Notices by Emeritus Prof Christopher May (chrismayla6@zirk.us)

Derek Johnson (at the other place) makes this key point about the Presidential election:

'Why was Elon Musk willing to spend $119M on electing Trump? Just look at Tesla stock today. He’s $15B richer because of the bump.

That’s a 12,600% return on investment.

This is all about the buying and selling of a presidency. Most elections are, this one is just nakedly so'!

#ElonMusk #Trump #democracy

Good morning & lets start the day with this:

from @judyhoracek (via Instagram/LinkedIn)

#feminism #gender #women

Here's the Guardian arguing for higher taxes on the wealthy & trying to convince Rachel Reeves to stop listening to their lobbyists' siren calls of social damage if the rich see their taxes increase.

To be frank, sadly I think Reeves is unlikely to heed this call in its entirety, but we can at least hope for an equalisation of CGT & income tax rates...But, the full CenTax package looks unlikely to be implemented, however much sense it makes!

#tax #inequality
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/11/the-guardian-view-on-taxing-the-rich-essential-for-economic-fairness-and-growth

For those of you have doubted the use of the term 'Corporate Welfare' here is some pretty strong proof.... UK corporate tax breaks will likely cost £20bn more than they generate over the next five years (even the Treasury agrees they will cost more)

Lets be clear; the UK state (taxpayers) are subsidising corporations, while also offering policy & fiscal measure intended to 'maintain' their profits.

This is welfare for corporations!

Freeloaders?

#welfare #corporations
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/22/corporate-uk-tax-breaks-to-cost-20bn-more-than-they-generate-study-finds

You'll likely be depressingly unsurprised by the indication that decisions by the DWP on benefits sanctions looked to be shaped by institutional racism.

Once again, while we may claim (often rightly) to be a multicultural society, our governing institutions seem unable to address issues without some from of ethnic bias...

I wonder why that is?

Could it be, a history of racism that goes back centuries is well embedded & needs more work to root out!?

#racism #benefits
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/sep/16/benefit-sanctions-more-likely-for-minority-ethnic-claimants-uk-data-shows

The landscape of the high street continues to change as retailers withdraw, in some cases consolidating business in out-of-town sites, in others though a shift to more e-tailing.

The key Q. is how quickly (or at all) can other services fill the gaps in the urban landscape, or are some town centres doomed to eventual collapse altogether.

While the shift(s) may be too pronounced to reverse (and perhaps we shouldn't try), urban planning needs an urgent response!

#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/12/chemist-pub-and-bank-closures-lead-to-2300-more-empty-uk-stores-survey-finds

@h4890

Hmmm... I'm not sure this type of supply-side solution would work - after all, for businesses this is already a relatively low-tax market environment - the issue around business rates is a little different, but even then, what we are really seeing is the consolidation of oligopolies & that is very much driven by the market & a lack of effective anti-comepetiton regulation to enhance prospects for smaller businesses....

@h4890

Well, i think your point about existing businesses working with Govt. is key certainly - but markets cannot be unregulated (markets are essentially a legalised environment of exchange) and so oligopoly always has this ability....

@h4890 @amerika@annihilation.social

I'm not going to disagreee wth you about the death toll exacted by Govt.s which has been massive.... but, that's an argument for fixing the problems with international politics & governments, not an argument that anarchy (by which I mean an absence of legal rules, not chaos) is the answer - I have anarchist friends who think its possible to have a society without political authority, but we now just agree to differ....

This & similar cartoons often pop up on social media.... but that doesn't make them any less telling about our political leaders current & continuing attitudes to climate change.

So here it is again; our short-term thinking will be the end of us

#climate #environment #politics

Carole Cadwalladr offers the story of election violence foretold as she asks whether Elon Musk's role in the far right riots in England was a trial run for what he will do in the US presidential election?

My American friends: forewarned is forearmed - please, if you are not already thinking about this, take Cadwalladr's warning seriously (very seriously!).

With your levels of gun ownership Musk's influence will almost surely be fatal!

#ElonMusk #USPol

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/18/inciting-rioters-in-britain-was-a-test-run-for-elon-musk-just-see-what-he-plans-for-america

The establishment is conducting lawfare on climate protestors via the recovery of legal costs.... which have spiralled as Govt. departments have used external law firms to conduct legal work one might have expected to be done in-house.

Perhaps most galling is how everyone involved in trying to bankrupt protestors glibly says they 'respect the right to protest, but...'

Stifling protest takes many forms!

#protests #climate #politics

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/16/climate-activists-court-costs-protest-bans-uk-biggest-law-firm-dla-piper

You may recall last year Jack Monroe suggested that own brand/cheap label goods were going up in price faster than more expensive goods....

The ONS claimed she was wrong (on limited data) & Monroe was attacked by mansplaining economists....

Now Alberto Cavallo & Oleksiy Kryvtsov (in a NBER paper discussed in the FT) have looked at a much wider set of data & have confirmed/vindicated Monroe's conclusion: cheapflation is running higher than 'normal' inflation; in the UK by around 6%!

#inflation

A timely reminder from the United Nations

#hatespeech #racism

Ben Jennings on Keir Starmer's 'first steps for change'....

#KeirStarmer #politics

h/t Guardian

Talk among Tories of leaving the ECHR is reaching fever pitch (again), so its as well to be reminded about what the consequences of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights would & wouldn't be.

Whatever the practical issues, as Joelle Grogan (King's College) concludes, not only would it encourage further withdrawals, leaving the ECHR would be one more element in the destruction of the UK's (already floundering) global reputation, with further consequences.

#ECHR

https://theconversation.com/leaving-the-european-convention-on-human-rights-wont-stop-the-boats-but-it-will-create-other-problems-for-the-uk-227403?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20April%2016%202024%20-%202939129860&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20April%2016%202024%20-%202939129860+CID_d0e1f020b3b7a3362d1bc42184ea100d&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Leaving%20the%20European%20convention%20on%20human%20rights%20wont%20stop%20the%20boats%20%20but%20it%20will%20create%20other%20problems%20for%20the%20UK

This graphic (circulated by Bridget Doran on LinkedIn) neatly sums up the problem with the simple message that growth needs to be prioritised & measured via a nominal GDP measure.

In this sense it reflects a heckle reported by Anand Menon nearly a decade ago, during a lecture on GDP & the problems of growth:

'That’s your bloody GDP. Not ours'!

The simple truth that growth is unevenly distributed is often lost in policy discussions!

#economics #growth #inequality #GDP

Spot a pattern:

COP28 President Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber used to work for the host state's oil company, but said ahead of the meeting they were turning in a green direction... then delivered a lame & indecisive COP:

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev used to work for the host state's oil company, but said ahead of the meeting they were turning in a green direction...

Now I wonder how COP29 will turn out?

#COP29 #fossilfuels #ClimateCrisis

h/t FT

Another week, another #BigTech (#gigeconomy) share buyback... this time its #Uber.

Ostensibly to help reduce stock dilution caused by stock awards to core staff (including the CEO), once again (as I've pointed out before), it shows that Uber's #business model is nothing to do with investment in #innovation & everything to do with #wagetheft & expoiting #workers.

Uber doesn't need any tech innovation or new kit, so investment not required; just keeps sh*ting on the drivers to make a profit!

'Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes. During the same period, almost five billion people globally have become poorer. Hardship & hunger are a daily reality for many people worldwide. At current rates, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in 10 years'!

@oxfam latest report on #inequality focusses on the role of #corporations as the engines of the widening gap between rich & poor!

https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/inequality-inc-how-corporate-power-divides-our-world-and-the-need-for-a-new-era-621583/