Inequality Street

by Rab Bruce’s Spider

 

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The UK, along with the USA, is one of the most unequal countries in the world. There are plenty of others, of course, but the tragic thing is that the current inequality in the UK was not always the case, at least not in as extreme a situation as we now find ourselves in. Billionaires and millionaires have seen their wealth increase dramatically, while levels of poverty in the UK have soared. Fourteen years of Tory rule contributed greatly to this, and there are few signs that Keir starmer’s Labour Government seem inclined to change things very much. Indeed, with their attacks on pensioners and the disabled, it seems likely they will simply continue the Tory tactic of targeting the most vulnerable in society.

 

These levels of inequality inevitably give rise to social discontent sooner or later, and unscrupulous populist politicians (you know who I’m talking about on both sides of the Atlantic) will use this to garner support and do a bit of rabble-rousing. The public can see the problems of inequality, and they become disenchanted with the traditional political parties. They therefore seek change by supporting these populist Parties and politicians who have no real intent except to exploit ordinary people for their own benefit. And the traditional politicians always seem to think that the way to defeat this lurch towards authoritarianism is to shift towards that same style of leadership.

 

But does this ever improve things? So far, the opposite seems to be true. We’ve already had anti-immigration riots in the UK, and things have gone even further in the USA with the murder of the CEO of a Health Insurance Company. Let me say right at the outset that murder of anyone is unacceptable. We may feel little empathy for the victim, but that does not mean we should celebrate any death, especially in a manner so reminiscent of Wild West vigilante killings. Having said that, this murder has produced a very bizarre reaction in the USA and around the globe. Again, we may not endorse the killer’s motives, but perhaps we can understand how someone can be driven to such extremes by a system which so blatantly works against the interests of the majority of citizens. What this killing has done is shine a light, if any were needed, on the gross unfairness of the US medical insurance system where people are denied treatment while the Insurance Companies rake in enormous profits, rewarding their senior employees and shareholders accordingly.

 

There are many other examples of corporate greed, and these are not confined to the USA. I need only mention PPE contracts or English Water Companies as examples of this culture.

 

But where will it lead next? That’s the really worrying thing, especially in the USA where guns are fairly easily available. Are we going to see more vigilante killings of top Executives? I sincerely hope not. On the other hand, will those greedy Companies alter their behaviour patterns? I suspect that they won’t. We may see some temporary gestures of less cruel methods of behaviour, but the corporate culture is so strongly oriented towards profits at any cost that I doubt any slight relaxation will last very long. Of course, such a relaxation is what is required. People need to be put above profits. More importantly, people must see that this is the shape of priorities. Without that, disgust and anger is never going to dissipate, especially as inequality continues to increase.

 

Unfortunately, I fear that the response of many in the corporate world in the USA will be to entrench themselves, possibly using hired bodyguards and having their Executives live inside homes which are more like fortresses. We’ve all seen the dystopian movies or read the dystopian books about just such a future. It may be a long way off, but we could well be on the first steps along that street.

 

Here in Scotland, we are not immune to such problems. We know that our death rates from drugs and alcohol are far too high, and we know that poverty levels, while better than elsewhere in the UK thanks to the Scottish Government’s mitigation schemes, are still far too high. Our riots may be smaller scale, but they do happen, with terrifying consequences for members of the emergency services.

 

Is there a way out of this bleak future? If we remain part of the UK, I’m struggling to see how we can escape the continuation of social and wealth inequality. Naturally, I’m going to suggest that becoming a normal, self-governing country could help us shape a different future. There is no guarantee of that, of course, because we have our fair share of business people who have been brought up in the culture of corporate greed, but if our Government showed us a different way, with a focus on wellbeing rather than on profit, we might have a chance. That’s not to advocate some sort of socialist Utopia, because that’s an idealistic dream, but Scotland has such a wealth of natural resources, along with a history of producing talented people, that we can surely create an economy where profits are used for the benefit of the wider public rather than for the benefit of a handful of wealthy individuals.

 

Naturally, you could expect the media to loudly proclaim that threatening to tax the rich would only result in them fleeing the country. That may well be true, but keep in mind that these people are, by and large, not wealth creators but wealth hoarders. Any wealth they do create stays with them. As a rule, the majority of jobs they create pay the minimum wage in order to produce higher profits. But keep in mind that, if these wealthy individuals leave, they cannot take their fixed assets with them. Homes and businesses with a fixed location would either need to be sold or run from outside Scotland. And if they choose the latter course, all the Scottish Government needs to do is introduce a tax law similar to the one the UK used to have before Margaret Thatcher did away with it. Under such a law, a business must pay any taxes as if it were owned within Scotland even if the ownership structure moves offshore.

 

What all this boils down to is that, while we can never abolish inequality, we need to ensure that it does not operate at the ridiculous levels we are seeing today. There’s nothing wrong with a business owner becoming wealthy thanks to the product or service they offer, but everyone in their Company should be better off. Again, legislation limiting the multiplier of top earnings against the lowest paid employee could help maintain equality.

 

So we need a better social contract, an economy based on wellbeing, and a simplified tax system which reduces the chances of any tax avoidance. First, though, we need to become a normal country. Independence is not a goal in itself, it is merely the starting point to creating a more equal society which is in keeping with Scottish history and tradition. That’s not meant to sound parochial or backwards-looking because Scotland has invented so many of the things that people around the world take for granted nowadays. With the right encouragement, we can create a future with even more new ideas and technologies, as long as we don’t forget that the aim of these things is to make life better for everyone, not only for a few.