Notts Uncut UK Uncut Day of Action -Big Society Bail In
Time: Saturday, February 26 · 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Location: Nottingham City Centre
Click ‘Continue Reading’ for details or visit: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=147859968609249. All welcome. Just turn up.
Last Saturday saw the start of something rather special: the second public takeover of Britain’s banks. The first takeover, or “bail-out” was astonishingly expensive and not much fun. The public was left billions lighter in the pocket, with little more to show for it than their names in the fine print. What did we get for our money? Greater regulation to ensure the crash didn’t happen again? No. A reformed banking system that se…rves us rather than the city? No. How about penitent bankers showing restraint with their pay packets? Um, also no.
The Big Society Bail-In will be much cheaper, more effective and, crucially, much more fun. Adam Ramsay has already done an excellent job chronicling how the bail-out of deadbeat banks led to the deficit and the resulting rationale for swingeing cuts. Now, for the antidote – the Bail-In. From last Saturday onwards, intrepid UK Uncut volunteers up and down the land will be bailing into the banks and setting up libraries, forests, hospitals, schools, playgrounds, leisure centres and everything else that needs saving. After all, as Osborne’s valiant defence of city bonuses against common sense shows, the banks have nothing to fear from the austerity agenda. What better place to keep our services safe from the Treasury axe?
Since October, the campaign against tax dodgers, the Big Society Revenue and Customs consistently found spectacular and imaginative ways to make tax avoiding corporations pay. In Brighton, Santa Clause glued himself to a BHS. In Oxford, the tax dodger’s grand prix whizzed round the avoiders dotting their high street. In London, volunteers set up a library inside Vodafone, a Sports Day inside Topshop and a NHS field hospital in Boots.
Our next wave of actions will be even more exciting. A Bail-In means marching into our broken banks and building something better. Make your silent, sterile Barclays branch sing, dance, explode with life! Reclaim the space and make it into something thrilling, something that shows how much creativity the anti-cuts movement has. Let’s smash austerity with a smile on our faces. We are Cameron’s nightmare, a real big society with the vision and bravery to transform the institutions at the rotten heart of our system.
This is bonus season: traditionally the time of year when the people who drove the global economy into the ground shamelessly reward themselves for their efforts. Traditionally, we are outraged. Traditionally, our outrage doesn’t turn into action and so, traditionally, they get away with it. This year, as our public services are being torn to pieces by a government that has done nothing but indulge the banks, we want things to be a little different. It’s up to you. Get creative, get organised and take action.
This is the Big Society Bail-In – we will not pay for their crisis.
For full details of the action of the action in Nottingham please email nottsuncutaction@gmail.com
Instead of demonstrating against the current government, demonstrators should get themselves a job and do the country some good. The police will be more than ready for any troublemakers.
Well it’s the 15th April and I’m not surprised such an incredulous comment has failed to generate a single reply. Mr Quinn , any government will love your willingness to give them carte blanche to do as they please while you happily pay for it and bury your head. Sir , your lack of respect for the freedoms our forefathers fought to protect, including the right to peacefully demonstrate , is truly disheartening.
The UK Uncut demonstration in Natwest this Saturday was great. A lot of the speeches were about the injustice of paying million pound bonuses while essential health and social services and benefits are cut.
Belatedly I think its worth saying that there is another important reason to be against bonuses too. This is that they encourage risk taking by bankers. And this risk taking, together with a herd group-think among city traders, was partly what created the banking crisis in the first place.
Over many years the banks have privatised the money system on which we all depend. 97% of the money is created by the banks when they lend. That’s why the government rushes in if the debts that back the money that they have created go bad so that the banks are in danger of collapsing. If the money system stops working there would be chaos in which nothing could be bought and sold – including the essentials of everyday life.
What is truly outrageous is also that the bonus system encourages over the top speculative credit creation and risk taking by bankers in the knowledge that taxpayers and people losing public services will pay if they lose. The bonus system encourages this to happen again.
The irresponsibility of banks and governments in leaving the bonus system untouched means something more fundamental is called for. The right of the banks to create money when they lend must be taken from them. The banks are abusing their power to create money. The money system is a service to society and should be taken back and run as such – in the interests of everyone. The money system is a what is called a “commons” – and commons should be run in the interests of everyone.