt
> of 1945, and brig together physical health mental health & social care'
>
> Which is actually a repeat of Andy Burnham's message.
>
> I think we need to take the anti-privatisation fight and link it to a
> genuine bringing together of these 3 aspects of care, but also to include
> that aspect of health deprivation which is not possible to tackle in the
> present constitutional order, and which goes to the heart of what Occupy
> and Assemblies and Real Democracy and new economics are all ultimately
> about - namely equality.
>
> And also education, work life and our spiritual lives.
>
> Now real care on all these 7 fronts - all essential to a health culture -
> can only happen when we make and embed and ultimately make part of the
> constitution new institutions, seeded built and developed while the old
> one
> - to the extent that it doesn't work, changes or dies. New institutions to
> guarantee equality + social physical, mental, spiritual and educational
> well being, as well as a meaningful and rewarding work life for all.
>
> The Spirit Level makes it clear the impact of inequality on health so we
> need to encourage a political equality through peoples assemblies and a
> new
> constitution. Mere redistribution of economic wealth via state processes
> are neither sustainable (due to economic and political cycles),
> particularly effective but more importantly they are not based on human to
> human kindness care and solidarity.
>
> Peoples assemblies can ensure equality in decision making in a new
> constitution while also creating the platform for all the other aspects of
> care to be proposed, agreed, planned innovated, organised and
> administered.
>
> Aside from the curriculum the problem with schools is there are too few
> adults to every child, which means that vulnerable children and their
> vulnerable parents are not supported. How can we save children from the
> Russian Roulette of who they are born to?
>
> 'It takes a village to bring up a child' and we need to secure a Local
> Health Service on every front in every community to ensure no one -
> however
> well funded by the state - can ever get neglected left behind bullied or
> otherwise left uncared for.
>
> This is the sort of argument that must be won about what assemblies should
> be for, beyond organising against cuts to Welfare and privatisation of the
> NHS. It is not sufficient to be merely defensive of the state, now is the
> time to take forward a positive vision of what sort of political economy
> (or constitution) is needed to take the whole political frame to the next
> level and to start promoting it and thinking up demands that would
> incentivise it vigorously throughout the land.
>
> In solidarity
>
> Mark
>
>> From main OL list \
>>
>>
>
>> On 26 September 2013 09:33, A wrote:
>>
>>> "Obamacare" kicks next week.  What that means for me - I have to buy
>>> state sponsored health insurance.  For my income bracket (one of the
>>> lower
>>> ones) I can pay nearly $400 a month for a "gold" plan which I guess
>>> covers
>>> most shit.  I can't afford that though.  So most likely I will get the
>>> "catastrophe" level plan which only covers life threatening illnesses
>>> or
>>> disease.  That's $145 a month.
>>>
>>> If I don't get that I am fined.  Close to $90 a month, and I get
>>> absolutely nothing. That's "Obamacare."  That's "healthcare" in the
>>> states.
>>>
>>> Many of us, including me, organize in the abstract.  But this is real.
>>> This is what the ConDems (and Labour) want to do to your healthcare.
>>> You
>>> really need to understand the consequences of losing fights over the
>>> NHS.
>>> GA's and town halls and shit are not going to cut it.
>>>
>>> You are about to lose the NHS and forgive me because I no longer live
>>> in
>>> the UK, but where is the fucking resistance?
>>>
>>>
>>
>
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