What future do we really want?
In this #crisistijd we experience more than ever how much we depend on a just and caring government. Support measures and bold actions with our common taxpayers' money are vital if the country is to get back on its feet. The Delta Works, the rescue of banks in 2010 are examples of this. The big question here is: are we going to restore the old status quo or are we going to focus on a society that may be different?Let us continue to restore the old economy and include all the pollution and inequality that it entails. Import and export and old quantities of production of all old goods with all the pollution that goes with it.Or should we start thinking (and hopefully implement) what society do you want to live?What is a valuable life?
The naming of 'crucial professions' already gives a completely different picture of what is important in life and society. Today, we know how those in power think about these 'crucial professions' and how we reward them. Claps for these professions is a very cheap solution.
The Crisis of 2008
From 2008, everything was aimed at returning to the world before. A world that has brought us to the brink of abyss. Neoliberalism (making money with money, greed and making profit) was the priority. Art, Culture and social welfare state was rapidly phased out. Each for himself and a God that does not exist for all of us. What the politicians, those in power (and yes we chose them ourselves) did was motivated by a financial and economic outlook. Of course, the economy is extremely relevant, but not the only thing that matters, especially when the big companies withdraw their profits to shareholders or through mailboxes in Panama from our country. Worse even the same rulers ensured that this is legally possible, the tax authorities facilitated it. The Netherlands is known as tax paradise.
What is a valuable life?For me, a valuable life is a society based on Social Democracy. A regulated form of capitalism combined with an extensive system of social security. It strives for an egalitarian society, which focuses on the socio-economic and social position of man.Starting with a basic income:
Nationalisation of utilities (including banking and insurance);
Sustainable agriculture aimed at providing food for the local market in an animal-friendly environment. Seasonal vegetables and seasonal fruits from their own region. This is fruit and vegetables that are harvested on Dutch soil at a certain time of the year - in spring, summer, autumn or winter;
The execution of The Great Transition.Manifesto for a sustainable and inclusive economy.
Sustainability and enough meaningful jobs for everyone by dividing work. 100% renewable energy. Clean production processes that deal smart and economical with scarce raw materials. A local democracy in which people and well-being are central again. We have everything we can to achieve this: the right knowledge and technologies, the money, the tools and the organizational power. So what is stopping us?
1. Limit differences in purchasing power and capital. Inequality is bad for our democracy, the economy and the environment.
2. Bet on a 24-hour working week and explore the possibilities of a basic income.
3. As a government, invest on a large scale in a circular, regional economy over the next fifteen years.
4. Shift the tax on labour to tax on scarce resources and harmful emissions.
5. Use a dashboard with indicators that measure our prosperity well and stop the one-sided focus on GDP growth.
6. Invest now in the necessary energy transition and switch to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
7. Stop the reverse development aid and close the tax paradise of the Netherlands.
8. Place money creation under public administration and bring the debt and interest free into circulation.
9. Formulate requirements for sustainable, inclusive and democratic governance. In this way, create support for further cooperation.
10. Renew economics education: bring the real world back into models, theories and classrooms.End of possession.
What does it mean for the production process if we no longer own stuff, but only use it? We are on the threshold of a substantial change in behaviour. The production model in which people work to buy things is coming to an end. We don't want to own, we want access and use. Well, the lusts, not the burdens. What does that mean for the way products are made, how we build, for innovation and for economic growth?
The futureStocks down, companies bankrupt, unemployment: the global economy in recession
In any case, the Netherlands is going to have a recession, said the Central Planning Bureau this week. A V, a U or a L. De V is what Minister of Finance Wopke Hoekstra hopes for: a sharp but short fall and then recovery. With a U, the misery takes a little longer and with an L we are really far from home, then you come close to a 1930s scenario: depression. That goes even beyond the blackest CPB scenario.
“We have not learned enough from the previous economic crisis”, the banks have not improved structurally, and many weak countries have not yet had their economies and finances in order at the outbreak of the Corona crisis. A system crisis is lurking. “The banks have been better capitalized, but the structure of many products has not changed. If the housing market collapses in the United States, banks will die again. There are also many houses under water at our disposal. If the real estate market collapses, we have a big problem.”
Bad financial products are still being offered. “There should have been a financial transaction tax. A small load on flash capital. That not a person can take his capital to five continents in ten seconds to speculate. Unfortunately, that did not work.”
If that money is no longer available, it will take a great deal of effort to keep the idea of that fund alive. Because if the public debt rises to 74 percent, as the CPB calculates in the blackest scenario, we will have to cut back.” https://art19.com/shows/betrouwbare-bronnen Debt in the world has never been as high as double before the 2008 crisis.
The global debt in 2019amounted to 243,200 billion. Debt Mountain Worldwide, the debt of all governments, citizens and businesses together has risen to just below the record of 247,000 billion dollars. With the Corona crisis, this is going up by thousands of billions.Welcome to the new world.Photo Pixabay
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