Report of the GREEN ECONOMY WORKING GROUP

Mercy J. Harmer, MAY 2002

First the good news from my point of view - Miriam Kennet has agreed to take over the organisation of this group so this will be my last newsletter. She now has time to get more involved with Green Party activities once again after being diverted by other commitments for some time- so you can now look forward to more efficiency than I have been able to provide recently, (as is shown by the time I have taken to report on our discussions at Scarborough in March!).

MIRIAM'S ADDRESS IS

6, STRACHEY CLOSE, TIDMARSH, READING, RG8 8EP Tel. 0118 984 5194

At Scarborough we considered what subjects we might explore in the future and we came up with the following list:

1. The success of corporate power.

2. Limited Liability.

3. The problem of rising debt - in the UK as well as elsewhere. (Someone's comment: Debt problems are a symptom of exploitation).

4 Consumption patterns - in relation to food, durable goods, building materials etc. What resources are we using and should we be encouraging alternative patterns? And do exports need to equal imports?

5. How do Green politics relate to the current pensions debate and pensions problems?

6. Tax Havens.

7. Definitions of Money

8. Money use in Sustainable Economies. (Question: Does expansion in the money supply lead to economic expansion or merely to inflation?)

9. The Housing Situation, - and why rises in house prices are considered a "good thing".

10. Planning Questions - Who should be responsible for decision -making?

11. Land Value Taxation - Would this bring the benefits that its advocates expect or are there other economic factors, (e.g. money-power), which would frustrate their aims? (This is something which we should discuss with Guy Woodford).

We were reminded that one of our functions as a policy group should be to to PROMOTE agreed economic policies. So far we have been too busy exploring complicated facts and ideas, (particularly on money) to feel ready to promote any particular policies. Have we now reached the stage where we can move forward in this area?

We devoted one session to discussing Regional Time and Money Banks in preparation for a conference on this subject which William Gleeson was hoping to organise for the autumn. Due to lack of support from Regionalists and others. HE HAS NOW DECIDED TO POSTPONE THIS CONFERENCE. My own feeling is that the importance of this and other related subjects will become more apparent when the nature of our current money problems are more fully understood. This highlights another problem which needs to be tackled urgently. So far we have not succeeded in bridging the gap between Brian Leslie's and Jonathon Dixon's thinking on monetary subjects. I suspect that some of these difficulties stem partly from communication problems, - with words, phrases and implications being interpreted differently from what the writer intended because they each have different "patterns of thinking" so that what is merely a small gap can appear to be an unbridgeable chasm. I promised to look carefully at what the problems might be after the Scarborough conference but have not yet got around to keeping my promise!

4

index

next

back

index

have been well-known for since the time of Juan and Evita Peron. Besides, Sua is known to have long-term political ambitions. He was the front-runner among the Peronists to be their flag-bearer in the election that was due in 2003.

All indications are that Sua will tread cautiously while attempting to please the voter. At the same time he has to keep the international financial institutions happy.

Argentina had not too long ago enjoyed European standards of living. At the turn of the last century, Argentina was among the 10 richest countries in the world. Today, around 20 per cent of Argentinians live below the poverty line. Demonstrations have already begun outside the presidential palace to protest against the supplanting of one set of free marketeers by another.

--from Frontline (Indian Fortnightly) flonnet.com