This week I've been mainly reading, No. 93.

Repeated throughout the book, the assertion 'Since the one thing that can solve our problems in dancing' shapes Caleb Azumah Nelson's shortish Anglo-Ghanian novel Small Worlds (2023). Its a wryly told story of love, migration, frustrated hopes & redemption all mainly set in 1980s/90s South #London. Evoking a similar feeling to Steve McQueen's Small Axe/Silly Games, the novel is both insightful & a very satisfying piece of modern fiction.
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a recent model is the way that youth training money (under the Thatcher Govt.) supported/funded (unintentionally) the massive explosion of indie/post-punk music scene in the UK... so many garage bands & tables took the weekly income & used it to fund new bands, labels & clubs.... the UK's 80's music renanaissanc that still ripples on even today


nostr:npub1cukk2hf3tq2r4pau40cwnxp82urklvp4qlh3xpyhlxfqlaaumjqsy9hwfd nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz

Thanks; yes, it was something I'd been wanting to write for a while....


nostr:npub1cukk2hf3tq2r4pau40cwnxp82urklvp4qlh3xpyhlxfqlaaumjqsy9hwfd

That's a really compelling point, you're right there is too much emphasis on the tax & perhaps less so on what the spend achieves... but you might also find this of interest that I wrote for nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz a while back (if you've not already seen it)

https://northwestbylines.co.uk/politics/economy/is-taxation-a-necessary-evil-or-something-socially-positive/


I'm liking the new way #Mastodon allows you to follow 'live feeds'... especially the new option of a live feed from servers people on your server are following - a halfway house between now server & all servers.... looks like the Mastodon elves have been busy!


nostr:npub1n4lgzwh78ncf8y22tpe43hqx4qlrpgkvpvhrs0dg2q8wdlyzex8scpvgmk

Hmmm... yes I can see the logic of that position... but the problem is the IHT debate is already so distorted by the media that a rest is needed...


On a different matter altogether:

I often wonder how #arthistory would have been different if Vasari has been a Venetian?

Famously, Vasari championing Michealngelo, stressed the basis of art in drawing (disegno) while the art tradition dominant in #Venice emphasised its basis in colour (choice & use).

If Vasari has been a Venetian might we have told a different history of art?

Might we have had a different canon?

Or would the identity of the great artists have remained the same?

🤔


nostr:npub1ktzgqlvkzanyn262mdjmhnjjsw883ncfgd7qljucattuhffgqf9s92nudu

Yes, exactly... and less servicing manpower too (albeit what is needed is highly specialised)


There's an epidemic of #stress in the #workplace; I wonder why?

#Costoflivingcrisis
#housingcrisis
#NHScrisis
#energycrisis

& that's before we get onto the UK's bullying & dysfunctional management style, the general perception that the UK's state institutions are failing, and that the #climatecrisis now seems inevitably damaging to everyday life...

that people are stressed should be no surprise; stress is about seeing a desired end & having no agency to get to it!

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/sep/26/number-of-workers-taking-sick-leave-hits-10-year-high


nostr:npub1n4lgzwh78ncf8y22tpe43hqx4qlrpgkvpvhrs0dg2q8wdlyzex8scpvgmk

I think Williams point (with which I concur) is not that this is a plausible policy, but rather that starting from that end of the spectrum might make a difference to the framing of the policy debate(s)... there is nothing fantastic about the debate(s) over IHT, other than the assumptions on which the popular perceptions seems to be based on (driven by erroneous press coverage of the issue)....you're also absolutely right, no IHT system would be without loopholes the rich would find


If the #PortTalbot 'deal' to decarbonise #steel production (funding new technology, but also losing around 3,000 jobs) is typical, then the #GreentTransiton will need a clear & well supported plan for #workers transit into new sustainable industries/sectors.

The IMF reckons this will only effect around 1% of workers over the next decade (not unlike the the 4% reallocation of work by the shift to services since the 1980s), but what is key is the effected workers are supported, not abandoned!


I've said it before but I'll say it again... if #gigeconomy firms feel threatened by th EU's moves to extend to their #workers the sorts of rights widely enjoyed elsewhere in the labour market, then anyone who thinks the gig economy is about new #technology has missed what's going on.

The only reason the big gig economy firms feel threatened by labour rights is that their business model's one innovation is finding new ways to exploit workers & get them to collude in such exploration!


nostr:npub1zswzrgqatxgrzgmph696rk8mh9x5v7fgektxmjtrnfc9dcde52jssq73vl nostr:npub1lmlmw58fvhzaay8980zx8rgu4uk7gz68d8xavxe09xl5mjhmuhvsvryucw

Although this seems to have been far from the mind(s) of the Met for years.... consent ? (only in the sense of consent of the Secretary of State)


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Yes, absolutely: in the acronym UK, the U now clear stands for U-Turn!


If you had been wondering how #Russia seemed to be (despite sanctions) happily exploiting #oil into the international market, look no further than EU & G7 #merchantshipping...

certainly, there is also a shadow fleet doing some of the shipping, but mainstream (normally operating) vessels (including a lot of #Greek shipping which carried around a third of all shipment in the first 6 months of 2023) is also handling Russian oil exports.

Unenforced sanctions are not sanctions!

h/t EU Observer


nostr:npub1pgxu9dh50elac5prlqwvw5ahk0nuaa3teh69qnecmq5cyuvzyr4q98636r

This happened to me years ago.... after BA failing to do anything, I found the number of the agent 'in control' of these rooms... as my case was canary yellow, I go them to look out of the window & luckily they could see it in a pile... they (kindly) then biked it over to my house.... but, this was entirely the kindness of strangers (by phone) nothing to do with BA's official response.


Zoe Williams suggests we're coming at the #inheritancetax 'debate' from the wrong direction:

'...we should go in studs first: suggest setting inheritance tax at 100%. No windfalls for anyone, ever; total generational redistribution delivered by death, the merry reaper. You may have questions, such as “what’s it all for, if I can’t burnish the prospects of my 58-year-old heirs?”& those questions may be legit. At least the debate will be different, and more interesting'

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/25/the-inheritance-tax-debate-we-should-really-be-having-whether-to-set-it-at-100


And then they were gone... the #army cover for 'striking' police firearms officers has been ended as most have returned to duty - perhaps recognising that arguing they can shoot unarmed suspects with impunity might not play as well as they had hoped;

It was never clear these officers thought the #ruleoflaw included the police's right to shoot without have 'mistakes' investigated.

No other public servants would expect to have fatal mistakes shrugged off, so certainly armed officers shouldn't!


The latest data on #globaltrade suggests the slowdown in internationalisation continues...

This may be due to high #interestrates & #inflation reducing demand, or it may indicate the continue pivot to international trade in services.

This indicates the 'recovery' in volumes that followed lockdown(s) was temporary - a restocking? - and has fallen away.

This may prompt fears (hopes) of deglobalisation & may be a turn to more nationalised markets, but equally one Q.'s data is not a trend!

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/127/836/433/484/399/original/b35385aa12ec2abd.png


Just in case you think that #RishiSunak's potential pledge to change/abolish #InheritanceTax might be a populist measure... here's the Government's own analysis on its reach.... hmmm, only a pretty small minority of deaths result in a IHT tax payment.

So whatever the claims, this is yet another bung (if it ever happens) to the rich (and he knows that, of course)

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/inheritance-tax-statistics-commentary/inheritance-tax-statistics-commentary


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy

good point, not clear how the study was costing their projections..


Quite apart from other problems caused by #Brexit, there is a likelihood that in #geopolitical terms, the move to leave the EU may have been a major mistake in strategic terms.

If the world (as Simon Tisdall, plausibly suggests) is starting to coalesce into competing (large scale, continental) blocs, then being a disconnected island off the shore of Europe may be less 'freedom from' & more 'vulnerability to' other states' strategic decisions - post imperial hubris?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/23/who-wants-to-rule-the-world-i-will-says-joe-biden-no-itll-be-me-says-xi-jinping


nostr:npub15eav7jwtma5ydgz9saaetupkx7a33kj06ydnnwpmdksxlj9e6nwqg7a2ud

No, England, metaphorically....


As the #RusselBrand 'revelations' continue, confirming what I always thought about him (a vile & snide misogynist, 'hiding in plain sight'), what will be key is how those who collided & enabled him are treated?

His spitefulness & abuse of #women always seemed to treated as masculine jolly japes by a number of other presenters & comedians... we should be holding them to account to (which isn''t in any way to lessen the responsibility of Brand for his own actions).

He's not just a 'bad apple'!


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy

Agreed; lets not forget how they also bolloxed up the PR referendum... that could have been a turning point in UK politics, but they were blinded to the way it ws set up to fail...


FT Lex notes #housing project planning approvals are at their lowest quarterly level for 15 years, storing up difficulties for the future as supply of new houses (built) will remain well below (claimed) Govt. targets; but this fails to consider the role of land banking.

Builders seem to delay the move from outline to detailed planning while they decide when to proceed with the project.

Its not necessarily the planners slowing things down, its #builders' strategic planning (to 'support' prices)


So lets get one thing straight this evening... the UK is not a #tax country, whatever some people claim. So when, there is talk of the impossibility of raising #taxes, lets be clear that other countries seem to have managed it rather well & are doing a lot better in many other aspects of their daily political economy than we are....

So lets ignore the calls to lower these high tax rates & be clear about the political interest(s) at play!

[apologies for the scale of the chart]

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/082/588/236/251/855/original/9f48d3bffbf2971c.png


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Fair point; exhibited paintings may not be the extent of work... but given that after his death (like many artists) his oeuvre was explored and explored, my guess is if any private works existed they would have surfaced (unless of course destroyed)


nostr:npub1hpcdfjpxrawnmu6ryh36ce7xu4qd54pu6xca394yhvmyzlery0tqvghjn3

Yes, this was very much a 'dawn of modern art' focussed remark...


In an article (a trailer for her forthcoming #Monet biography), Jackie Wullschlager makes the claim (which sounds plausible, certainly), that he was the only major painter of his time not to paint nude women.

This is an interesting claim, given other major artists around this time (from Courbet before, via Picasso, to Matisse) all did...

This refusal to adopt one of the key subjects in #arthistory, makes me think of Monet a little differently & now I'm eager to read Wullschlager's biography...


nostr:npub1lejz23djaalefkesg4fy8mkhf3k4929gkcpc26lmp08hh7qss9qqyxvl5l nostr:npub1xgjy9c7zc85wgwpkyvduzkfxzl5u9qnxzg82w5u79nadxn6t8xpq4a8fph

Hmmm... a parallel to the post-911 'return' to the roads & the uptick in road deaths?


nostr:npub1a3jhaz0h63kjdlw75r03m77xwsdujpu8wrzw7tffw0ams0mk2j9s7smd4p

You're not alone - plenty to evidence of that position in my timeline for months


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Ha ha, very much, that's out job, keep your hands off it you pesky Europeans...


nostr:npub1ps962s9y4xl4ku3jg0ng5glr3hten67tc23cgew52llufs5nkqvqgntfz6

Yes, agreed; but what was interesting, was for a (too brief) period, in the UK regional art schools side-stepped exactly those trends....


There's an interesting piece in the Observer about the decline of regional Art Schools (not yet online), which makes the case that one of he reasons for the increasingly middle class (privileged) character of our culture & arts is the result of these local institutions decline, as their student body was mostly drawn from less privileged social groupings.... it makes sense, as the increasing move to art at #universities raised the costs of experimenting with your creativity as a young person.


nostr:npub14tmm948ufzr62qll89zgmdlqd9km3mx8jv7nmu7vs7hghd7l4nts0auz4g

Given that there is much research to suggest #elections are usually about voting against not for, if the party has decided to adopt a scorched earth policy then it would seem they already know they are going to lose & won't have to pick up the pieces....

there is some speculation, the #Tories want to make things so bad that Labour will fail to clear up the mess in one term, leading the Tories free to campaign around that failure forgetting they were the agents of chaos...


The #Tories can be simply understood by focussing on their view of #luck:

No-one has good luck, so the wealthy are being rewarded for their efforts, and the poor are victims of their own lack of effort.

But, when bad luck manifests,  the poor have brought it upon themselves & should not be compensated, but the rich have been caught our by a 'act of god' & should receive some form of damages.

So, ask someone what they think about bad luck & its consequences and you'll know who they are!


nostr:npub1wm6vuwamzgq393tj6huhsz4hu9jcmacrczdfarylct5rjtcj5n7q9pfass

Agreed, the ever lengthening & widening shadow of #longcovid is already showing up in long-term sickness stats, but still is seen as a minor issue in national terms... it very much isn't


#Universities, whatever some people think, are essentially microcosms of society (I know I worked as a Uni academic for 25 yrs), so if there is a accelerating problem of reported (and unreported) #sexualassault on campus, you can be sure this mirrors the situation in wider society...

Something going very wrong in #sexual conduct in this country which while expressed in worries about #toxicmasculinity is by no means limited to that (relatively easily) recognisable group!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/17/hardcore-porn-choking-and-universities-left-to-tackle-rising-tide-of-sexual-assaults


nostr:npub199x2xmfun0ua3z3j2v5evdevyrvs5np7zpqpnsczraa3fejr4uzsv6qw6t

methinks, not!


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Murphy has explored these issues elsewhere... have a look at his other writings - https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/


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Of course, one can also adjust what wealth taxes already exist... from CGT to IHT, thresholds & rates are adjustable


The #NHS is slipping ever further into deficit... the #Treasury has required 'efficiency gains' in return for more cash this winter, there is a new #Coronavirus variant gaining ground (and causing a growth in hospitalisations).... and still, the #Tories won't make a serious attempt to resolve the #doctors' strike... the wreckers are having one more go before the #election.

#NHScrisis is not an accident, its smiling be-suited engineers sit in Downing St.


nostr:npub1shw9yn8j44v9h8y3f3czfrpr9q9d5750jlf5xgxljkjhwr508wjsejaesf

Yes, I agree this is a toxic element of our current media... its very much damned if you'd, damned if you don't, which never results in good advance policy making


nostr:npub1uf9ms5ssz9kr9dhgnqvwl00h2cgggkd9af9s7z0detxemt2jk5hsda4xjg

green rain?


Q. is the #Pirola variant of #Coronavirus likely to offer the #Tories another chance to mishandle a #pandemic?

The Pirola variant is spreading, covid monitoring & data gathering has been stripped back, #vaccination *is* getting under way but is limited by capacity & demographic(s)... no social measures (#masking, #socialdistancing) are as yet being publicised.

Could this be about to be a very difficult #winter? The trouble is as yet we have no good way of knowing until well down that road!


nostr:npub1xgjy9c7zc85wgwpkyvduzkfxzl5u9qnxzg82w5u79nadxn6t8xpq4a8fph

Yes I have a number of friends who work in the #nuclear industry who are often frustrated by the negative publicity... my main objection(s) are related to the generation of waste & its future impact on society (which seems to me to be  something, if you'll excuse th pun, being swept under the carpet), and the expense of development - money which could have been spent on other forms of #energu development. But I accept the wider scare srtroeis about Nuclear are just that, scare stories


Good morning.

Before today starts why not take the chance to read nostr:npub1ke2g8yhwxtxr68vj75974l2kwu4thlkusdsmcvcgr5schpa5atrqnxwvwj piece for nostr:npub1geucmrwxym4px5cgmdatkda5njm54krqrduxqd4xmrwtw4v6w40sdy04sl on why it makes more #political  sense to increase #taxes on the incomes of the rich rather than try to introduce a #wealthtax.

Revising taxes on income requires pragmatic adjustments to #taxation which is far easier than trying to introduce a new form of wealth tax.

If you already follow Murphy this will be no surprise, but it you don't this is a necessary read!

https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/theres-plenty-of-money-its-just-that-the-very-rich-have-got-it-all/


nostr:npub1fszdg6djev5aw9hkevn0t0ed62atrjtl6tf5ksjgt5awyr8zf3gsx8s5m6

It wasn't the price I was highlighting rather the demand... its the key resource & so demand looks to be rising suggesting more use.... the actual price, as you say, is only a  proportion of the total cost of supply


nostr:npub1urf9cuvaeyxpyez4844ldl7aqfxygz8j8kvzyv0l0j47zuvhhlkqqyhseg

Certainly the appeal of a mixed ecology of #energy generation is what keeps the nuclear sector looking good...


You might have thought that while it was quite common that #water #infrastructure might suffer from leaks, but to be honest I was under the impression that the #gas infrastructure might be better maintained (for obvious reasons).... how wrong I was - a massive leak of #mehtane from a Wales & West utilities pipeline was spotted from space.

The country really is fall apart!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66811312


nostr:npub1yzwnwaw95jr924nhp4raler2rcjzshqpgrqs638cxsapxctdpawqn4nx55

I can't believe you would say that...

[irony klaxon]


If you were hoping that somehow #renewableenergy would exclude #nuclear power (most obviously due to its financial costs & the historic problem of its waste products)... the fact that the rising price of #uranium would suggest demand (by Governments' #energy programmes) is rising will be disappointing news.

Whether its a victory for sectoral lobbying or a lack of confidence in developments around energy storage from renewables, its not good news for anyone wanting the ned of nuclear power.

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/076/568/234/819/429/original/e093aa874b312cd7.png


#JeremyHunt, suffering a little cognitive dissonance....

'We are very clear... We will do what is right for the long-term interests of the UK'...

Yeah. right.... just trying to draw the coffers & getting it over to your mates as your lease runs down on No.11.... more like


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy nostr:npub1dsy70ekngaa8rvgt8macerehywqk8fyrw3dtt3fyngl9w4q57usqk6xt7t

which tends to support the cost-cutting installation argument (?)


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy nostr:npub10m3g524ey5045vhgg0mn30v9kj5k93nd5v4delj37vnfzgmv6r6s0ygkk2

My impression is when it was all brought together under HMRC, then they started playing hard(er) ball....


nostr:npub10m3g524ey5045vhgg0mn30v9kj5k93nd5v4delj37vnfzgmv6r6s0ygkk2

Many years ago when I was sorting out the mess my father had go the family company into, I had to settle an outstanding with Customer & Excise as was...

They refused to accept payment by instalments, but each month Is sent them a cheque for a fraction of the debt, with a covering letter.

Each month I got a polite letter enclosing a receipt, detailing the amount still overdue & a statement that they didn't accept payment in instalments... each month the same for tow years!


nostr:npub1dsy70ekngaa8rvgt8macerehywqk8fyrw3dtt3fyngl9w4q57usqk6xt7t

The post was based on an FT report of an international conference where it was discussed... so more anecdotal (though well-informed) than data, I'm afraid


nostr:npub1vjh4t9pue5hhcycerp9ke2qt4u3g2ve8ee2e8ycv9txvmtz9l4qs6ns57p nostr:npub1gxtz8dz7ujqcy9hrnyhrykk6xujgpukgccvhpea7evhev7xzpsdqnej9na

Yes, that's a fair contextual point - yield management can be seen as legitimate in a way that surge pricing isn't...


nostr:npub1kzg2dwt8wqv9fq7z6zvhswx9aa802xllassnkaqnmftwxru0ucjqf95k6a

easier targets, with less political connections (but I'm guessing that was what you were implying!)


nostr:npub10r22zfd5vhjqaajmjn59ua30t4rh7zdezkguenzzf7sflajj832sl0w6yx nostr:npub1kzg2dwt8wqv9fq7z6zvhswx9aa802xllassnkaqnmftwxru0ucjqf95k6a

Thanks... it certainly looked like a lot of work, but greta to hear it wasn't - and great detail in the analysis too... really found it very useful!


Its sort of reassuring that the #Conservative opposition in #Norway has been hit by a conflict of interest case that has all the hallmarks of the UK #tories

Erna Solberg (once PM, now opposition leader) has admitted that her husband tradied in shares which may have related to insider information he gained from his spouse... and while high profile, there are also a number of other cases pending in Norway.

 Should I be gratified that #corruption is not distinctly UK issue? Probably not!


So in the rush for #Parlaiment's doors, MPs exiting #politics at the next election have found there is a  glut on the market - its getting harder & harder for MPs & ex-Ministers to find sinecures on boards or with consultants - in a crowded market (and with damaged goods) the price (that is fees/wages) is dropping & buyers are becoming more particular about the 'talent' on offer... looking forward to the first story of an ex-MP being a minicab driver (we can but hope)


nostr:npub1tt4hcrey6p8e8ezgpk30tm0jeyc6c38fe8xrqjsxvnz9l3sa45psq0p3pu nostr:npub1shw9yn8j44v9h8y3f3czfrpr9q9d5750jlf5xgxljkjhwr508wjsejaesf nostr:npub1zpwdah54j2839wuu4lnh5wz38dxmjxmwrza348udhfslkgw2a6fshfdk8l

Not sure its an either/or proportion... it seems to me there's plenty of anger to be spread across both industry & state


As international architects & civil engineers become conversant with details of the UK's #RAAC, a clear consensus is emerging:
its a particularly UK crisis.

RAAC & its associated building components have been in wide use across the world, predating widened UK usage in the 60s/70s... but other countries seem to have better regulations on use, better installation & better maintenance.

The general conclusion is its the UK's cost-cutting & miss-use of RAAC that is to blame.

Who'd have thought!


nostr:npub1fqzqfexf75e9wwg623500kq0n3wluuhykthltf02prdx47udvpsqgl7j5p

Aye, but we're not laughing!


#businesses being pushed into administration is on the rise, but perhaps most interestingly the agent of bankruptcy in a large number of cases is the #HMRC.

While other creditors may find it hard to enforce repayments on troubled firms facing multiple challenges, from the #costoflvingcrisis to #energy prices hikes, the state (in the form of the #tax inspectors) has all the powers it needs to get itself at the front of the queue of creditors... a sign of the times?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/15/number-of-uk-companies-going-bust-in-august-rises-by-a-fifth


nostr:npub1xrs077k3zj8u0ry85j9nxkhk88hj49lryrpxgxfhcln6sqqfdx2qx2ec7y

I think that's a big factor... what they've seen over the last decade would have done nothing to encourage them to accept the story of a beneficent Capitalism & much to reinforce the idea that its a system that is designed to chew up #workers & spit them out


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Coincidentally, just read one of her novellas & on the back of that ordered the first of the Wayfarer series... but thanks for confirming I was right to do that 👍


nostr:npub1gxtz8dz7ujqcy9hrnyhrykk6xujgpukgccvhpea7evhev7xzpsdqnej9na

yes, that's a good connection of influence to make...


There's a theme gaining momentum;

from #quietquitting to the #greatresignation... and now 'going it less' (featured in a Guardian report on people looking for easier jobs).

For decades a minority rejected the central #capitalist narrative of working hard for a better life, but this suspicion that #capitalism is not a system with our benefit at its heart is becoming ever more evident.

Unless capitalists can reinvigorate the reward for work narrative & make it true, there may be trouble ahead!


nostr:npub1kzg2dwt8wqv9fq7z6zvhswx9aa802xllassnkaqnmftwxru0ucjqf95k6a nostr:npub10r22zfd5vhjqaajmjn59ua30t4rh7zdezkguenzzf7sflajj832sl0w6yx

But, it did get undertaken by an army of willing (social) volunteers...


nostr:npub1gxtz8dz7ujqcy9hrnyhrykk6xujgpukgccvhpea7evhev7xzpsdqnej9na

Well, if dynamic pricing spreads further as the FT expects I suspect we may be about to test that proposition... I think the key thing (as I've already intimated) is that the impact may vary from sector to sector & by consumer group....


nostr:npub1zpwdah54j2839wuu4lnh5wz38dxmjxmwrza348udhfslkgw2a6fshfdk8l

The FT analysis makes the same point and has quite a bit of data on differences by sector...


nostr:npub1wcx4llfh3pjdex6cfg7t5p3vkqs6cfz8cgsnd4yp9w92l04xjpzq4kxyeu

Yes, good point... but that I think was seen as legitimate way of trying to fill the pub at a slow time & perhaps we were more naive about pubs business model(s)?


Tom Gauld on the #watercrisis

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/073/693/365/933/513/original/f06b396c984206eb.png


More on pricing:

After a pub chain introduced 'dynamic' or 'surge' pricing to raise margins at times of peak demand, the FT expects this to become more common as more firms adopt yield management pricing already adopted by #airlines & for concert tickets.

The key problem for users of dynamic pricing is their customers' perceptions of #fairness.

Although a staple of critical political economy, mainstream #economics has a blindspot on fairness, which may cost these firms more than they think!


Over in #Austria nostr:npub10r22zfd5vhjqaajmjn59ua30t4rh7zdezkguenzzf7sflajj832sl0w6yx has been doing a lot of work on #supermarket pricing (all worth a read in his timeline), but one thing also common in the UK is 'cyclic discounting'.

Supermarkets, have some products on a cycle of #discounting with a period of them on offer & then a period of them not (partly driven by a legal requirements to have a period at full price before 'discounting' can be claimed).

We should really look at this the other way round: regular periods of higher margins!


nostr:npub1xrs077k3zj8u0ry85j9nxkhk88hj49lryrpxgxfhcln6sqqfdx2qx2ec7y nostr:npub10r22zfd5vhjqaajmjn59ua30t4rh7zdezkguenzzf7sflajj832sl0w6yx

Thanks, that's really interesting; I'm going to lift the issue of cyclic discounting from it as I have seen clear evidence of that over here (I do our weekly shop, and of course as a political economist have been attentive to the pricing patterns!)


nostr:npub1cx78595zrqxtcq369j88d7nhvz5hehg2swve8k78dhrw4vjkeuqsvp0cps

Yes, I feel that I may finally have to transit to a smartphone when my dumbphone finally gives up the ghost, but for now (given I'm retired) I manage just fine (even if it frustrates friends & family at times)


nostr:npub1nstxj07j0hyvqghv82cr78gmhcyl7k6ug4u33e3y2hn5crx4xfas06j20x

No worries; none inferred


nostr:npub1nstxj07j0hyvqghv82cr78gmhcyl7k6ug4u33e3y2hn5crx4xfas06j20x

Massively used in #village life round here... but not because of the encryption; anyone decoding the local messages (I get updates from my wife who *is* on it) would likely only be surprised at the levels of banality


nostr:npub1vh9nmlglyd84nudfdurd9fc9pewp4p925slevzvs0xcue3k005cskv8qsf

Yes, interesting post - he certainly was able to sidestep the uncaring technocrat persona, and did well on the media.... so perhaps, yes!


Some useful ironic outbursts for #fediverse users & any new followers;

for my timeline this will be a little like rhetorical bingo:

'I'm shocked, I tell you shocked to find....' (with apologies to Claude Rains in Casablanca);

'... Oh, hold on.' (after a statement you wish to criticise)

'[checks notes]' (a Birsdite favourite - when being sarcastic about statements)

'... not so much' (a lovely little phrase added to the end of statements to flag irony).

Happy Friday


Not having a #smartphone (I'm a smartphone refusnik) I am only aware of #WhatsAp, but I know its heavily used by my friends and relations... I'm going to say they will not be best pleased to know that Meta is planning to include adverts in its feeds...

once again #CoryDoctorow's #enshitification in full effect!


Hmmm.... so the #BankofEngland has spent a lot of time recenctly telling the people of Britain that unless its hurting its not working, that they are to blame for #inflation & that their joblessness or debt problems are 'a price worth paying' to squeeze inflation out of the system.

I'm assuming they will be unsurprised that people's confidence in their abilities has now hit a negative balance.... or perhaps they *are* perplexed by this development, given how out of touch they are.

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/069/248/769/426/478/original/a3ad42558d50a95e.png


If you didn't get enough of #jazz at last weekend's #LancasterJazzFestival why not join #ProfDJ at the Stonewell Tap (Church St. #Lancaster), for some jazz & a bit of #blues on tonight.

Great sounds to complement the fab artisan #beer on offer - all music played on vintage #vinyl - and there's always board games if you want to settled down for the evening.

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/068/237/179/752/329/original/12f626eaced59735.jpg


nostr:npub1ly26mcp4r2yxs9fcsacegyxn6tu8pat7hlxlnk8fc2z573swk8qqlqp3k0

This might be a good way to spend half an hour... nostr:npub1m68k4wdkefqty8kj4ylca4z82dx6xyytffvquk7xjk9c9hx6jnjqgatsv0 is pretty good on this stuff....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSeHXldwQus


nostr:npub1sguxtwgcakzj4sxhxu28s6ltaangxasgr8u5g8a0lxanxlz4z4hqpvzjjt

Yes, I's missed that impact on the Film/TV sector, while being well aware of it in others sectors... my own myopia!


nostr:npub1x3t6zkh4vgqq2fy79mx3tgyepkhjkfjamahpd6ty3fgpfkdzvqps2w35wk

Oh. they'll be back with their one (golf) club...


nostr:npub1sguxtwgcakzj4sxhxu28s6ltaangxasgr8u5g8a0lxanxlz4z4hqpvzjjt

Good point; thanks, shouldn't have missed that factor....


nostr:npub16jcp4vfspt9kgypvnycd26jxwpy3e6cehu84ghvnljczhc885s4qqz5rn4 nostr:npub17tzfqn39qc9p7qd82cd8pfql2pdzy93ksajhl0066su4c83l4nqq6aaxp5

Well, its sort of between the two... its fraud in plain sight, which one might hope would add to the growing realisation of  who the #Tories actually are... but equally, you are right, like the Covid lonas fraud, I would not expect that much in the way of attempts to either recover the money or prosecute.

(and before you respond saying the impact on the Tories profile will be minimal, that remark is more hope than experience, I accept!)


Often held up as beacon of international excellence & competitiveness, the UK's #film & #TV production sector is in freefall, with around 75% of freelancers in the sector currently off-contract (remember this is a sector where shirt-term project work is a major aspect of #employment)....

I'd love to be able to blame the #Tories for this (and welcome replies than can), but actually this seem to exemplify the vulnerability of the UK to factors beyond our own economy....

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/15/britain-tv-and-film-industry-decline


nostr:npub1640d8xmw8qgxle5a684nknj22wy7p9tmxja66gchz8rl0dz7zx2qerhvu6

There's an old saying in US Politics about the Democrats trying to move (further) rightwards:

Given the choice between the Republican Party & the republican party, voters choose the Republican Party.... so trying on the #Tories clothes may be dangerous if they fit too well.

(apologies for the tortured metaphor)


The way things are going #HS2 will end up being a fast-track line from central #London into #Metroland...

(#JeremyHunt & #RishiSunak are looking to cut back, halt development North of #Birmingham, in the latest trimming of HS2)


nostr:npub1lc6p9qjaxkl9ffh33hf0f8cpplytvf2uzlrdmc9wdpfmh5xlnhnqmh5w35 nostr:npub1nesv6fux44nkqtgdv5mwrmp3j6t3qtx4esz87dfx9nyat6efyaxq2f4chl

a stone cold classic!


nostr:npub1640d8xmw8qgxle5a684nknj22wy7p9tmxja66gchz8rl0dz7zx2qerhvu6

although it may be a pyrrhic victory?


You will have noticed that #petrol prices are on the rise again... with some in the last week blaming profit-taking in the refinement/processing stage of the #supplychain;

But, its now also clear this has been compounded by market action(s) by #SaudiArabia & #Russia both who have reduced their available supplied of refillable #oil.

With the continued post-Covid 'revival' also putting pressure on oil stocks, we can expect petrol prices to feed into #inflation.... again, its NOT wage rises!!!!


The Q. is (as John Burn-Murdoch explores in the FT today) is how (and if) the UK's #housing market is different from other countries?

There is good multi-country data to suggest just building more houses reduces & stops #houseprice #inflation & increases the stock of #rental properties at lower rents.

This highlights the link between lower house building in the UK & high(er) prices, but leaves the Q. of the role of the UK's historic easier #credit provision for house purchases unanswered!


In the forthcoming #election, we can expect a presidential campaign from the #Tories focussing on #RishiSunak who polls better than his party... while Labour may well run a 'values' campaign as #KeirStarmer polls worse than his party.

The campaigns will be speaking different (political) languages;

a desire by the Tories to avoid their record while Labour will do nothing but focus on it.

It will be bad-tempered (of course) amidst claims Labour is backwards looking & Sunak remains 'the future'!


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy

yes, there's certainly a rump of #brexiters who live in a different world (and spend quite a bit of energy trying to makes us believe that world exists)... but I think overall Kupe is right; the penny has dropped for more & more people over the last decade. Whether that will lead to anything more constructive than self-pity is another issue altogether

So nostr:npub18sjtpxxyg00w2zanmrp4n92a7e2gefdxhragy6zz63x2d2udhpeqemwrkn  is also right, there are some desperately trying to keep those pennies in the air!


The nostr:npub17tzfqn39qc9p7qd82cd8pfql2pdzy93ksajhl0066su4c83l4nqq6aaxp5 has had a (partial) victory at the High Court, with a finding that the #PPE #VIPlane was allocating contracts on a 'flawed basis' rendering its operation illegal.

As the Court concludes the VIP team was better resourced than other areas of #health procurement, but the speed of its decisions rendered them problematic...

An in case you'd forgotten; the VIP Lane was the mechanism by which the #Tories funnelled #pandemic related contracts to their mates!
https://goodlawproject.org/update/high-court-vip-lane-ppe-unlawful/


Meanwhile in #France

#Carrefour has had enough of #shrinkflation and is seeking to ensure that its customers recognise that it is the suppliers not the store driving this masked #inflation.

Its labelling those products that have been subject to a combination of shrinking of product alongside prices rises. Check out the prominent signs in the Guardian ariticle's photos - brilliant!

I'd love one of the major #supermarkets to do this in the UK...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/14/carrefour-puts-shrinkflation-price-warnings-on-food-to-shame-brands


The #Covid loan #fraud fiasco just keeps growing... you can just imagine the press coverage if this was organised #benefit fraud; and don't be mistaken this was definitely organised (in some cases with the tacit collusion of the Govt's representatives).

Once again (a theme emerging this evening), its #class politics - whose 'fraud' is investigated, and whose will be re-badged as systems' mistakes & inadvertent loss or faulty paperwork/admin.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/14/uk-taxpayers-left-footing-bill-as-number-of-fraudulent-covid-loans-soars


nostr:npub18spdes0540ca09f225uqpsn4tanyq67fq2u2zf7vd0fy333wwsvqsypw80

Interesting, thanks....


For many of us #class never went away as a significant #political factor & instrument of social analysis.... but out has been out of fashion for some time.

Today the Guardian re-emphasises class as a key issue & explores why #Tories don't want to talk about it...

#classwar is hidden by #culturewars... its the politics of miss-direction

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/14/the-guardian-view-on-class-in-britain-the-government-doesnt-want-to-talk-about-it


nostr:npub1v5x3hxyj04vflzpxttc3f4exsjkl65u0daufjys86md8zdexdjnqskfmhy

I believe England's rivers are still in the UK.... but I know what you're getting at - yes the planning system is different in Scotland & I assume that the SNP is not involved in any attempt to change their remaining 'nutrient neutrality' regulations. 👍


nostr:npub1ucd7h6n90hrc068243dhu4v4wvalkqvedsvjfje8y7ghzl42g2cqag924d

Ha ha, yes that's why I jumped ship 30 years ago.... I always saw it as a cost/benefit analysis & for the older, but not massively wealthy, London's costs start to outweigh the (considerable) cultural benefits... now I live in North Lancashire (the Lune Valley) & have no regrets about leaving


nostr:npub18spdes0540ca09f225uqpsn4tanyq67fq2u2zf7vd0fy333wwsvqsypw80

I'd be interested in your view of the film as someone else in the timeline (no names, no pack drill) was less than impressed....


nostr:npub1w9ek798zc8dltrkaf0zh66g4y7ytm6frwm9kjpg7xmjnj54z9zzqa3a8yy

Oh I know that, I was born & lived in London for 35 years... but nonetheless for the central London elite I think it holds true, but yes I agree there is a massive class dynamic in London... but I accept I should have been more nuanced in the original post.


Increasingly (in wealth terms at least) #London really does look like another country... a wealthy enclave in a country that for the most part is getting poorer.

Certainly costs of living may be higher in London, but for households the nominal effect of higher income remains significant!

While #levellingup was just more declaratory #Tory policy nonsense, it also would have real political traction if done seriously & in a sustained, pragmatic manner!

here's hoping....

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/064/652/714/857/741/original/ecbc3330ffc7030b.png


Simon Kuper (FT) suggests the one thing that #Brexit has delivered is a realistic assessment of the UK's place in the world:

'at last, the UK knows what it is: a small country that needs immigrants, high taxes & European allies... The government lags behind ordinary people in absorbing this self-knowledge'!

I think this re-assesment might have come earlier if people (and the media especially) had focussed not on headline GDP (ranked 6th-ish) but GDP-per capita (around 22nd in the world!)


nostr:npub1r6pat94m42f2n69uf48rc0gett8gumedejrq32hwd0aqkw89p0pq34t7a8 nostr:npub1uqtstsdzt2y6f85pwpsv0u0tzd8sm0uytza4qu7htpfrl9wtdv5szr3ees

Ha ha, you got me.... 35 years a Londoner


nostr:npub18fs85tfjkxlxh9g2m2qr9fj64x74798dd3um0dkjsss0ajhhte2q7s2lq0

Yes, its an interesting point; like you I have (in the past & in my academic life) found such aggregations useful, but the tenor of the piece was very much against anything other than groups that had some formal organisational structure - EU, OPEC etc.


nostr:npub1hz0an3f305g6cjmfgyl9paj98ns2evq9fy7y0jnecp006gd9hc3s5vj6j5

I'm pretty sure you can assure him there's a #university somewhere offer a BA in Monster Truck Studies....


If you didn't get enough of #jazz at last weekend's #LancasterJazzFestival why not join #ProfDJ at the Stonewell Tap (Church St. #Lancaster), for some jazz & a bit of #blues on Friday night.

Great sounds to complement the fab artisan #beer on offer - all music played on vintage #vinyl - and there's always board games if you want to settled down for the evening.

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/062/754/142/005/207/original/7c7e3a584a026a5e.jpg


nostr:npub1r6pat94m42f2n69uf48rc0gett8gumedejrq32hwd0aqkw89p0pq34t7a8 nostr:npub1uqtstsdzt2y6f85pwpsv0u0tzd8sm0uytza4qu7htpfrl9wtdv5szr3ees

Hmmm.... OK, but I lived in T
terraced houses in London for over 30 years & let me tell you the disruptive noise in a detached house but in a rural/farming area is a lot worse (if only at certain times)... and the the smell(s)...


nostr:npub1ktzgqlvkzanyn262mdjmhnjjsw883ncfgd7qljucattuhffgqf9s92nudu

There's some evidence that men think they're doing more in the way of #childcare & housework than they are... so even when the supposed intent is there, it still plays out in gendered patterns


nostr:npub1xrs077k3zj8u0ry85j9nxkhk88hj49lryrpxgxfhcln6sqqfdx2qx2ec7y

Agreed; as Keynes once said (but in a different context), 'in the long run we're all dead'


nostr:npub1uqtstsdzt2y6f85pwpsv0u0tzd8sm0uytza4qu7htpfrl9wtdv5szr3ees

It would be even better if they stopped building detached houses altogether - the town-house (or terrace) is more energy & space efficient... but of course, developers' sales teams think a 'detached' home is an easier sell!


Meanwhile in #Seattle:

In the wake of a young woman being killed by a speeding police car while she was on the sidewalk, a Police union officer (while laughing) said:

'No, it’s a regular person. Yeah. Just write a check. Eleven thousand dollars. She was 26 anyway. She had limited value'!

If you wanted to sum up the callousness of #Police authority in the USA, this would be a good example;

if you think such attitudes by police officers towards civilians are limited to the US, think again!


Some #Brexiters may argue (not completely implausibly) that it is too early to conclude that the UK's replacement for #EuropeanInvestmentBank development support is running at only a third of the level of the EU's provision of #Investment funds, but currently the gap is striking.

For optimists, the start of the UK Development Banks record doesn't look unlike the early years of the EIB's disbursement of funds... for pessimists, every year it falls short emphasises the negative impact of #Brexit

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/061/928/235/875/405/original/28f2ec35824c4b68.png


Meanwhile in #Germany:

Long the exemplar of continued European industrial success, the impact of increased #energy costs alongside disruptions of the #supplychain & #workers availability prompted by #Covid have led to increasing gloom & pessimism across Germany's #manufacturing sector.

As one Mittlestand owner put it (to the FT): 'I don’t want to talk ill of Germany, but it feels like everything is a bit tired here'!

Perhaps the economic pendulum is once again swinging against the country?


So #RishiSunak & #MichaelGove's plan to 'support' house building by removing a key regulation on #housing developments' impact on water courses has been defeated in the House of Lords (responding in part to lobbyitng/advice from #environmental groups).

This means to revive the removal of 'nutrient neutrality' requirement a new act would be required & as #Labour has now stepped back from an initial hint it might also deregulate, the latest threat to the UK's #rivers looks to have abated.


Alan Beattie (FT) on why we should retire the term 'The #GlobalSouth':

'Countries are on a continuous spectrum of income, which incidentally does not line up neatly with other categories including equality, health, education, geopolitical allegiance, geography, religion or ethnicity. Arbitrarily pressing a subset of nations into a collective identity... obscures more than it illuminates. The label Global South is prejudicial and inaccurate & public debate would be better off without it'!


As the #winter approaches so another screw on the vice of the #NHScrisis looks likely.

So far the #Tories refusal to try & settle the #doctors' strike action looks to have 'cost' the NHS around £1bn... which puts the winter uplift of £200mn offered to the NHS by the Govt. into perspective.

Anyone who thinks the #Tories have any intent other than to wreck the NHS have not been paying attention over the last years.

#SaveOurNHS
#GTTO


Countering the narrative put about by the #banks when they are closing branches, in 2022 use of cash in the UK went up!

But, this is also a sign of quite how serious the #Costoflivingcrisis remains; there is good economic sociology to suggest, when budgets are tight, consumers prefer the physical use of cash to keep track of expenditure rather than just using cards.

Interestingly, debut card usage also rose, suggesting some reticence about high-interest credit card use too.

Gloomy stuff!


I see according to the monthly #OND data the UK's GDO fell by 0.5% between June & July.... given we now better appreciate that this is well within the margins of error (which may be subject to a series of revisions), it seems it might be best to treat such month-on-month figure with a pinch of salt... and so I will (other that making this post to suggest doing that, obviously)


Perhaps unsurprisingly, it now appears that #women have benefitted more than men from the expansion of #hybridworking.

Public First analysis on ONS data suggests a shift to more full time working, especially in sectors such as #financialservcies & IT-related employment.

This then puts a different slant on the move by some #employers to limit or constrain #workingfromhome as part of hybrid working.

When something that benefits women is rolled back then we might think there's #sexism around?


nostr:npub1ly26mcp4r2yxs9fcsacegyxn6tu8pat7hlxlnk8fc2z573swk8qqlqp3k0

So, banks can create credit (money) by finding willing borrowers - while even Central Bankers seem to miss this sleight of hand, more recently a paper from the BoE did recognise & agree with Keen's argument.

The key thing is the money supply is no longer really in the Govt's control, and interest rates  more by what would be needed to be borrowed to cover the position if a loan defaults, than a direct immediate causality - hence rates dropping while mortgage lenders see borrowers


nostr:npub1ly26mcp4r2yxs9fcsacegyxn6tu8pat7hlxlnk8fc2z573swk8qqlqp3k0

it can exist on both sides of the balance sheet (as an accounting identity) - it is both a liability (in that the money has to be paid out) and an asset (because it is generating an income from repayments.

So as long as banks can find willing (and relatively safe lenders), the two sides of the balance sheet cancel out, meaning they can issue more & more loans without worrying about capital sufficiency.

Its only when people stop paying the accounting identity fails 2/2 - but 1 more


nostr:npub1ly26mcp4r2yxs9fcsacegyxn6tu8pat7hlxlnk8fc2z573swk8qqlqp3k0

The article I linked to was a quick (not necessarily the best) choice...

For me responding to your thread, a couple of key points:

Banks are specialised institutions empowered by the state to create credit - which is why you cannot lend me £1m because you are not a specialised institution empowered by the state.

However, Keen's key point (which appear late on in the article), is provided the loan is 'performing' - the borrower is paying the instalments... 1/2


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy

No worries, I sort of thought (after I replied) that might be what was intended....


nostr:npub10q9emq7fet693w2r55qacnnc6umldnmre7mcq5j0zhr8uxuk6dfq8fuq0g

OK, I see we're not going to agree & I completely respect your position (which as I say I understand)... for me without hope, we have nothing, so again we disagree. Let me wish you well & suggest our views are incompatible. Enjoy the rest of your day


nostr:npub10q9emq7fet693w2r55qacnnc6umldnmre7mcq5j0zhr8uxuk6dfq8fuq0g

As someone who for a while ran their family firm, I *am* going to disagree, but I accept the historical record reflects the difficulty of 'taming' capitalism. You may be right & it is impossible, I prefer to think in the right political circumstances it can be done... not least of all the alternatives have offered nothing particularly compassionate or humane either.


nostr:npub10q9emq7fet693w2r55qacnnc6umldnmre7mcq5j0zhr8uxuk6dfq8fuq0g

And there we disagree; I think capitalism can be reformed, but this is much to the frustration of my socialist friends who think I am being naive (or have been co-opted); so I recognise your portion, but just don't share it


nostr:npub19dp9um2zqefaepyr8pphfgcjkf6mc0f5ag75ndyt9fszdepw9c5qt2zwzj nostr:npub1pv5ug6gxy7fet6rltce6hkxksw599v3rnwut0wdc8c5v09k6qraq39zq0l nostr:npub1zdp33shl69xr0uq3x8n5gsjykq9upycwh6nqm02c3f6x0frrn0dq42vqv8 nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz

Its an interesting point; in a sense really ruthless management might drive up immediate productivity but then may prove counter-productive if it produces burnt out & departure.

The bigger issue is that US management is very variable & also they have a much better 'culture' of introducing management innovations based on research (via their business schools). Too often we work with a cartoon picture of the US workplace based on a minority of cases


nostr:npub1pv5ug6gxy7fet6rltce6hkxksw599v3rnwut0wdc8c5v09k6qraq39zq0l nostr:npub1zdp33shl69xr0uq3x8n5gsjykq9upycwh6nqm02c3f6x0frrn0dq42vqv8

yes, we're certainly on the same page... you might be interested in this I wrote for nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz on #management a month ago (albeit with a slightly different focus).

https://northwestbylines.co.uk/business/whos-responsible-for-reduced-productivity/


nostr:npub1737yy4gk7lfhec4pnns4azpfc3em924tse4caldmdc5tlpmmswuqz7t6ft

Hmmm.... I'm not sure either is 'natural'; but I disagree that 'reform' got us here; a path dependent economic development got us here, but there is a possibility that we could reform the system, the only Q. is to what.... see my exchange in the time line with nostr:npub1vjh4t9pue5hhcycerp9ke2qt4u3g2ve8ee2e8ycv9txvmtz9l4qs6ns57p this morning


nostr:npub1vjh4t9pue5hhcycerp9ke2qt4u3g2ve8ee2e8ycv9txvmtz9l4qs6ns57p nostr:npub1awmt846qt67nqdyt7q0w6vn3vmqe5semtgdvmxyvmvwmspa4sumqkzkqm2

Yes, I'd agree with that (and can I add, very eloquently put); the key is how far we have to plunge before social forces cohere to start to develop a settlement that works with #climatecrisis rather than ignores it or acts to further it.... and yes, my fear (as infer from you) is that this chaos may get a lot worse before it ever may start to get better.... grim times, indeed!


While I accept that I'm *very* lucky to be able to retire early (which I did 2 years ago) & into a pretty stable financial situation....

the thing that has become pretty obvious to me over the last 24 months is the level of background #stress & tension I had been working under for pretty much my entire working life of 43 years...

because, now its (very obviously) just not there.... it makes me realise #workers need even more managerial reform than I had presumed!

#economic reform is urgent!


nostr:npub1vjh4t9pue5hhcycerp9ke2qt4u3g2ve8ee2e8ycv9txvmtz9l4qs6ns57p nostr:npub1awmt846qt67nqdyt7q0w6vn3vmqe5semtgdvmxyvmvwmspa4sumqkzkqm2

If we take your parallel with the 1930s, the developments you cite here & in the later reply, as well as indicating the 'collapse' of #capitalism, might also be taken (if the 30s *are* the model), to the death throes of one capitalist settlement & the ground clearing for the arrival of some (as yet not clear) new settlement.... I'm not saying this is clearly happening but its a possibility if we take your parallel seriously, which is not a mad thing to do.


nostr:npub1kzg2dwt8wqv9fq7z6zvhswx9aa802xllassnkaqnmftwxru0ucjqf95k6a

No I hadn't, but I'm not surprised... its really like no-one has any understands of economic history... the Chinese are just doing what we did 100 years ago; of course this plays to a wider set of development arguments that identify the developed countries as saying: 'do as we say, not as we didi'!


nostr:npub1f50fesq265tu0nfnq2sx8770lq9uuwylgv67rn9ye2p0rxuvnzrq7sjp0r nostr:npub1vh9nmlglyd84nudfdurd9fc9pewp4p925slevzvs0xcue3k005cskv8qsf

I guess the Q. is why this is happening in some schools?


nostr:npub123857pfhnez29k7fpnhjvwurzt3k5zr5cdl90cht33zjc95rgzss8pv0uw

Round here they've done a lot 'patching' with tarmac... which is a temporary 'solution' that when it fails (after the first winter, it often seems), then makes the problem worse... the only viable long-term solution is whole road (proper) resurfacing, which also due to the farm traffic round here needs to be more than the superficial reciting sometime passed off as resurfacing!


nostr:npub1kzg2dwt8wqv9fq7z6zvhswx9aa802xllassnkaqnmftwxru0ucjqf95k6a

Yes I agree; China's long-term industrial stratgey has been hiding in plain sight for some time... though in fairness to the FT they've been on it for some time


No-one round here is going to be surprised that the condition of #roads is deteriorating - its just one more aspect of the toxic Americanisation of the UK's #economy.

JK Galbraith once (famously) characterised the US as exhibiting  'private affluence & public squalor' and this is increasingly what we see in the UK - the continued delaying of #maintenance has wider impacts than just the #RAAC crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/13/pothole-repairs-on-local-roads-in-england-sink-to-lowest-level-in-five-years


nostr:npub1fszdg6djev5aw9hkevn0t0ed62atrjtl6tf5ksjgt5awyr8zf3gsx8s5m6

Yes I think that a good concise statement of the situation!


nostr:npub1ly26mcp4r2yxs9fcsacegyxn6tu8pat7hlxlnk8fc2z573swk8qqlqp3k0

There's an interesting issue here about credit creation & how it is understood.

See the article by Steve Keen below which explores this debate & concludes that money (and thereby credit) can be (and is) created by banks (in this case mortgage lenders) without the need to borrow from elsewhere.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevekeen/2015/02/28/what-is-money-and-how-is-it-created/


The #schoolscrisis has many dimensions: two intersect in the problem of pupil suspensions & exclusions.

There seems to be a #class & #racial element in the data on suspensions, but there is also an upswing of violence behaviour from pupils towards #teachers (which has risen after the return from lockdown).

For the pupils it effects this will have a terrible impact on their future, but Teachers must also have a safe working environment.

The Q. is what can be done?

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/13/school-suspensions-rise-sharply-among-disadvantaged-children-in-england


Nick Mole (Pesticide Action Network):

'The emerging gap between UK & EU pesticide standards is incredibly concerning for... UK #agriculture as our standards fall further & further behind those of our largest trading partner. UK food exports containing pesticides that EU growers aren’t allowed to use, are likely to be rejected. Given that the EU still accounts for around 60% of UK agricultural exports, the impact on farmers could be devastating'!

#Brexit strikes again

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/13/uk-fails-ban-pesticides-outlawed-use-in-eu


There's a simple fact behind the seeming anomaly of #mortgage rates going down (albeit remaining above what they were last year) & the likely continuance of #interestrates rises from the BoE.

If you are a mortgage provider you need to lend money to make money; if your prospective customers don't feel they can afford a mortgage then you either try to screw more money out of your existing borrowers or (because this is tough with so many fixed deals), you reduce your prices!


Can #European car #manufacturers with #Chinese #electricvehicles?

Not only does #China dominate the electric motors' #supplychain it also dominates world production of #electriccars...

Certainly #Tesla has made massive inroads into the high-end market (& has plans for the lower-cost range) as have other brands, but overall China's lead currently looks to continue for some time.

If you wanted a demonstration of how long-term industrial strategy & policy focus work, this would be it!


nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy

Well, as a Professor of Political Economy I reject that characterisation!

I think you are dealing with a category error: #TonyBlair is not a political economist... he's something else.

Political economy, may often differ from mainstream #economics, but that primarily because it rejects the lack of social context & history baked into a lot of economic theory.

Political economists have a pragmatic engagement with economics & to my mind the best economics *is* political economics!


Although by itself far from conclusive, here's some more evidence of the misogyny of contemporary society as refracted through #socialmedia & its impact on the happiness of young #women.

Our society exacts increasingly emotional costs from those that fail to perform femaleness in a way that is regarded as 'acceptable'... when the number of young females reporting they are happy falls from 40% to 20% over four years, its a sure (if partial) indicator of a major problem!

https://news.sky.com/story/girls-happiness-at-lowest-levels-in-15-years-as-concerns-grow-about-online-harms-and-sexual-harassment-12959811?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter


nostr:npub108pe8a8nq8gtfv2r4qteeq62qal8tgdklx9lk6cukjker94zlksqdvz6zd

exactly, in many other countries a standardised ID card might be used... but as these are issued to everyone the question of discrimination is discounted


nostr:npub12nelzy5hsj8wd5wq5vz2cc4m9hv8ar096ru52g4kkdqm30p0dwkq9kxj50

We have nothing like this party registration in the UK.... not really entirely sure what it entails?


nostr:npub1hqk3h6dq0gfewdyhnjlpw8y24aedtaq78q3arvx9uvr7k6ywp5pq8xxkez

No, one could easily hold both positions... might be a little uncomfortable, but not impossible 😉


nostr:npub108pe8a8nq8gtfv2r4qteeq62qal8tgdklx9lk6cukjker94zlksqdvz6zd

They're checked off on a list - so unless they are using someone else's identity it wouldn't be possible.... so the key issue is identity & here as previously noted the electoral fraud cases (other than postal voting which is a little higher) have been in the single figures - its a very small 'problem'


nostr:npub14suwr3guxys4nh9ea3wxn6lpzf6q8jk2xlg05dlkzah6pzuty3nqrnd2f5 nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Brothers Sludge....

[a play on Sister Sledge, of course]


If you are an Art Technician (including handlers, fabricators & studio assistants) then you will be wanting to respond to a new #BECTU survey on your rates of pay.

Only be revealing the full extent of #workers exploitation in the #art world can it be changed; if we want a more diverse #artworld payment is a key issue... and not just for #artists!

https://bectu.org.uk/news/bectu-to-survey-art-technicians-to-help-standardise-rates-of-pay


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

still great & you're the first I've seen use it...


Ha ha ha....

nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd just used the phrase 'Prime Miniature' for #RishiSunak.... just brilliant!


nostr:npub1640d8xmw8qgxle5a684nknj22wy7p9tmxja66gchz8rl0dz7zx2qerhvu6

Yes, as I implied in a post yesterday, #class is the great denied factor in contemporary UK #politics!


Following on from the #TheresaMay denial-fest of a book, I see now #LizTruss is wriing an account of her 49 days at the helm of the country....

possible titles:

Asleep at the Wheel?

I will be proved right?

They were all against me?

or perhaps:

I am Liz!


More #BrexitReakity:

As the EU introduces rules to deter imports that have high #emissions profiles (prompting new compliance requirements at the border) & a new VAT regime requires VAT to be paid in the EU by firms delivering services from outside, the British Chambers of Commerce have found the majority of firms neither really know about the new regulations nor are preparing for them.

Yes, as we diverge from the EU (as #brexiters wanted) so exporting to the bloc will become more difficult!


Good & bad news in the #NorthWest:

Good: optimism about the future of #Barrow is in full effect, with #BAE's full order book offering the town 30yrs of work building submarines.... and as you can see their #productivity is on the way up (while they still hope to attract more #workers to the 'longest cul-de-sac in the country).

Bad: unlike Barrow, the rest of the North West is seeing further declines in productivity. For anyone hoping to move away from the #defence, this is not good news.

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/042/942/335/767/937/original/348eec82ae222615.png


meanwhile at the #G20:

#RishiSunak voiced to #China premier Li Qiang - his 'very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable'...

Because as we all know interfering in the UK's parliamentary #democracy is the #Tories job & they'll not have johnny foreigner doing it for them!


nostr:npub1600zrr7ph220zy8a3shk0w4zyhudpw7a24f350zsggxhjvzmxdrsf23hjv

Even the latter book (2020) precedes the common use of #greedflation... the other books are related to technology & IPRs - not unrelated, but not what we were exchanging about.

Sadly even 2/H copies of the Corporations book are over £20.


nostr:npub1600zrr7ph220zy8a3shk0w4zyhudpw7a24f350zsggxhjvzmxdrsf23hjv

Well. I don't subscribe to the all #companies are the same position, but they're clearly effected by similar structural pressures.

However, for #greedflation to be a thing, it does not require *all* companies to be acting in that way only some at crucial choke points in the #supplychain....

I have thought a lot about the differentiated environment of corporations. If you're interested (& I accept you may not be) I wrote a research guide for Edward Elgar a couple of years ago

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/040/855/892/514/182/original/c7611e17717572c4.jpeg


Even #centralbankers cannot continue to ignore the evidence on #greedflation, especially when its their own.

A recent BoE survey concluded firms continue to 'rebuild' their margins even as their costs fall.

As Sharon Graham (Unite) puts it:

The BoE 'has been attacking workers’ wages while downplaying corporate profiteering... Now [their] own analysis supports what Unite has argued all along about inflation. Companies are raising prices simply to boost their own profit margins'!


meanwhile in #arthistory, the hopes that #artificialintelligence might offer a route out of disputes over attribution are dealt an early blow by two #AI systems coming up with diametrically opposed answers to whether #Raphael
 painted 'Bercy Tondo'...

oh well, back to connoisseurship then....

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/09/battle-ai-rival-tech-teams-raphael-painting-uk-gallery-old-master


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

I'm certainly no surprised... and sadly given the phallopolitics of #nationalsecurity I'd have expected this from both sides - it plays well to the centrist 'safe-hands' narrative for Starmer but is, as you say, very much unwelcome for the #CND supporting tranche of the party's supporters.


So, putting their finger(s) to the wind, companies are clamouring to talk to the #LabourParty... partly driven by needing to cosy up to the (prospective) next Govt., partly due to dismay about the #Tories continued 'mismanagement' of #Brexit & partly to try and get inside the party's #greentransition policy, firms have oversubscribed the party's #business summit.

The left of the party will see this as a further sign of the party's drift rightwards, for pragmatists this looks like a good sign?


The slow but sure decline of the UK as a globally significant country continues...

#RishiSunak had wait a day to meet #G20 host #NarendraModi (in private/no photo op) - so much for the notion of being 'India's favourite son' then.

Given that pretty much the only thing about the G20 is its performative function, this tells us a lot about how the UK now fares in international #politics.

Not so much 'punching above our weight' as our weight now being obvious for everyone to see!


nostr:npub1mqkwu0umdfangygj9wpymdwa6xln6ygfljdx8snfmxxj2sld5asqqy8l8c

every journey starts with the first step...

in this case 'to boldly go...'


nostr:npub196nt7a0n05vhm34zxr3k4vs5wkc2l8nhy5lewcvszz54peuztf0q73vlz5 nostr:npub1xyj8edxse4d95up3q7p754cyulnf73rdwa6h84ezm8smnh24hugqs2lvpz

Yes, I agree... but they (we) still to be in a semi-favoured position on this, if not on other things (such a geriatric provisions in the #NHScrisis)


nostr:npub1p85v3ng50rrfem0m4x6ddj9u626vstmtlvgqlt20lqhkvj9v8aqq7pdeg5

what did the Romans ever do for us?


nostr:npub1xyj8edxse4d95up3q7p754cyulnf73rdwa6h84ezm8smnh24hugqs2lvpz

Yes, I think that it partially true, but relatively the protection of #pensions is notable, even if as others have pointed out they remain low by European standards... but I'm on the same page as regards the protection of the 'comfortable'


nostr:npub1fg4kr03rzkuy70tzdy2tljygwvt23emu2dxq3vazg8ly2wmxvcpsw822tg

Yes, absolutely... but for much of the time we aren't focussed on #Africa...


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

yes I saw it online yesterday - raised a smile


#crocodiletears for the weekend:

Travis Kalanick (of #Uber infamy) new venture Cloud Kitchens, that offers the infrastructure for the exploitative world of the 'dark kitchen' for #fooddelivery, has had close a number of its locations as it seems its business model does not appeal.... good news for kitchen workers fearing a further uber-isation of their casualised, zero-hours contract exploitative working environment - not that this will solve the problem(s).


Aha, the #Tories are exploring ways of cutting non-pension #benefits in the run up to the next #election to give #JeremyHunt the fiscal headroom to cut #taxes.

For anyone who has ever argued that #voting has little effect, the higher incidence of voting among pensioners seems to give them a degree of 'protection' unavailable to other classes of people in need of state support;

and don't forget, the #tripplelock will ensure state pension rises will nearly match #inflation, unlike most #wages


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

indeed, there is... there are so many books that are 'too....'


While we (quite rightly) moan & get annoyed with our #energy suppliers, the system that enables their profiteering & the continued power of the #fossilfuel lobby to shape energy #politics, its worth pausing to recall that on the continent of #Africa around half the population (that 640mn people according to the African Development Bank) have no access to #power at all....

sometimes the old criticism of 'first world problems' is more than just a remark thrown into an argument to raise a smile!


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Yup, not an unreasonable place to be (sadly)


nostr:npub1xrs077k3zj8u0ry85j9nxkhk88hj49lryrpxgxfhcln6sqqfdx2qx2ec7y

I'm shocked, do you hear me, shocked that you might think such a thing....


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

reminds me of HG Wells The Time Machine & the subterranean life in the future...


In the end its the #humidity that might kill us...

the #climatecrisis for humanity has many elements, but the rise of humid heat may in the end be the most invasive problem... with very clear implications for #energy use to try and cool us down - a(nother) vicious cycle in the challenge of #climatechange?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/08/deadly-humid-heatwaves-to-spread-rapidly-as-climate-warms-study


nostr:npub1gxtz8dz7ujqcy9hrnyhrykk6xujgpukgccvhpea7evhev7xzpsdqnej9na

yes, of course... the requirement is a political choice, certainly.


#RishiSunak's strategy in talking down the possibility of an #India - UK #trade deal is pretty clear.

Given a key demand from the Indian side is enhanced access by Indian workers to the UK, at a time when he's trying to claim he can 'protect' the UK borders from #migrants, a claim of hypocrisy would look pretty likely from the #media...

but, equally, if he does manage to concoct an acceptable deal from his (the UK's) weakened position, he's laid the ground for a claim of supreme deal-maker!


Another confirmation (should you require it) of the inhumanity & callousness of the #DWP (driven by a requirement to reduce its budget, no doubt).

As Louise Rubin (Scope) sums it up:' Situations like these are why disabled people have so little trust in our welfare system. The system is cold, harsh and uncaring.... In a cost of living crisis it’s more important than ever that we have a system that works with disabled people rather than against them'!

#disability

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/08/dwp-stops-womans-benefits-after-she-said-she-worked-one-second-over-limit


nostr:npub13usw3fpzm7snqmkp2l2x5lr8wer9xnwx8jtncpfwuqywgzjra9sq0aplp8 nostr:npub10kcanyrevwyaafkmcjkh2zcaz8tg9ujc3f4xn74ef5dp5vwptjnqqmqjyy

Well, I can see someone thinking they should say this... but the problem would be the response of the EU... we could unilaterally leave, but we cannot unilaterally rejoin. There is certainly some (quite extensive) residual goodwill on the other side of the channel, but equally we have done our best to piss on the EU's chips in the past, so rejoining is unlikely to be a walk in the park (apologies for the mixed metaphors,)


Eight years ago I wrote this abut the #G20 for nostr:npub1cy06su88dl9crjvthx56mdpgd0m9dauplnjf58rvcqynj6p8uygq9uggw4 - I see little reason to change my conclusion that: 'Each summit creates a lot of sound and light, but in the weeks and months that follow, it is more difficult to identify any lasting effects'!

Its just the global version of the #Tories declaratory politics - they'll be lots of pious works on everything from #Ukraine to the #climatecrisis... but little else to show for the global schmooze!

https://theconversation.com/what-on-earth-is-the-point-of-the-g20-50794


Good morning, if you are thinking of #wildswimming this weekend you might need to be a bit cautious about your #swimming

Despite being an island, the UK has fewer formally recognised bathing sites per capita than nearly any other #European country...

But, we also have the fifth highest number of sites rates as 'poor'.

As Tim Fallon (LibDems/Cumbria) puts it: 'the UK is officially the sick swimmer of Europe, with water companies allowed to get away with foul polluting habits'!

#watercrisis


Camilla Cavendish puts her finger on the key point underlying the #RAAC crisis... a long-term, British desire for a quick/cheap fix:

'Letting cowboy builders use shoddy materials in schools has been a false economy, yet another sad aspect of the short-termism in which we all — voters, journalists, politicians — conspire'!

There's going to be blame a plenty to spread around!


Interestingly the Dept. of Business  has just launched a consultation on various pricing manipulations including 'drip pricing' - you'll have encountered the slow accumulation of extra charges as you near a final purchase (the #airlines are particularly prone to this, with all sorts of extra charges for things one might have thought were included)... see section 4 of this document - whizz to P.40 to see how you can submit your views.

h/t Claer Barrett (FT)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1182962/consultation-on-improving-price-transparency-and-product-information-for-consumers.pdf


And the #RAAC crisis keeps getting bigger - now problems have been founds at both #Heathrow & #Gatwick.... what is now going to prove interesting is which organisations in the growing difficulties have a handle on the maintenance, which don't & the role of #austerity in the public sector.. this is one can that has been kicked down the road a number of times but has resolutely come to a halt (it would seem)


nostr:npub123857pfhnez29k7fpnhjvwurzt3k5zr5cdl90cht33zjc95rgzss8pv0uw

While there are problems about recognising new (and fast growing) parties, some form of state funding (alongside a ban on private funding( sort of makes sense, but there are quite a few caveats, not least on its inherent conservative character....


Hmmm.... OK, I think we can agree on the need for maintenance... so, perhaps the survivors bias is for those buildings where maintenance (for whatever reasons) was carried out?


nostr:npub10m3g524ey5045vhgg0mn30v9kj5k93nd5v4delj37vnfzgmv6r6s0ygkk2

Crikey, even the cheaper option still sounds like a lot....


nostr:npub16kvvffgn36flynkzv43yath7samfqpcgaacjhlk5wlqm32dz85ssywr053

Yes, I agree; the key problem is that building with materials that require ongoing attention always also requires faith in the ability for maintenance to continue.... but also building quality has always been an issue.

Our older building stock offers an example of survivors' bias... we don't now see all the older building that failed for one reason or another & were demolished or collapsed in the past


nostr:npub1dq6k9s6pyy42c9yp0nk4ny7ma6wuadg4rmcfrsh23ek7suq06r2shnkl95 nostr:npub123857pfhnez29k7fpnhjvwurzt3k5zr5cdl90cht33zjc95rgzss8pv0uw nostr:npub1dl8xsc6wae6d2pejmkfsz9h2ysvrq0x3mq6j56en02p4x7j7u27s5j4tsq

My take was that it was driven by a simplified notion of what #neoliberalism was, identifying the EU as a neoliberal project & thinking that leaving the EU would strike a blow against neoliberalism...

This of course failed to appreciate that one of the main drivers towards the EU's partial neoliberalism was the UK itself, and if you took the UK out of the EU, the brakes would come off domestic neoliberal tendencies (which I prefer to term #rentiercapitalism)


nostr:npub105955g40jks026wlyecptdcsqaf5t0ep5pl6cgqu95qxpeapm2rqj89pe2

Yes, its a classic case of a good idea badly implemented...


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

will do - I've sort of seen it a bit; as a nostr:npub17tzfqn39qc9p7qd82cd8pfql2pdzy93ksajhl0066su4c83l4nqq6aaxp5 supporter, their update emails wing their way to me regularly


nostr:npub123857pfhnez29k7fpnhjvwurzt3k5zr5cdl90cht33zjc95rgzss8pv0uw nostr:npub1dl8xsc6wae6d2pejmkfsz9h2ysvrq0x3mq6j56en02p4x7j7u27s5j4tsq

Don't get me started on #Lexiters... of whom I know a few


nostr:npub105955g40jks026wlyecptdcsqaf5t0ep5pl6cgqu95qxpeapm2rqj89pe2

Well, formally they are different: system building is the method of off-site prefabrication of standard components then assembled on-site.... #RAAC was one of the key components used to further reduce costs of transport (due to weight) & materials.... you can have systems building without RAAC & RAAC can be used (and has been) in other building methods.


As #Tories (again) play around with the idea of withdrawing from the #ECHR, Liberty helpfully sums up why such a move would be deeply damaging to our political lives:

'The European Convention on Human Rights is one of the great humanitarian achievements, helping to keep everyone in the UK safe and free'.

You can see their five key reasons for valuing the ECHR via the link below & if you're not supporting their work, you might want to consider starting...

https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/5-ways-the-european-convention-on-human-rights-makes-the-uk-a-better-place/


nostr:npub1640d8xmw8qgxle5a684nknj22wy7p9tmxja66gchz8rl0dz7zx2qerhvu6

Yes, my (partly) #NHS dentist has reduced the number of #dentists doing NHS work & the last NHS check-up I had was perfunctory & involved a significant level of cross-selling of other privatised services...


nostr:npub1zeusqrzf73xv3q9vjk42nvs3ur68ezp0s924kggxy6f6vyv7pdesdhclc9

Yes, I wouldn't have expected vets to have any different wage distribution practices - it was always going to be the Vets (practice owners) who were the key beneficiaries....


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Ooop, sorry to smash a hole in that so early in the day


nostr:npub1vfdvpkqy3lmd3rkv6r0zgmlpl5cc4983xymu6v3heypupq9hgvyqzhdmff

ha ha, yes - correcting right now!


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

yes, but see nostr:npub1xrs077k3zj8u0ry85j9nxkhk88hj49lryrpxgxfhcln6sqqfdx2qx2ec7y point about members' governments, which I think he is right, will put a block on any re-joining for some time - he's also right that the groundwork of good neighbourliness is the only route towards rejoining in the long run


nostr:npub1hpcdfjpxrawnmu6ryh36ce7xu4qd54pu6xca394yhvmyzlery0tqvghjn3

Yes, I think gradual re-engagement is pretty much the only (workable) strategy on the table


If you ever wondered what fully privatised #healthcare might look like in the UK, look no further than veterinary #medicine for your answer.

Of course, not all vets are money grasping exploiters of human's fondness for their pets, but equally not all private health care is disastrous... but the problem is the structures encourage (incentivise) such behaviour(s) when profit, not wellbeing becomes the key motivation for activity.

#dentistry has gone this way too!

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/sep/08/they-have-you-over-a-barrel-the-uk-pet-owners-facing-staggering-vet-bills


As Prof. John Curtice observes (after his latest polling), showing around 80% of likely labour voters are pro-EU:

'Labour does have to realise it will find itself back in office off the back of an electorate that is three-to-one in favour of joining the EU'.

Whether or not this means #Labour may be thinking about how to re-engage with the #EU, rejoining, of course, is not something we can just wish to happen, the EU would need to agree & that willingness is hardly a foregone conclusion!


If you're concerned about wealthy individuals bank-rolling political parties, you might want to (for a moment) shift your focus from the #Tories.

In the first half of this year around half of the money the #LabourParty raised was from two individuals  (who between them donated over £5mn between them).

They are Lord David Salisbury (£3mn) & ex-autoglass boss Gary Lubner (£2.2mn).

Now as it happens these are both 'reasonable' people, but it does show UK #politics remains tied to the wealthy!


The UK's #RAAC #buildings crisis really looks like the results of a period when 'systems built' facilities were all the rage in the public sector (and more widely).

In the 1970s, prefabricated buildings seemed to offer the solution to assembling functional buildings.

Of course, there were two problems:

a. They were never meant to last forever & so without maintenance & component renewal a crisis of stability was always going to happen;

b. in many cases they were badly constructed anyway!


So it looks like there have been no bidders in the latest round for #offshorewind licences/support packages (because the package took no account of the industries soaring costs, like to UK's current #inflation), while the #onshorewind 'relaxation' has been a damp squib, with few thinking its going to re-invigorate the onshore wind sector..

To be frank its like the Govt. isn't really interesting in #renewableenergy...

Oh hold on.... aren't the #Tories in the pockets of the #fossilfuel firms?


So after its bad start to the year, it looks like the #CBI has been seeking a 'white knight' to help it out of its self-created mess... and it looks like #MakeUK could be the lily candidate.

If the CBI & MakeUK do merge, there may be an interesting opportunity to shift the focus of business lobbying of Governments with a more coherent voice for #Manufacturing (too often drowned out by the special interest of #financialservices)...

But its early days yet & they could easily blow it anyway


nostr:npub105955g40jks026wlyecptdcsqaf5t0ep5pl6cgqu95qxpeapm2rqj89pe2

Thanks, I used to regularly read Dillow when I was at the other place, but he doesn't seem to be active over here, so I'm missing the links... so thanks for this


#RishiSunak's long delay on rejoining #Horizon looks to have gained little:

EU initially offered 2 years non-payment as UK had been out of the programme for its first 2yrs ... now extended to 3yrs, but as we are only joining near the end of year 3 of Horizon 2020, at the most this accounts for 4 month's payments;

there's also a slightly more generous 'clawback' mechanism if we get less than 16% of all grants (i,e. less than we're putting in).

Not much for UK's disabling collaborative science!


This week I've been mainly reading no. 89.

James Elkins, What Painting Is (2000) is a strangely compelling discussion of the practice(s) of #painters using the extended metaphor of alchemy. Elkins manages to convince you that this is an interesting way of understanding what painters do when #painting by illustration of painterly practices & alchemic ones. Focussing on the surface of paintings, Elkins offers a idiosyncratic approach to understanding painting as process
#arthistory
nostr:npub1kt3hutklgrma64ykjwk4trxq9rtyfnxhkjz729g4pd9xl7hzhrjse75004


If you're coming to the #LancasterJazzFestival, why not soak up some classic Blue Note  sounds between gigs on Friday at Runner Duck Wine Room (King's St. #Lancaster). #ProfDJ will be spinning all Blue Note, all on #vinylrecords from 8.30 on Friday night... its a great little venue with some outstanding #wine - pop in & join us from an evening of music from the most famous label in jazz history

https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/111/024/097/122/372/609/original/2d63d8969e764f1a.jpg


nostr:npub1y8zuyandj87efhjaclkqjy9d8fpyjvg62p5upahv37t62nanjlsqxrmah6 nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

yes, that happened for a while, but in the end people who wanted a social ride fragmented into twos & threes (see previous reply)


nostr:npub1nh8t8w07dqhweaavykqs69wfzdys578l5fdzyzh9pr8ncmvan4fq5hk9t5

ah yes, but that's what happened... we did start as a group pf friends, but that's what Strava destroyed... nowadays my social cycling is me & one or tw other people, and we have not interest in 'performance'


Hmmm... still no detail (here in the longer BBC news coverage) of #RishiSunak's 'deal' to re-enter #Horizon... if its not being publicised, he's agreed to the very EU terms he said he wouldn't, I suspect!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66737714


nostr:npub1hq2x7vhrefya6nl8jpnfwv4sq2z9qu4mhn4katq4hqxssmjf0euqyq07w7

Hmmm, but I notice no detail on how the money stacks up - which was Sunak's original sticking point... as I said earlier, it is likely Sunak has backed down (or blinked, if you wish)...


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

ha ha... I should have that on a T-shirt.... thanks 👍


nostr:npub1eq4z5l7xhzwxqyh4rndezh9frxrsr7228r63g5qej5frk6fntsjq72mf0l

I think that's a good point; this hopelessness on careers, has spread 'upwards' & now patterns much of the middle-class experience as well


nostr:npub1yyx7sllvsrr0fauh2rdlqk5rakf3963g9xk4a7j5uhfcs00lr3kq42qa5g nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz

ooops, sorry - now added to the original reply, but here as well:

https://northwestbylines.co.uk/business/whos-responsible-for-reduced-productivity/


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To which I would add the very big difference between horizon-planning in UK finance-focussed business (which looks to quarter by quarter performance) and many family-fcoussed Mittlestand firms in Germany that have a much longer time frame for strategic thinking


nostr:npub1640d8xmw8qgxle5a684nknj22wy7p9tmxja66gchz8rl0dz7zx2qerhvu6

Its an interesting Q.; in general I'd say that its all an issue of social perception - while the developments can be treated as structural or accidental then it will likely continue (the role of the media here is crucial)... its only, as we to some extant are seeing now, when the actually processes of advantage are clearer that social change might take place....

(if you've not read Margaret Archer's Culture & Agency, I'd recommend it; she has a good argument on this process)


nostr:npub1yyx7sllvsrr0fauh2rdlqk5rakf3963g9xk4a7j5uhfcs00lr3kq42qa5g

Completely agree - here's a piece I wrote for nostr:npub1yepk8n2nca8e5md0zclgc8kn8egf0kg7al0w3q3ruh7rfmyplvfq3wrqsz that I think you might find reflects your view(s) quite strongly


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Ha ha.... yes, I know - I think I have an internal disassociation issue to resolve 😉


nostr:npub1t3raw53wsc47582dlppuf5c3vnr3jx2sha9le6pwm9356u3m5gts0z6knd

Exactly.... they managed to squeeze the joy out of the social ride(s) & destroyed the community spirit of it over the same of about four to five rides... the whole (lovely) idea was destroyed by Strava & its adopters...


The #Tories have always claimed they're the party of opportunity;

Now that social mobility is harder than ever, with the rich's position increasingly cemented by inheritance, and others chances constrained by #racism, we are living in a country where the #Tories view of 'opportunity' is that Government is an opportunity to enrich your mates;

The fall in social mobility is not an unfortunate accident, our society has been re-engineered to the advantage of the rich!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/07/social-mobility-uk-worst-50-years-report-finds


well, well, well, the majority of #schools that are effects by the #RAAC #buildings crisis are in #Tory constituencies - some might see this as 'chickens coming home to roost' after over a decade of #education defunding.

A cynic might add, that it was only after this distribution become clear did the #tories 'spring into action'... as many have already suggested here, no doubt slightly delayed while they figured out how to channel the repair funds to their mates!
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/06/raac-crisis-pupils-at-24-schools-in-england-forced-to-study-remotely


Can it be any surprise that after a decade of stagnant real #wages, the dire state of UK #management practice, the continued media focus on celebrity culture (where the talentless but 'entertaining' are rewarded) & a #Tory government that has made it its #business to shove money to its mates, that a significant minority of young people increasingly do not see a clear link between hard work and a 'better life'.

The only Q. is how fast is this feeling spreading?

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/sep/07/britons-view-work-less-important-other-nationalities-study


On another matter:

If you wanted an example of how #socialmedia is corrosive of real social relations...

Round here we used to have a regular social #cycle ride (including overnight stops) for a group of the villagers.

But, riders started to get Strava, making them more interested in their comparative 'performance' than the rides' social nature.

This group told the rest of us we 'weren't taking our training seriously & soon the social riders gave up;

result: end of community rides!


If we accept the Bank of England's logic (as we are told we've reached the likely peak of #interestrates rises) that a squeeze was needed due to inflationary tendencies in the economy, the Q. is what does such pressure appear at such anaemic rates of growth?

Two answers, either:

the diagnosis is wrong - inflation is not being caused by wage demands, or..

The UK's #productivity problem is now so great that there is no spare capacity for non-inflationary growth...

(or both, of course!)


ICYMI: Looks like #RishiSunak has agreed with EU that we will (re)join the #Horizon research programme, ending months of delay & likely to be celebrated in UK #universities, even if delay to rejoining has already caused difficulties including EU researchers jumping ship to new in-border projects.

But what will be interesting will be the detail of the deal that Sunak has now agreed to & most importantly, who has given ground on the fees due: the UK or the EU?

My bet's on a climb down by Rishi!


Looks like #RishiSunak has agreed with the EU that we will (re)join the #Horizon research programme, ending months of delay & likely to be celebrated in UK #universities, even if the delay to rejoining has already caused difficulties including EU researchers jumping ship to new in-border projects.

But what will be interesting will be the detail of the deal that Sunak has now agreed to & most importantly, who has given ground on the fees due: the UK or the EU?

My bet's on a climb down by Rishi!


Following on from the post on the #German & UK GDP/growth comparison, interestingly in GDP per capita terms, in 2021:

the IMF estimated German GDP/Capita at $51,383 (ranked 19th in the world);

the UK's was $46,371 (ranked 22nd).

So while our growth looks relatively the same, the Germans (on a GDP per capita basis) are around 10% richer....

Aha, you say, what about #inequality?

the World Bank figures for 2016/17 are:

UK; .35
Germany. 32

not much in it by Germany slightly less unequal!


Unsurprisingly in many cases the #tax paid on earned income is twice the proportion paid on capital gains... part of this is an explicit support of #investment (which given low levels of investment in the UK, we can safely say is a failing policy) and partly because CGT is so structured to allow all sorts of game-playing & manipulation by rich holders of capital.

The solution (as the FT would argue) is partly tax simplification & partly a refocusing of tax altogether!

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/aug/20/earned-income-taxed-more-heavily-than-capital-gains-in-uk-thinktank-finds


The key near-future structural shift for #batteries may be vertical integration of the #supplychain.

Already #electricvehicles' #manufacturers are reaching back into supplychains to control the production of batteries, but there is also some indication that mining #corporations are looking to integrate processing & even component manufacture.

The key Q. will be how much of this increasingly integrated production will be controlled in (and by) #China & whether others can capture market share?


The FT's focus on #taxation has moved on to the taxation of motoring;

As they point out (currently) zero-rated #electricvehicles count for around one in six car sales & #fuelduty accounts for around 2% of all Govt. revenue; with no other changes the shift to EVs erodes the UK effective tax base.

FT's solution is mile/road pricing. To manage this shift they suggest running the two systems in parallel with the latter managed via EV's internal software reporting.

Q. is: who could sell this idea?


nostr:npub1v5x3hxyj04vflzpxttc3f4exsjkl65u0daufjys86md8zdexdjnqskfmhy

'subscription to civilisation'?


nostr:npub17pw8amdtufd7d89c3da6c8z4jyhzg4v9vftvqsdevvg5wj04r4lqrt5va3

I think an awful lot of things were done during the pandemic/lockdown that would not bear scrutiny in normal times & ECHR rights are not different - as always emergencies are a time when Govt's start t this rights are a luxury that can be suspended


A friend of mine just told me about a colleague who was outraged that a friend of his had been sacked for using the phrase 'N[word] in the woodpile' in a public meeting....

Their (the colleague not my friend) was 'Just because I use the word N[word] doesn't mean I hate Sambos'....

He (my friend) said he felt like he'd been transported back to the 1960s.

#racism

Contains two racist terms (one not in full)