MYTH: DEMONSTRATING WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE

FACT:  The powers that be are not going to let us know when we are rattling them and it’s true that demonstrating alone will not change things but it’s a vital step – a successful demonstration leads us onward and upward! 

Greetings Citizens!

Getting together to demonstrate reminds us how many of us do not support the Cuts, we remember that there is no mandate for these cuts and we all gain more confidence to take further steps.  The cuts are creating divisions in society; if we ask for money for one service, we are told it will be taken off another service. Getting together to fight these cuts in local and national demonstrations reminds us that we are all fighting for each other and stops us getting set up against each other.   So don’t be discouraged – that’s exactly what they want!

See you in Nottingham on 5th March!
See you in London on 26^th March!

ΩΩΩΩΩΩ     Over and out!     ΩΩΩΩΩΩ

SPOT THE WORKING CLASS STEREOTYPE

"The prime minister says that local authorities should make internal efficiencies before making cuts in services and charity funding."

Spot says:

Ay up me ducks, did you spot the stereotype?  Of course you did....now my grandma, god rest her soul, always used to say – ‘Spot - the minute you hear anyone banging on about “efficiencies”, get out your trusty magnifying glass and have a closer look.’  How right she was.

On the one hand you’ve got local councils serving ordinary people and supporting the poorest and most vulnerable, and on the other you’ve got the banks, whose sole purpose is to make profits and who got us into this mess by over-lending to the point that some of them were about to go bust.   

Interesting that - so who exactly should be making “efficiencies” and who is in need of reform?

Nottingham City Council has had their 2011/12 government funding cut by 25% -  does anyone seriously expect us to believe that they are that inefficient! And even if they are – will they still be so inefficient next year that funding will be cut by a further 10% or more?

It’s a working class stereotype that organisations that employ and serve mainly working class people are inefficient – and we’re not having any of it.

Do us a favour Dave – until you are going to propose a 25% tax increase on the banks to force them to make efficiencies, keep your hands off our public services.

Yours Spot

Keeping the Spotlight on the stereotypes.

MYTH:“When you're borrowing 11% of your GDP, it's not possible to make significant net tax cuts. It just isn't."

Fact: The government is planning to introduce the biggest corporate tax cut in living memory.

Greetings Citizens!

Looks like David didn’t finish his sentence – no tax cuts for ordinary people, but great big juicy tax cuts for the corporations.

At the moment, companies based in the UK, with branches in other countries, don't get taxed twice on the same money so where the tax rate of the country they are in, is lower than UK tax, the company just pays the difference to the UK.  Under new proposals, "large and medium companies" (mainly banks) will pay no tax in this country on money made by their foreign branches.  (The exemption won’t be available smaller firms.)  At the same time while the big corporations will be exempt from tax on their foreign branch earnings, they will still be able to claim the expense of funding their foreign branches against tax they pay in the UK! No other country does this.  (For more info and references go to George Monbiot's website)

ΩΩΩΩΩΩ     Over and out!     ΩΩΩΩΩΩ

MYTH: "There’s nothing we can do about the cuts, it’s all been decided."

FACT:
It’s true! Decisions have been made, budgets are being set... but there’s nothing we can do ....?

Greetings Citizens!

The decision to use cuts to “solve” our economic problems was made without consulting us and without an overview or understanding of its impact on most people.  It was made by a small group of MPs, at least 19 of whom are millionaires with no idea what it is like to rely on public services.  They and their families will benefit more from companies’ making even bigger profits (getting even bigger dividends from their shares) than from any improvements or investment in public services.

It has been decided, but it is an unjust decision.

Any decision can be “undecided” at any time and we can make that happen. 

It may not be as easy for us and they won’t let us know when we are winning, but we can decide to get that decision changed.  The sooner we make that decision the better.

So now it’s our turn to make a decision:

·       We decide that these cuts are unjust.

·       We decide to fight the cuts until they are stopped.

·       And we decide to refuse to believe anyone who tells us that there is nothing we can do.

ΩΩΩΩΩΩ     Over and out!     ΩΩΩΩΩΩ

Myth: "We are all in this together"

FACT:
The 1,000 richest people in the UK saw their income increase by £70 billion in 2010 – that’s £70 million per person on average! 

According to the Institute for Fiscal studies “the overall effect of the new reforms announced in the June 2010 Budget is regressive... low-income households of working age lose the most from  Budget reforms

The fact is: Cuts to public services are not a fair way of dealing with the recession – they disproportionately affect poorer people including women and children.

SPOT THE WORKING CLASS STEREOTYPE 1

David Cameron blamed a "mob" at a student protest for behaving in an "absolutely feral way" and being “hell bent on violence and destroying property."

Spot says:

Ay up me ducks, did you spot the stereotype?  Of course you did - “feral”: like wild animals, ferocious, reverted to the wild.

Well it’s not the first time that angry working class people have been likened to wild animals when they have demonstrated against injustice.

Sticks and stones can break your bones but names can never hurt you, so some people say, but my grandma, God rest her soul, saw it differently – “first they label you as animals, then they treat you like animals” she used to say - how wise she was.  Members of that so-called “feral mob” were surrounded and held in one place against their will for hours – without charge and all for peacefully protesting – not a humane way to treat our people.

I’ve got news for you Mr Cameron – working class people aren’t wild animals - we are 100% human (Woof! Woof!).  It’s our humanity that drives our fight for justice – that’s JUSTICE Mr C, not “cuts” or “efficiencies” – JUSTICE.  It is unjust to smash our social infrastructure which has been built up over the years while leaving the rich who can protect themselves from the cuts, to get richer.

We’re onto you Dave - pack in the name-calling and stop picking on working class people.

Yours Spot - Keeping the Spotlight on the stereotypes.