Occupy Bradford!

I was pleased to see the Occupy movement hit Bradford today (if only in a small way - three tents!).

Its a diverse worldwide movement (not just dirty hippies lol but people from all walks of life) who's main thrust is simply to highlight financial injustice & the perils of unregulated capitalism.

If nothing else the movement highlights the frustrations of the vast percentage of people who work hard yet get less and less for what they do (the important people, teachers, nurses & caring professions, firemen & police etc who are undervalued) & have to bail out our financial institutions who's high priests rake in vast bonuses (no problem with reasonable bonuses for a job well done but the job isn't being done well!).

Just today it was reported that:

As much of the country is struggling with below inflation pay rises, directors at FTSE-100 firms now bank an average of £2.7million a year.

The top package for a chief executive was identified as more than £18.4million.

Official figures for Britain's workforce as a whole showed that between June and August total pay had increased by just 2.8 per cent compared with last year, while inflation of more than five per cent forces up living costs.
Average total pay was £463 per week in August.

Capitalism is like fire, we need fire to keep us warm & heat our food, capitalism brings us similar benefits, all the wonderful things and security the western world has to offer but you don't let a fire rage on its own, you have to hem it in or it gets out of control & burns down your house (or repossesses it).

In the words of Michael Moore;

"What I'm asking for is a new economic order,". "I don't know how to construct that. I'm not an economist. All I ask is that it have two organising principles. Number one, that the economy is run democratically. In other words, the people have a say in how its run, not just the 1%. And number two, that it has an ethical and moral core to it. That nothing is done without considering the ethical nature, no business decision is made without first asking the question, is this for the common good?"

I'm with Moore, democracy needs to lead capitalism not capitalism unduly influence the politicians as is more & more the case.

Now...I'm off to dig out my tent ;-)