How to build council houses the winning way

 

How to build council housing where everyone wins

And how Ukraine will be rebuilt when the war is over.

Standard Keynesian thought is that governments get a return on infrastructure investment from the taxes on the extra jobs created and from the increased consumption. This is true and it works in practise but it seems too complicated for classical economists to grasp.

So here's a model that combines Keynes and Friedman

1. The government borrow money from an investment bank or fund perhaps like the one Rishi Sunak worked for.

2. The Government lend money to councils to build houses at a higher rate of interest that they pay the investment bankers.

3. Councils build council houses creating thousands of jobs in the process earning rental income that is higher than the interest on the government loans. In due course, the rental income pays off the government loans and can be used to improve services.

4. All the infrastructure work is done using existing British resident Labour and British made products. Reshoring where necessary further benefitting the UK economy and working along with the ideas in the Brexit campaign.

5. The government still benefits from increased taxes paid through job creation and through consumer spending.

6. Families are securely housed bringing prosperity to the indigenous population and to the millions of migrants the Tories are inviting to Britain.

dark clouds of dark cash

 

Elon Musk must not be allowed to buy Twitter

because he'll have to go to dark cash brokers to do it.

Alt (ultra) free speech is close to alt free markets.

But unrestrained free speech and free markets are damaging to people, economies and in the end the world.

One of the main reasons Musk must not be allowed to buy Twitter is that he hasn't got the cash, despite being a paper billionaire. No bank would back him.

He'd have to go to 'dark cash' billionaires around the world, including directly or indirectly Russia and the public square head lopping, flogging, hand and foot chopping Saudis.

• The dodgy dark cash that indirectly backs the Tories.
• The dark cash that backed Cummings' and AggregateIQ's Facebook tricks in the Brexit campaign.
• The dodgy dark cash that funds alt (ultra) free market think tanks the father of which is the Institute of Economic Affairs.
• Dodgy dark cash that spawned Sunak, Javid and others that have sneaked into the naive Conservative party.

Dark cash that's hitting you, your family your friends, your employer and your workmates with the failed 18th century economic ideology.

Brilliantly, but deceptively marketed by the growing number of dodgy dark cash supported alt free market think tanks!

Musk must not get his hands on Twitter!

Proscription of Labour groups seeking to overthrow capitalism

 Proscription!

Not a commonly used word and one that's unexpected in Labour circles where debate and discourse have always been part of the Party's life.

Alliance for Workers Liberty and Socialist Appeal.

As they stand they don't belong in a British political party that seeks to put its aims into practise through Parliament, local councils and similar democratic institutions. Neither of these two groups' stated aims fit well with this democratic, election based aim of the Labour party.

They both want to 'overthrow' capitalism. One of these groups wants to achieve this through methods advocated by Lenin and Trotsky. This is violent revolution. This is not compatible with the Labour party's aims.

My interpretation of Labour's socialist left is that socialism would be brought in after winning an election where there was a clear mandate for socialist policies and measures.

One of the groups in question is openly Marxist which is fair enough (Marx, with a touch of Hegal, got me good marks as a student).

Marx's prediction was capitalism would undergo a series of ever worsening crises until it eventually collapsed to be replaced by a socialist system.

I believe the British economy is at this point of a total collapse. When this happens the government will have no choice but to take over the running of the whole economy.

There's no other choice.

Depending on what the government does, we'll either get socialism as Marx predicted for a while, or we'll get fascism for a longer period.

This probably depends on who wins the next election.

Western democracy and electioneering in particular is now all about political marketing.

And political marketing communication.

Heuristic soundbites are a big part of electioneering.

I'm afraid to say Labour lag a long way behind the Conservatives in political marketing communication skills.

Just look at the website landing pages:

Labour, "Meet Keir Starmer" why?

Conservative "Build back better" a power-packed lie.

Labour, "Stronger together" a meaningless phrase.

Conservative, "levelling up" another clever lie.

Sorry but I don't think Labour will win the next election, even though almost everybody, even the few, are better off with Labour, and almost everybody, even the few, are worse off with the Tories.

Tories, levelling down Britain since 1689.

Labour, for the many as well as the Few.

Keynesian Mulitplier

 If a government has its own 'fiat' (independent) currency it can increase or decrease spending to influence the wider economy.

If a government increases spending in ways that stimulate the economy; the increase in the economy's spending will be higher than the government's outlay. This is a kind of economic profit or 'multiplier' and the government takes back some of the multiplier's surplus in tax to repay the initial outlay and stimulate the economy again if needed. Governments can borrow in order to stimulate an economy.

The Keynesian multiplier effect depends on the expenditure one person or business becomes the income of another. The problem with this theory when put in practise is savings. Savings take expenditure out of the economy and reduce the multiplier effect. In fact savings in the form of investing in buying houses may have contributed to the stagflation of the 1970s. More high quality council housing might have staved off stagflation (sorry digressing)

If a government injects £100m into an economy to be spent by individuals whose socio-demographic profile indicates they'll spend all of it; socio-economic groups C2, D &E. The following sequence takes place. It is known from the post war Keynesian golden years that this happens,

The recipients will spend 90% of the income that is £90m on goods and services. The recipients also spend c90% of the £90m income from consumers this is £81m. Experience of the 1950s & 60s indicates this multiplier goes on for ten rounds so the initial £100,m outlay stimulates the economy by around £1billion

The multiplier effect also creates jobs, the increased individual and business spending bring in tax revenue the repay the initial government outlay.

The Tory government belive in the 18th century ideology that the government should do nothing. The bank of England try to stimulate the economy with what they call Quantitative Easing (QE) where they buy government and corporate bonds, this has limited effect.

Labour don't seem to have an economic direct just now but it could be expected to be Keynesian. The big, big problem now is that Britain's got no industry left. So any fiscal stimulus aimed at the consumer would be spent in China, India and similar. These overseas areas that have taken British manufacturing couldn't spend in Britain even if they wanted to. OK, they do buy property, luxury cars and yachts, but not enough to make a Keynesian pinprick.

As Britain has become a 'service' economy that doesn't make much anymore the only solution would be for the government to spend so as to stimulate this sector.

The Tories claim everything in the economy is rosy but this is just not true. Britain is in decline and the consumers who could rescue the economy going to be hit with four massive shocks. Brexit, covid, surging energy prices and backlash from Russian sanctions.

My advice to a Labour leader is, do not win the next election!

What Russia could do with Ukraine?

10 steps for Russia to solve the Ukraine/NATO issue.

They might learn from and follow the example of the oldest and most successful political party in the world...

The Tories.

1. Set up a political party that resonates with mainstream Ukraine attitudes. 
2. Model it on the Tory party.
3. Develop heuristic soundbites directly linked to populist views, beliefs and attitudes. Tory ones are great. Levelling up, build back better, get Brexit (NATO) done. Just follow the ideas of Boris Johnson, he's got an amazingly astute political imagination.
4. Bring back Dominic Cummings.
5. Use the methods employed by Cummings and AggregateIQ to become the democratically elected governing party.
6. Promise a referendum on NATO like David Cameron did for Brexit.
7. Promote 'free' and open social media, especially Facebook.
8. When the time is right hold a referendum on NATO membership.
9. Use Facebook advertising like Dominic Cummings used to win Brexit to win the NATO referendum.
10. Once in government make full use of Ukraine's special relationship with the EU for the benefit of Russia. A free trade agreement between Russia and your government in Ukraine would effectively mean a free trade deal with the EU.

Democracy is a malleable political concept isn't it Dom?

What opportunities is Sir Jacob looking for?

 Could this little story be happening in real life?

"Hello, My name's Jacob Rees-Mogg, sorry, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.

I'm from the English political party, the #Tories who fought tooth and nail against reform, we kept young children, girls and boys, as young as 4 or 5 down the mines and in the mills working up to 18 hours a day in terrible conditions for a whole generation.

And then we managed to level down reform to a trickle. We held down education long after Belgium, Germany and the USA for example.

I'm looking for opportunities to deregulate in line with our 18th century free market ideology. Yes, I know it failed but it's where we are.

I'm actually looking for opportunities to reduce standards in the UK to those of India.

Yes I know India is increasing standards to match the EU but this is post Brexit Chancellor Sunak's small government in action!"

I ask you where can we cut standards?

Levelling up? Our election slogan and has nothing to do with what we actually do."

Where Michael Gove's storyliners got their ideas from

India's budget!

Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Sitharaman are going to 'put wings under the Indian economy' with openly Keynesian plans backed with sufficient funding.

"Driven by seven engines of Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, Logistics infrastructure, the national master plan aimed at excellent modern infrastructure and logistics synergy."

Unlike Gove and Johnson, they mean business.

"The budget announced 400 new Bande Bharat Trains, 100 new cargo terminals to give a boost to infrastructure. Four multi-modal logistics parks through PPP mode to be awarded. Integration of postal and railways network to facilitate parcel movement." And more. https://bit.ly/modiwings.

Contrast this with the 12 damp squib pipedreams from Johnson and Gove that have no substance, no new money, no hope and no glory.

Pipedreams are expected from Chuckle brothers Johnson and Gove but I'm surprised at Rishi Sunak joining in.

I thought he was meant to be seriously a minded economist/banker?

Tories levelling down Britain since 1689