French crisis
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The UK TUC is reporting that Police are joining the protestors in France Hard to verify, as some commentators note, some of the joining is to the other end of a club, elsewhere in France, but maybe the situation is accelerating.
This explains so, it looks like I took this at face value (although I think I was swayed by the authority of it coming from the TUC account: someone must have forgot which twitter account they were logged into.
Anyway, it seems the video is the police moving protestors on, not joining the protest.
Should l start a new thread? Strike brings Germany’s public transport to holt
Strike brings Germany’s public transport network to halt https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65083774
Emmanuel Macron criticised after slowly taking off expensive watch during interview about pension changes
Mr Macron, whose opponents have long-accused him of being a president of the rich, was being interviewed as violent protests and strikes take place across France.While another watch wearer is also in the news, former world boxing champion Emir Khan, who was robbed of his £72,000 timepiece in Leyton, East London.
The French anti pension rise riots from 62 to 64, may have spooked the UK government. The proposed Tory plan to raise the UK pension age to 68, at which time to be eligible to receive the state pension is to be delayed until after the general election..
Since the basic state pension in the UK will amount to just over £10,000 a year from next week, raising the pension age by one year robs workers of that amount and forces them through economic necessity to endure another year of wage-slavery.
Don’t expect a Labour government to act any differently from a Tory government on this issue.
Just seen this?
Not read itHeadline front page
Pension blow for people in their 40s:work until your age 70
https://app.inews.co.uk/full_page_image/page-1-1412/content.html
That’s in the other papers too. 2044 is a long way off and lots could change in between. But the rise from 66 to 67 is due to begin in 3 years’ time — when there could be a Labour government but you can safely bet they won’t do anything to stop it. Maybe they will be faced by French-style opposition and Starmer will be the British Macron.
There’s a quote in today’s Times from Professor Sir Michael Marmot “an expert on health inequality” pointing out that
“The most deprived two-thirds of the population do not have disability-free life expectancy as long as 68, so if you make the pension age older than that, you’re going to find a huge swath of the more deprived can’t work to 68 and will have less time time to enjoy this pension.”
In other words, they will die before or soon after retiring. In fact this must be happening now to some extent with the retirement age at 66 and to a greater extent when it goes up to 67. How convenient for the finances of the capitalist state. If you can’t work you are no use to capitalism, just an expendable drag on profits.
Another reform whittled away til we get back to the good old days of LLoyd George’s 1908 Old Age Pension act, ’twas the only game in town. Five bob a week for all workers 70 and over. Not that many workers made it to that age. Only introduced because sending people to the workhouse was costing too much.
Who will want to employ folk in their late 60’s? Call this an unfair generalisation if you must, but old people are no good at anything.Who will want to employ folk in their late 60’s? Call this an unfair generalisation if you must, but old people are no good at anything.
You really are a breathtakingly stupid ageist moron. But if you really are from Essex one shouldn’t be that surprised, an English friend of mine tells me 🙂
A good speech here by Melenchon on what free time means : incredible to hear this from a national level politician, and it does cut to the root of why the French are right to take up this struggle.
Millions could be taxed at higher rate than Rishi Sunak
Mike Clancy, the general secretary of the trade union Prospect, said: “Prospect members doing the right thing, paying their tax and working exceptionally hard to keep government functioning are having to strike because their pay has fallen so far behind inflation. It will be galling for them that the prime minister pays a significantly lower effective tax rate than they do.”
This from that link is useful:
“Government statistics suggest that few outside the top percentage of earners derive a significant income from investments.”
Deriving a significant income from investments could be a definition of a capitalist. But of course they should not be classified as “earners” as income from investment is an “unearned income” as one you don’t have to do any work to get. It’s a property not a work income.
So, apparently Macron has addressed the nation and it sounds like he has called for talks with the unions, but they seem not to want to talk, just yet.
Now, this is the the thing, are the unions forming the organisation skeleton of this protest, from what I’ve seen, inchoate riot seems to be the situation (and that is what Macron is banking on, holding his nerve, letting the riots dissipate, establishing new facts on the ground). If there is organisation, and *demands* things get interesting, especially of this organisation is democratic (if it’s just union bosses and leaders, expect sell-out).
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