Sunrise at sea

Sunrise at sea

The Lobby Group Org announces the commencement of  the system upgrade project.

As a non political organisation comprising various eclectic individuals, who were first introduced to each other in cyberspace, this project is strictly outside any self interested party, be it political, financial, corporate, media or philosophical.

Debate will initially be facilitated by using a series of subject headings and anyone is welcome to debate the contents of the headings. Posts will be updated periodically to contain the consensus of opinion debated within them with the intention of forming a coherent manifesto. This can be, and should be, challenged and debated at any time.

The Lobby Group administrators-persons who are drawn from different walks of life- will try to be as impartial as possible in editing the manifesto.

This final manifesto will then be promoted and publicised for use (in whole or partial form) by existing political parties or for use by a new party, formed outside of the Lobby Group.

The Lobby Group Org is commited to maintaining a non partisan position and will act as a facilitator to debate of issues outside of the self interested incumbent political, financial and media elite whom have a vested self interest in maintaining the status quo.

It is intended if we can get enough support to take the debate out of cyberspace and into our local pubs, to support them, learn to live and communicate outside of cyberspace again and hey..who knows we may even make some real friends and enjoy it.

Join the debate..this can not happen without participation.

 

Here is a taster below of why people are getting involved with this:

The global economic model is reliant on continual growth to keep people in work.

Continual growth is no longer possible because there are too many people on the planet who want to consume like the USA, so when we try to grow now we immediately hit the buffers of commodities availability and prices (remember crude at $150 a barrel, record steel prices, copper prices etc etc etc etc). That is one major factor that facilitated the crash. 

There are not enough resources for the world to continue to grow..so we cant..so the global economic model is busted and needs to change to a throughput model not an eternal consumption and growth model.

That is a huge change and is not in the interests of the incumbent financial institutions and large corporations in particular whom have become incredibly powerful under the current economic system and often fund political parties and actively lobby them constantly, they have the resources to do so. George Bush was a huge friend of Big business, all his policies on energy and foreign policy reflected that. They would rather stay extraordinarily rich and have huge influence than do the right thing and are happy to keep the populous in the dark. Pretty crappy really.

Leading governments and banks are not even talking about a change to a throughput economy (e.g. through a much more sophisticated VAT system and a vastly simplified income tax system). They are trying to reinstate the existing ‘Chicago school of economics’ consumption and growth model as described above through a combination of denial and greed the external influence of big business on the incumbent political parties.

The only logical long term solution to resolve the current unsustainable state of affairs is for everyone to work less and be happy with less in a throughput economic model not a consumer / consumption economic model. That does not mean our lives need be any less fulfilling..probably the opposite.

E.g. under a throughput model a family can save to buy a gas guzzling fancy car if that is what turns then on, it is their choice but the VAT on that would be 70% (say) as a reflection of its use of non renewable resources and climate damage, alternatively they could buy a wind turbine for their house, the VAT on that would be minus 70% say (a discount). The whole economy / tax system would run on those lines in order to keep the global model in balance, you would be rewarded in your pay packet and consume on the basis of the value the activity has to society as a whole. Isnt that supposed to be the point of taxation?

It is a massive change and in a global economy all the world economies would have to sign up to it simultaneously for it to work….no good having 70% VAT here if they have 10% in France. A good realistec starting point however may be for countries to start to become self sufficient within their own borders at least for their basic needs.

We have the technology now such that we do not need to spend 75% of our time in the fields just to feed ourselves. The technology and mechanisation dividend has not been passed on to the majority in the form of a reasonable standard of living and more time with their families and friends.

Instead we are culturally driven ever on to ‘desire more stuff’ and work hard to get ‘more stuff’. Usually the ‘stuff’ does not make us happy and the wealth generated by that system gets concentrated within a growing number of ‘super rich’ (was it not ever so?). Billions of people worldwide with wide eyes fixed upon the living standards in the west are hoping to jump onto this consumer bandwagon where we throw away 30% of all the food we buy comprise 10% of the world population but consume 70% of the energy.

Should we be surprised that the economic wheels have fallen off?

 I could be totally wrong of course….as I am not a high flying Harvard trained economist………what do I know…..

 Join the debate.