PowerSwitch

So many jobs have left the Uk it sometimes seems to me to be a waste of time and breath actually thinking about it.

Without coming across all huffy puffy what can we actually do about it? It all seems so pointless. How can we actually make a difference?

Today two things happened to me regarding banking - something very few of us no matter how rich or poor can operate without in todays world.

A leaftlet dropped on the doormat from Alliance and Leicester encouraging the reader to change to their bank, reduce charges and receive higher interest. As today was my day for reviewing finances I gave the free phone number a call with my very important question and guess what, the phone was answered by an English person!! (which also answered my question).

"Are you soully based in the UK?"

"Yes" came the reply.

So, I wonder is this true?

Does anyone on the PS forum actually know?

I am pretty convinced that I am going to switch my personal bank account (with the agreement of husband of course) to A and L along, if I can, with our business accounts.

Anyone else got any other info on UK companies or the A and L that would be of use?

I bank with Smile (co-op bank), for their ethical policy. I *think* they are UK based, they certainly seem to be every time I talk to someone on the phone. I don't worry about how much interest I get, knowing that interest on money is at the root of many of our problems

In terms of other jobs, I try and use local businesses and buy things that were made in the UK, but so little is these days... I guess this will all change over the coming decades. Hopefully the imports of cheap furniture will fall off quickly enough that I can make a living from making my own out of green wood! You never know...

Have you thought about the Co-op bank? They are probably the most ethical bank in this country.

I suspect developing world call centres will become remarkably
unpopular when the developing world starts running out of electricity to
sustain their IT and telecomms infrastructure.

I don't hold out too much
hope for any 'fait money' in any electronic account in any financial
institution. Land ownership has more potential, but since deeds
were abolished in favour of centralised, computerised records of
land ownership, I suspect that possesion will revert to being nine
tenths of the law. This is partly why I haven't invested in woodland
in remote corners of the land (or even the county), I could not
practically defend it from economic raiders without local community
recognition of my ownership.

I think we need to start thinking much more locally, even when it comes
to money. Cambridge has one or two 'local currencies' set up
(LETS schemes ? ) where low level economic activity uses locally
distributed money between members. (It is officially sanctioned and
taxed, and enables the taxman a small cut of what would otherwise be
a 'black' economy).

You won't get rich using this source of money, especially as it is controlled in its supply,
but it will be useful practice and encourages localised trading.

http://www.letslinkuk.net/

If you want to invest money ethically, there are always local development banks. (cf. Nobel Peace Prize). These are mostly
in the developing world, but there are a few local development
institutions in this country who will take your money.

I use my local credit union with great success. One of the local Freecycle lists has started an informal LETS on it's side list as well and this appears to work ok.

I use Smile - the internet version of the Coop - it's a no-brainer.

They put up the capital for the Ecotricity windfarm down the road from me.

Pippa wrote:So many jobs have left the Uk it sometimes seems to me to be a waste of time and breath actually thinking about it.

Without coming across all huffy puffy what can we actually do about it? It all seems so pointless. How can we actually make a difference?

Lots of small differences make one big difference. We (my family and I) buy as much as we can locally. If we can?t get it produced locally we buy things made in Sweden, then Europe then the rest of the world. We also get things as much as possible second hand. Now, I think that that is just a drop in the ocen but then the ocean is made of drops and if we all did that we could make our own ocean.

Pippa wrote:So many jobs have left the Uk

And yet employment statistics published today show that UK employment is the highest it has ever been. It seems that global capitalism is doing just fine as far as the UK is concerned. (For now.) I'm all for localism for a number of reasons but petty nationalism seems, well, petty.

biffvernon wrote: And yet employment statistics published today show that UK employment is the highest it has ever been.

UK unemployment is also rising. What does it all mean?


Peter.

biffvernon wrote:

Pippa wrote:So many jobs have left the Uk

And yet employment statistics published today show that UK employment is the highest it has ever been.

Yeah?

UK unemployment continues to rise
Wednesday, 18 October 2006, 08:58 GMT 09:58 UK

UK unemployment has risen to its highest level in six years, hitting 1.7 million in the three months to August.
The rise of 42,000 took the jobless rate to 5.5%, a rise of 0.1% on the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

The number of people claiming Jobseekers Allowance reached 962,000 in September, an increase of 10,200.

But earnings growth remained moderate, with wages rising 4.2% - down from 4.3% in the previous period.

The news on wages could help calm fears of an inflationary wage spiral.

Meanwhile, the number of economically inactive people fell by 64,000 during the quarter to 7.78 million.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6061768.stm

Unemployment up? "economically inactive" down? What does it actually mean?

I guess the immediate cause of this unemployment rise is the
removal of large numbers of people from the 'permanent disability
allowance'. This scheme was set up, giving people higher benefit
rates if they got a doctor to sign them off as unfit for work. They were
then permanently removed from the unemployment figures, bringing
them down nicely. Now, we are running out of money and TPTB have
decided to reverse the process. (My nephew is on this scheme, and
has a very nice time of it. I'm not against the disabled, but he is
a scrounger...)

The longer term trend is one of social change, where most adults need
and are expected to have full time jobs to get by. This results in
both parents of kids working, requiring the use of childcare facilities,
etc. This results in 2 more people employed (the mother or father
and the childcarer), two more income tax cuts for the state, and a
larger GDP to keep the bankers happy. The end result is more
people working harder for the same end result - kids being brought up.

Economically Inactive People are what the state want to get rid off,
they are a drain on resources and an underused resource in their
purpetual search for geometric economic growth. Of course in reality
they are neither of these things, they simply do things like voluntary
work, bring up kids, keep an eye on the elderly neighbours, and
generally improve the quality of life. Try telling that to an economist.

RalphW wrote: Economically Inactive People are what the state want to get rid off,
they are a drain on resources and an underused resource in their
purpetual search for geometric economic growth. Of course in reality
they are neither of these things, they simply do things like voluntary
work, bring up kids, keep an eye on the elderly neighbours, and
generally improve the quality of life. Try telling that to an economist.

This is the bit that makes me amused. I wouldn't say I'm "inactive", but I'm trying to reduce my activity! I'd love to chat with an economist and tell him that while I trained for years to design silicon chips I'm now working part-time promoting renewable energy, and hope to exit paid employment almost completely within a few years, and get everything through bartering what I can make or grow. (It's a nice dream, anyway!)

Blue Peter wrote:

biffvernon wrote: And yet employment statistics published today show that UK employment is the highest it has ever been.

UK unemployment is also rising. What does it all mean?

Peter.

I vaguely remember reading last week that UK unemployment has increased over the last 2 years by about 600,000 ... which is roughly the number of Eastern Europeans that have arrived during that time.

I'm not saying that each British unemployed person can do - or would want to do - the work the new arrivals do ... but it does make you wonder ...

[If I have got my facts wrong please feel free to set phasers on stun!]

I think you are correct Vortex. I think we are in a similiar situation to the US in that economic growth (and thus job creation) has to be a certain level to absord the number of extra workers in the market.

If growth lags the number of new workers then unemployment rises and/or wage growth declines.

Also we have a situation where those economically inactive is increasing as more and more people retire (I guess we havea large wave of baby boomers retiring about now like the US).

Which ever way you swing it , its going to go pop at some point

I have this dreadful vision of millions of pensionless ancient baby boomers sitting wrapped up in blankets in unheated houses wondering if they will be able to afford another can of baked beans this week and wondering why there are so many Polish and Asian language programs on the TV and why the power keeps going off.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this my dear. I saved ?700 per month in that Trust International Executive Pension Fund"