#104

Yes - to put it simplistically, with much more money chasing the same amount of goods worldwide means worldwide inflation - depending on how the cash is distributed in some areas possibly hyperinflation.

That’s not to say that aspects of @_Em’s suggestion aren’t a good idea if approached with care.

#105

So basically the problem is that capitalism doesn’t really work unless large numbers of people live in poverty and a small elite live in fabulous luxury with huge amounts of wealth being hoarded?

#106

Also it should be a source of massive national shame that a lot of these money laundering centres are UK jurisdictions. Like I think in most people’s mind the Cayman Islands are some independent banana republic, not a territory like Gibraltar. Which is very convenient for the people taking advantage of these loopholes.

#107

But “money” is not really a proper store of wealth. The real wealth gap - genuine inequality - comes from asset/resource hoarding, not cash hoarding.

#108

yeah, but maybe the lunch was like a £250 lunch? makesuthink

#109

£60 per week was the offer.

#110

And what exactly does one use to buy up assets and resources?

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#111

ah, so a £240 lunch each month. I’m in!!

#112

The best example that I can think of is probably PPI payments post-2010. These were in effect an enforced, direct wealth transfer from financial institutions to the population (albeit ones who had been able to take out mortgages). It’s what kept the UK out of a double-dip recession between 2010 and the oil price collapse:

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#113

In essence, you’re really trading labour, skill, knowledge or other assets or resources. That all just happens to be “represented” by cash in our current financial system.

#114

you might have played yourself with this one.

#115

All of which are rapidly losing their value for most workers in the race for the bottom, but profits and shareholder measured in monetary terms are not dropping, in fact are often at record highs for firms. As the slogan says “profits are the unpaid wages of the workers”

#116

My point is that “wealth” that is just sitting in the form of cash in offshore bank accounts is not something that is redistributable in any meaningful way. Redistribution is only possible by altering systemic economic and political imbalances and barriers to access to genuine wealth.

#117

Started uni in 2008, but we never had any money anyway and my parents were struggling before the crisis, so I’ve never really seen a difference in living standards despite the fact that I and my parents are all earning more money than we were then.

#118

This is just sounding like meaningless sophistry to me.

#119

That assumes supply and demand economics which wouldn’t have to be the case with redistributed wealth

#120

“Wealth” and “cash” are far from synonyms when talking about redistribution. Redistributing cash would be a fruitless exercise.

#121

Obivously we’d be redistributing land and housing

#122

Redistributing how?

#123

I think he’s arguing that redistribution works best when you also overthrow capitalism.

It’s good to finally have him on board…