Do we need to fight back against cuts to public services and against privatisation?

What we need is a real socialist alternative to all the existing parties. At the moment in the UK there is no major political organisation that is anti-capitalist, represents the interests of working people and provides a realistic electoral alternative.

All the professional politicians are in favour of "free" market solutions to the current economic crisis. All are determined that it will be the ordinary, law-abiding, tax paying citizen who will pay for the greed and fraud perpetrated by the financiers, bankers, and the boys and girls on the world stock exchanges. In the States Goldman Sachs is being investigated for fraudulent practises. Why are not the financial institutions in the UK under investigation?

The likes of the Trades Union and Socialist Alliance and Respect are only the seeds of an electoral alternative.

Check out this blog for a list of left candidates in the UK:

http://averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com/

Yes.

Do, for instance public sector employees, like the people who work in Jobcentres get these 'work benefits'?

25 days' annual leave

A double-matched Stakeholder pension scheme

PruHealth private healthcare

Dental cover with Denplan

Income protection (in the event of long-term illness)

Life insurance

An Employee Assistance Programme (confidential BUPA advice line)

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave packages

Childcare vouchers (tax savings for working parents)

Give As You Earn scheme (tax-free donations to charities)

This is what a company called Ingeus offer. They are one of the many growing private companies in the booming 'welfare to work' industry which the Jobcentres are increasingly using to deliver flexible New Deal, employment zone type programmes to persuade unemployed people to look even harder for non existent jobs.

Still reeling myself from recently finding out about fractional reserve banking, a breathtaking fraud which steals astronomical sums directly from the public and indirectly by stealing public, taxpayer's, money. The government only makes about 3% of money the banks make the rest, they conjure it into existence when someone takes out a 'loan'. This enables power to control the direction of society.

To give one example, if gets far worse: Government borrows money from the banks; bank employee types money into the government's account (strictly speaking it is not in a sense money at this stage); government pays interest on the money. These interest payments are immense. If government employee typed in the money the government would not have to pay interest out of the public purse and we could afford 3 extra health services.

Sounds insane - this protects them: recall Hitler's discussion of the big lie - but it's true.

It gets worse.

Yes! We should fight back because I believe cuts should be made elsewhere. Cut some of the single service contracts used to build unneeded military planes and ships. We need to replenish our infrastructure in the United States. Bridges need to be re-enforced, roads need to be repaired and resurfaced, etc. Further studies and implementing of new energy sources.

As long as the oil interests are still around and influencing congress the less will be spent toward new energy.

thanks

Not really Andrew, the UK can't afford public sector pensions at the moment & the public sector is inefficient compared to the private sector. (There is no reason why it should be but it is).

Edit "Unfunded public sector pension

liabilities are now estimated to exceed £1 trillion, over 70 per cent of GDP."

Edit that's a question for the labour party, 6% is sort of OK, 12% out of order.

The issue is the public sector has been ineffecient as I said there is no reason for it to be.

Please respond to how the UK will pay 70% of GDP for public sector pensions! It's a time bomb that will cripple the UK!

If you feel that way vote Respect Party.