Sunday Reading

• Bunji
• 12 years ago
• Categories: capitalism, International, interweb, Keynes, science, tax
• Tags: bankers, financial crisis, syria, wealth

My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere (no linkwhoring).  This week: hiding tax, growing up neo-liberal and Syria.

In the news this week was the report that $US21-32 trillion is being held in tax havens by the wealthy – with $9.8 trillion of that by fewer than 100,000 individuals – as they avoid hundreds of billions of tax.  Enough to solve 3rd world debt, or even the euro crisis.  Even before the vast extent was revealed Britain was estimating that they could knock at least 2 pence off the basic rate of tax if the wealthy paid their share.

So this week the BBC were looking at the lengths people go to avoid tax, and Kim Hill had the author of the report on yesterday morning.  An interesting factoid was the thousands per congressman per day banks spend lobbying in Washington that helps keep our banking system and tax havens in place.  It’s hard to compete.

As a UK government report criticised bankers and traders short-termism for getting us into our current mess, the BBC also asked how Keynes would have responded to the current economic crisis, in a Keynesian way, or?

If you’re interested in how growing up neo-liberal is affecting children, Dr Bronwyn Hayward’s new book Children, Citizenship and Environment is likely to be an important text.  She had a great interview on Nine to Noon this week, looking at the pressures our current generation of children are facing.  Massively increased social inequality, and an surrounding ideology that says it’s all up to you to solve any problems – from your family’s poverty to any domestic violence / alcoholism there may be – even before you get onto your career.  She commented on the amazing job our schools are doing, and the importance of mental and physical space our children get (libraries & parks). Also vastly important was the that space being in school too – with it not being all about tests, but a place to grow and contribute.