[Dissent-bristol-info] PFI Sheet

Wed Mar 23 22:43:14 GMT 2005

Fantastic - great effort!

only one thing - Coca-Cola's water stealing stuff is more to do with
India directly (as per indiaresource.org), although Colombia is at the
crest of the crashing wave of neo-liberalism.

morris

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 01:24:41 -0800, anarchist606 at hushmail.com
<anarchist606 at hushmail.com> wrote:
> I like it!
> 
> On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 01:49:48 -0800 John Mayford <john at avoncda.coop>
> wrote:
> >Finally! Amended PFI sheet.
> >Just needed to amend re two key economists: Keynes and Friedman
> >and the relationship to the drive for
> >privitisation, use of the term "mixed" economy and to put in the
> >Anarchist economic model; which is the
> >workers co-perative : co-operatives operating with a free market
> >being neither private nor public
> >
> >See what you think
> >
> >John
> >
> >The Agenda of PFI; Creeping Corporate Control.
> >
> >Public and private economy
> >
> >Private
> >The Private Economy is the Capitalist model where sole traders,
> >partnerships and companies exist to make profit as the key driving
> 
> >force. When Companies register as
> >"corporate bodies" - in this country under the companies act- they
> 
> >legally assume the rights of a person, and the legal purpose of
> >their existence is profit - making - or to exploit labour for
> >profit - or as Michael Moore says "The bottom line is the bottom
> >line" Costs such as wages, impacts on the environment are
> >externalized
> >and therefore marginalized. Corporations are the single most
> >powerful driving force
> >in society
> >
> >Public
> >Industry in state or government control - such as the NHS,
> >Schools, Army, Police, the Civil Service, and local government is
> >known as the public sector.Forms of Socialism committed to State
> >ownership of the ecomony following the Communist Manifesto in 1848
> 
> >and the rise of the Trades Union movement in the same century the
> >aim of Communist and Socialist theory . Clause 4" The Labour Party
> 
> >in this country committed them to a manifesto of State Ownership
> >until it was abolished under Neil Kinnocks leadership and with it
> >the Liberalisation of the party.
> >
> >Mixed Economy
> >In reality most economies are a mixture between private and
> >public,for example President Roosevelt adopting the "New Deal" to
> >rebuild America's infrastructure through public expenditure in the
> 
> >1930's /40's. Many European Economies support their transport and
> >energy industry through state support, while Russia and China have
> 
> >opened their markets up to Western Multinational Corporations.
> >
> >Until the mid seventies, all Western government's operated to
> >economic model founded by JM Keynes - who believed that the
> >relationship between inflation and employment was inverse, and
> >that government could stimulate the economy through public
> >expenditure in times of recession as Roosevelt had done. In the
> >seventies this theory was exploded when inflation and unemployment
> 
> >occurred at the same time. A new economist, Milton Friedman,
> >expounded a theory called Monetarism according to which sound
> >economic growth was based on a low inflation economy, and the
> >single biggest cause of inflation is public expenditure. This
> >Thatcher the intellectual backing to slash public expenditure on
> >that basis privatizing Steel, Oil, Coal, the Railways, Post
> >Office, Buses and to line up education and health. It also gave
> >her the opportunity to smash trades union power, particularly that
> 
> >of the Miners.
> >
> >Neo Liberalisation or Naked Capitalism?
> >Curiously selling off State assets has become known as
> >Liberalisation. Curious because Liberalism has historically been
> >linked to a mixed economy approach, and what the real meaning is
> >simply that of opening assets to corporate control. In an
> >international context, multinationals are seeking to develop
> >control of developing nations, such as Coca Cola's attempt to
> >control water in Columbia, and multi -national attempts in Africa.
> 
> >
> >
> >An alterative to Corporate or State Control.
> >In 1840 Pierre-Joseph Prouhdon published "Qu-est-ce-que la
> >propriete?"  which represented the first linkage of the term
> >Anarchy as a political system of thought. His Anarchist vision
> >forsaw a society based on co-operatives and collectives and
> >decentralized forms of government. In Spain in the 1930's
> >following a period of 50 years of an Anarchist movement driven by
> >Anarchists trades unions, FAI and CNTthe model was followed
> >The co-operative movement was born in Rochdale in the same decade,
> 
> >1844, and it's principles recognized by the International Co-
> >operative Alliance in 1895. Co-op principles have been applied to
> >work, food, housing and land. There are currently 750 million
> >members of the co-ops worldwide. Neither private nor public, this
> >is non hierarchical autonomous organization working within a free
> >market that is not Capitalist. There are 1500 workers co-ops in
> >the UK.
> >
> >What is the Private Finance Initiative [PFI]
> >The next phase of privatisation in the UK is being looked at in
> >education, health and transport. This is relegated in the media
> >agenda for discussion and contrary to popular belief the Labour
> >government has actually accelerated the Private Finance
> >Initiative, with much of the key assets of our economy.
> >
> >Under the Private Finance Initiative, our schools and hospitals
> >are being sold off bit by bit to private companies that act in the
> 
> >interests of their shareholders.. Local rural hospitals are closed
> 
> >to build 'super-hospitals', making people travel further, using
> >taxpayers money to fund the profits of the building contractors at
> 
> >a much greater cost to us taxpayers than a simple total
> >refurbishment would have cost.
> >
> >How does it work?
> >PFI means going to the private sector to take out loans on which
> >interest rates are higher than normal for government borrowing,
> >and then paying private sector profits on top. These repayments
> >have to be made just like a mortgage over 20 or 30 years out of
> >income - whether that's a hospital's revenue that might otherwise
> >be used to pay doctors and nurses, or the school budget, which
> >might otherwise pay teachers, or a council's income that could be
> >used on other services. Ministers argue that savings made by more
> >efficient private-sector managers will more than offset the costs,
> 
> >but the evidence so far is unconvincing. However, when the
> >contractors standards do not meet all of the requirements, or the
> >deal becomes not profitable enough, the contractor can pull out of
> 
> >the deal, leaving its mess behind it. The government (taxpayers)
> >are left to pay for it to be refinanced and meanwhile the
> >school/uni/hospital must carry on.
> >
> >Like hire purchase, the government ends up paying several times
> >the original bill. This government is now building up debt for
> >future governments to carry. Firms can walk out at any point if
> >they decide on their own grounds, if they want to. Furthermore,
> >the new services are only designed to last for the contract period
> 
> >- expecting that in 20 years time, another contract must be made.
> >The full effect of the PFI will not be felt until 20 years time -
> >when it will be FAR TOO LATE to do anything except regret mistakes
> 
> >whilst private companies bleed our public services dry and the
> >politicians that made the mistakes will be long gone.
> >
> >Well documented are the mishaps of PFI, and are beginning to
> >emerge onto our newsscreens. So too are Public Private
> >Partnerships [PPP], most notably the London Underground. Despite
> >profits of £2 million per week, the private firms still failed on
> >87 out of 181 performance measures. Business elites cite the many
> >successes of PFI as a reason to continue with the sell-off of our
> >country to private firms. They take for granted a certain
> >proportion that goes wrong. But when people's health and education
> 
> >are at stake, can we afford for a few projects to go wrong?
> >
> >And where does the G8 fit into this? The crucial thing to consider
> 
> >is WHOSE INTERESTS ARE THE GOVERNMENT ACTING IN. Are they acting
> >in the interests of the people, as they have a democratic mandate
> >to do, or do they act in the interests of business? Are they
> >acting in your interests? Is the government making it easier or
> >harder for private firms to get hold of OUR (taxpayers) money?
> >These are questions we must never stop to ask ourselves.
> >
> >We must also think about how far the UK is willing to go along
> >with the Project for a New American Century. This forms the stated
> 
> >aims of neoliberalism - private ownership of everything. Stop to
> >consider how far this can go if pursued to death, and whether we
> >want anything and everything to have an 'owner'. This goes from
> >material goods to ideas. Where will this stop? Who is going to
> >stop it?
> >
> >But surely, this privatisation has nothing to do with G8 because
> >they're not talking about it? EXACTLY. Its buried in the agenda.
> >Bu
> >WE do not feature in any part of the decision making process on
> >key issues such as this. It all happens behind closed doors. They
> >set the agenda to talk about issues we have been talking about for
> 
> >years. When the leaders talk at G8, think about what assumptions
> >they have made and what they are NOT talking about but is implicit
> 
> >in their rhetoric.
> >
> >We all have the power to do something. Use your voice, your brain,
> 
> >your body, your wallet and your vote wisely. And let them know at
> >Gleneagles!
> >
> >_______________________________________________
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> http://anarchist606.blogspot.com
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