"The decadent international but individualistic capitalism in the hands of which we found ourselves after the war is not a success. It is not intelligent. It is not beautiful. It is not just. It is not virtuous. And it doesn't deliver the goods." -John Maynard Keynes

I’m amazed anyone needs reminding of this, but local government spending power per person fell by 18% from 2010 to 2024 (would have been 26% but for increases in council tax). At the same time, social care pressures on local govt have grown a lot. The decay of the public realm is NOT a mystery

If you are interested in a different, kinder way of accessing new music, try Mirlo (and its federated friends) Interview with the amazing LLK here diyconspiracy.net/mirlo-interv... #music #streaming #coops

Ok, so, a scenario no one in macro is talking about re oil and Iran is: what if consumers aren’t stupid and front run the expected shock. Then we will see a spike in saving, loss of consumption, and a classic General Theory type demand led recession.

BBC Radio 4 Today package on the bond market was a disaster. It hasn't explained the primary and secondary markets for bonds. It hasn't explained how money has been created. It hasn't explained the fiscal rules properly. It hasn't explained WHEN bond interest kicks in and by how much....

Spare parts pricing practices could do with a look as well. At least the EU and UK are ahead on these rights.. dysfunction in US, again.

#economics What has happened to Labour's reforming zeal for cutting the payments made on banking reserves? Gordon Brown was on the money in 2024: www.itv.com/news/2024-03...

I just watched a Matalan ad with a background track that sounded like Jungle. To me, it reeks of AI. Did Jungle get any revenue or credit? uk.themedialeader.com/matalan-roll...

Wealth taxes - fake news from millionaires: taxjustice.net/press/korean...

Peter Frankopan reminds us that the US signed the Hague Convention in October 1907 and ratified it in Congress on 27 November 1909.... and has never withdrawn from it.

There's opportunity for Europe.... Original post: climatejustice.social/@GeofCox/116...

#bbcradio4 Please can we talk about about the market appetite for UK securities and the 'bond vigilanties that you don't wanna test too much'? If these folks are the de-facto arbiters of policy in our democracy, then I think I need to know more about them. The Liz Truss event told us a little.

Credit unions help people access fair, ethical finance. But an outdated law is holding them back. I’ve signed this petition to update the rules so credit unions can grow and serve more communities. Sign here 👇 party.coop/campaign/com...

#iranwar #economics #artofthe deal ....So the economic cost of the war looks like 1-2Tn $ in the short term, maybe 3-5Tn $ in the long run: Morally AND financially bankrupt.

Original post: toot.thoughtworks.com/@mfowler/116...

Two very different approaches to coding with AI: Thoughtful: martinfowler.com/articles/red... ...as opposed to the way it is often used: Addictive: infosec.exchange/@bontchev/11...

#politics #churchill #rupture It's time for Starmer to make a Carney speech: Moral authority, rules-based order among the middle powers and.... Trump's big weakness.... economic and political sanity: BBC News - Gas and oil prices soar and shares tumble on fears www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#politics Thanks to Hilary Mantel I just discovered the "doubts" of Gabriel Bonnot de Mably - 1768 about the natural order of things prior to the revolution:

#AI #politics Oh, the depressing poverty of thought in this crap; the stuff that probably defines and feeds the tragic tribal segmentation we see in our mass socials.

Great work on wikirate.org by all at @wikirate.bsky.social

#sailing - on old wooden yachts - together. Don't have to be rich, don't have to sit on a plastic racer: enjoy some heritage: acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...

Manchester Utd owner is giving media interviews claiming UK "colonised" by immigrants He thinks population rose 12 million snce 2020! 11 million people born abroad; this was 9.5 million in 2020, so that is up 1.5 million (not 12 million) but rose 7 million in 30 years from 4m before 1997

#AI Altman's business model is sick - and not in a good way. From PrivateEye

#Palantir In 2023 we gave them the NHS federated data platform www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Were they so good that in-house teams with open source data tooling were seen as incapable of doing the job? Or... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i... Cory thinks "We will have a lot of cheap GPUs, which will be good news for, say, effects artists and climate scientists, who will be able to buy that critical hardware at pennies on the dollar."

China, EU, Japan, UK jointly planning a US treasuries sell off? Interesting thread, especially in the comments. An orderly alternative, not gold, such as Keynes' Bancor could have saved us all from the next crisis. #economics www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/01...)%20is%20down.

Hands off.

It's been a success since 1983, and with the Community Right to Buy, it's the future of British pubs. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Security models for AI in customer service applications are very under-developed, yet it is deployed at scale, regardless. Desperately seeking ROI at any cost. www.reddit.com/r/artificial...

@timharford.ft.com heaps very rational praise on the virtues of #maintenance. timharford.com/2026/01/why-... ....but it's more spiritual than that.. It's a love: anthonywilsonpoetry.com/2013/08/08/l...

"Any political benefit the government may gain from this fall in immigration could be jeopardised by the economic damage that it causes." -£20Bn

The BBC is a British institution and we, the license fee payers, should determine its future – not opaque committees. Agree? Add your name for #APeoplesBBC 👉 party.coop/a-peoples-bb...

The BBC is a British institution and we, the license fee payers, should determine its future – not opaque committees. Agree? Add your name for #APeoplesBBC 👉 party.coop/a-peoples-bb...

Digital mood-hoovers? Original post: newsie.social/@royaards/11...

An entrepreneurial class Vs an entrepreneurial state? I know which economy I'd prefer to live in, and the data helps to explain it...

Reposting this Problem: Netflix and other US vcap-backed and operated streamers dominate more and more of UK national broadcasting and music culture. UK-US trade deal has ruled out a levy. #economics #streaming #coops

So the grid topology, the capacity AND the consumer pricing models are all broken. Is there a cunning plan in the works? #economics #energy Original post: mastodon.scot/@theferret/1...

Another excellent evaluation of the Sure Start programme, this time on its effects on youth offending. Once again it shows that investment in early years, preventative services improves life chances, reduces the costs of social failure and delivers major benefits.

@relearningecon.bsky.social Steve just posted a podcast about cooperatives: "coops change the game" www.patreon.com/posts/113825... Seems that many are new to coops.... But coops are not a new thing.....