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Some perceptive arguments in the Independent about the political impact of globalisation – and what to do about it.
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The Fabian’s Sunder sets out some pretty good definitions of what progressive politics is all about.
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A note of sanity as Krugman calls in the Observer for more stimulus against the cross party cuts consensus.
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It’s a great shame to see that Simon Caulkin has written his last Observer column. With so much business coverage simply written for business people to confirm their world view, the Observer is a beacon. It shines a little less brightly after today.
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Nigel Stanley
Much is being made by the usual anti-public sector suspects of last week’s ONS stats. Here is David Smith in today’s Sunday Times for example:
The other noteworthy development was the publication by the Office for National Statistics of new productivity estimates for the public sector. These showed that, despite a small improvement lately, productivity has fallen most years in the past decade. Calculating output is not easy, but the ONS thinks the average public-sector worker’s output in 2007 was 3.2% lower than in 1998.
Contrast that with the private or “market” sector. Over the same period, again according to the ONS, market-sector productivity rose 22.8%. The difference between the two sectors is striking.
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Owen Tudor
As G7 Finance Ministers gather in Italy, the people who brought you Put People First have issued a wake-up call to those politicians who have pressed the snooze button on tackling the crisis. We’re demanding that politicians get to grips with the crisis and do a whole lot more than they have managed so far. Report – Beyond the London Summit - here. Press release here.
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Owen Tudor
Peter Mandelson gave a speech in Berlin on Thursday about the EU and the crisis. It was quite a clear statement of his vision for Europe, which differs in some tonal respects from that of Gordon Brown. Peter Mandelson is clearly still more of a Euromantic than the PM, despite the more positive, team-player tone from No 10 since the global economic crisis began to unfold. But what struck me most was this passage, which could have come from any number of trade union leaders around Europe:
Most importantly of all, people need protection. The world is moving quickly and we need to ensure that people can thrive in this environment. That’s why we need strong social safety nets that actively encourage employment, lifelong learning, strong standards for the workplace.
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An important dose of realism on the economy from Ann Pettifor on CommentIsFree
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Nicola Smith
As we’ve been reporting in our monthly recession reports, unemployment has radically changed the face of labour market policy in the space of a few months. But even greater innovation will be required to ensure we’re not facing a jobless recovery in the coming months and years.
To help with this, we’ll be holding a lunch seminar at Congress House (TUC HQ) to discuss the findings from our next report, which will explore the differences between the current recession and those of the early 1990s and 1980s. Registration is free but you do need to book in advance – so you can reserve yourself a place here.
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Nigel Stanley
Phillip Stephens in today’s FT argues that because capitalism has not collapsed and parties of the left did badly across the EU last week that the left has lost the argument. He says:
As for the predicted lurch to the left, it has not materialised. I have not seen anyone rushing to imitate the Russian model of state capitalism. “
But this is a classic case of setting up a straw man to knock it down. The truth is that if policy makers had followed a neo-liberal free market response to the credit crunch we would now be in the depth of a world slump.
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Adam Lent
This is much too good to miss: a chance to hear what the dinosaur right think of tax havens. Register now and then register your disgust at the event itself:
Adam Smith Institute Autumn Tax Havens Seminar:
Evening Seminar with Graham Brady MP and Richard Teather, 4th November 2009, 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Contact events@adamsmith.org for information.PS. I have no idea what Graham Brady thinks of tax havens – he may be very progressive. But Richard Teather’s unreconstructed views are well known. You can read Richard Murphy ripping his analysis apart here.
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Rob Killick has a good take on those arguing that class no longer matters
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A very good overview from Richard Murphy of the current tax debate. One para strikes home:
“Companies use secrecy jurisdictions to reduce their tax bills. We all know that. They say it’s legal. I’m not going to dispute it. But chucking carbon into the atmosphere is also legal: no one disputes that either. But it’s most certainly seen as an issue relating to corporate responsibility. And child labour is legal in very many countries in the world. But ask any garment manufacturer about the corporate risk of being seen to use it and it’s clear that legality is not the definition of acceptability when it comes to corporate responsibility.”
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Adam Lent
The debate on public spending cuts heated up again today. The Tory Health Spokesperson, Andrew Lansley, apparently gaffed by admitting that a Conservative Government would seek 10% cuts in spending. The NHS Confederation predicted massive cuts for the health service after 2011. And Cameron and Brown had the usual unenlightening barney about it all at PMQs.
There is a very widely held assumption in policy and media circles now that cuts are necessary and inevitable. The only disagreement is over how much and when. Apparently, those hard-headed bond traders and credit raters will only be satisfied when they see unemployed nurses weeping outside Jobcentres. It seems to me though, there is one question no-one wants to ask: will cutting spending actually reduce public debt?