Economics

Labour: Making the Rich Richer

Their triumphalism has been a little chastened. New Labour politicians these days are not quite as bold as Tony Blair was when he told Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight before the 2001 election that he was not bothered about a widening gap between rich and poor. “Paxman: Is it acceptable for gap between rich and poor to widen? “Blair: The key thing is not... the gap between... the person who earns the most in the country and the person that earns the least... The issue isn't... whether the very richest person ends up becoming richer. The issue is whether the poorest person is given the chance...

An opaque economic crisis

Over the last several months, a crisis originating at the lower end of the US mortgage market has become, at least incipiently, a world credit crisis. The immediate background to the credit crisis is a bubble, since about 2003, in low-security, high-interest mortgage lending in the USA. Corporations have made a buck by lending to house-buyers with poor credit records, at high rates of interest. They allow for some defaults in payment. But when interest rates go up, and the house-price spiral slows or reverses, the defaults swell. By the end of 2006, “subprime” mortgages comprised about $1.5...

Lessons of Northern Rock's collapse?

Some questions and answers on the Northern Rock collapse Why did Northern Rock collapse? Not directly because people couldn't meet their mortgage payments, but because of the knock-on effects from the US mortgage bubble bursting. Those knock-on effects are as wide-ranging and unpredictable as they are because of the dramatic, historic expansion and restructuring of global financial markets in the last two decades or so. The rich do a lot more trading of bits of paper representing (ultimately) entitlements to future profits or interest payments than they used to, and they do it more globally...

Who is irrational? Reflections of a Northern Rock saver

I have two accounts with Northern Rock, which together contain most of my savings, so I have been spending much of the last few days thinking about what to do and consulting advisors, Marxist and non-Marxist, about it.

Until yesterday (Monday 18th) I had decided to sit tight in the belief that...

HAITI: Workers Protest Privatisation Layoffs

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38646 PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jul 24 (IPS) - Late last month, President René Préval announced that Haiti's public telephone company, Téléco, would be privatised. Meeting recently with the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and Senator Jean Hector Anacacis of Preval's Lespwa political party, the president finalised plans to sell off the aging enterprise. The move toward privatisation began abruptly, and according to Téléco, 2,800 employees have been terminated thus far. For decades foreign lenders and multinational corporations have pressured the Haitian state toward...

Haiti: Inquiétudes de la CTH face à la gestion du pays.

Port – au – Prince ; le 11 Juillet 2007 Communiqué de Presse Inquiétudes de la CTH face à la gestion du pays. Après la bataille démocratique qu’ont menée les travailleurs et le peuple haïtien avec leurs bulletins de vote aux élections du 7 février 2007 ; où ils ont accouché un gouvernement dans l’idée d’éradiquer le chômage, la misère et l’insécurité. Aujourd’hui , la CTH constate que les travailleurs et le peuple haïtien sont à bout de souffle ; au lieu que ce gouvernement prendrait des mesures concrètes pour mettre le pays sur les rails du développement en facilitant la création d’emplois...

Haiti: Labor Press Release on State Privatization

Port-Au-Prince; July 11, 2007 Press Release Concerns of the CTH, regarding the management of the Country. After the democratic battle, led by the Workers and the Haitian People through their voting ballots during the elections of February 7, 2007; where they gave birth to a government conceptually eradicating unemployment, poverty and insecurity. Today, the CTH notes that the Workers and the Haitian People are running out of breath; instead of this government taking concrete measures to put the country on the path of development, while facilitating the creation of employment, on the contrary...

Haiti: Privatization Plan Begins with Mass Firings at Téléco

Agence Haitïenne de Presse At least 500 Téléco workers received termination letters Friday as part of the government's announced plan to privatize the company. Another thousand are expected to be fired on Monday. As of last week, there were approximately 2800 workers remaining after the first wave of mass firings, as the government works to reduce the total number of employees to 800, according to several sources. These mass dismissals, which were expected in the wake of numerous statements by President René Preval and Téléco Director General Michel Présumé, come 10 days after the end of a...

Discussion points for educationals on Wage Labour and Capital

You can find the text here . Skip the section headed "By what is the price of a commodity determined?", but do make sure to read the Introduction. 1. What is the difference between labour and labour-power, and why is it important? 2. In an ideal capitalist economy, everything is bought and sold at the going rate - in an equal exchange. Yet inequality is the result. Marx argues that this inequality arises from the exchange in which labour-power is bought and sold. Why? What is special about that exchange? 3. Because of the special features of the sale of labour-power, workers are exploited, i.e...

Discussion points for educationals on Wage Labour and Capital

You can find the text here . Skip the section headed "By what is the price of a commodity determined?", but do make sure to read the Introduction. 1. What is the difference between labour and labour-power, and why is it important? 2. In an ideal capitalist economy, everything is bought and sold at the going rate - in an equal exchange. Yet inequality is the result. Marx argues that this inequality arises from the exchange in which labour-power is bought and sold. Why? What is special about that exchange? 3. Because of the special features of the sale of labour-power, workers are exploitedI i.e...

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