Past Conflicts Present Feuds

Staggered into London yesterday, it was not one of the better trips; hot , humid, very crowded and with foul air quality, luckily the performance made it just about worth the journey. But there was one thing that caught the eye.

The current flag of the Duchy of Lancaster was being flown rather than a Union Jack over a building owned by the Crown. It is by the Savoy Hotel and this part of the Strand was the fabulous Palace of Savoy of the Middle Ages that was home to the Dukes of Lancaster when they were not rampaging around their other estates and in dynastic conflicts.

Later, it became a Royal Peculiar; that is a location that was outside the normal legal system with literally having its own laws. It was a favourite haunt of debtors, minor criminals and people with a reason to set themselves apart from others. Quite unlike the Savoy Hotel of today which hosts only the superior kinds of such people.

One of the fictions of present myths is that the dynastic conflict between the Houses of York and Lancaster somehow equated with the much later provisions for the Counties in local government, sport and the rest. The main base of the Lancastrians was the Honour of Pontefract from the castle there and taking in a large part of mid Yorkshire.

One of their major supporting magnate families were the de Welles, based in Lincolnshire and around. Similarly the Yorkists were well spread out across the land. So all those people, as for example at Butlins’s Holiday Camps who were engaged in rivalries were encouraged to believe that this somehow mirrored the chivalry of the Middle Ages.

This ancient dispute seems to be resurfacing amongst the many fractures now in our political system. At the Royal Wedding, the Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice of York made a blatant fashion statement to attract attention and the support of the fashionista celebrity London media needing to protest against the domesticity and tradition of the Lancastrian factions.

This was retaliation against the spurning of the Duchess of York and the sniping at the present Duke of York. He, in the meantime, has been cultivating a number of our richer and more commercial politicians and their associated oligarchs. He has visited a number of wealthy tyrant magnates on their behalf to build a power network of formidable strength.

Historically, there have been few monarchs named Eugenie, one was the Empress of the French Second Empire of 1851-1870 who retreated in exile until 1920 to deepest Hampshire, Farnborough, adjacent to the rifle ranges of the Aldershot Garrison. Her only son died with the British Army in South Africa caught in open ground by a Zulu impi.

This Eugenie was much admired in Paris during her reign for her cultural, fashion and style interests but the levels of conspicuous consumption entailed amongst her elite did a great deal to encourage the spread of socialism amongst the masses and the eventual creation of a Third Republic.

She was a maternal grand daughter of William Kirkpatrick of Closeburn in the County of Dumfries, not far north of where Robert Burns farmed at Ellisland. Her later family married into the Battenburg (Mountbatten) family of Prince Philip and that of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, one of the unluckier monarchs of history who upset General Franco.

My problem is that in England if the simmering rivalry between the Houses of York and Lancaster emerge again which side should I be on? It is all very complicated.

And history is not much of a guide; perhaps I should read some Burns again?

Playing Politics

Whilst our child politicians continue with their various games of tag and leapfrog in the junior playground, in the senior one the big boys are being to fight again. It is beginning to get rough there as the things they want are in short supply, chiefly money and there is too much confusion about they ought to be doing.

It won’t be long before some of them are back amongst the politician juniors wanting to take whatever they have whether they want to give it or not. We little people in the infant and nursery playground can only wonder what is in store for us. The juniors will be coming to us to make up for their losses.

The difficulty is that it seems that the card and other gambling games that are the main feature amongst the seniors because so many of the cards are marked and the dice loaded nobody really knows who has what and what one owes to another. On top of these the game of bulls and bears is turning bad again where so many of them have bet so much money.

We infants have been kept happy with pretty pictures and visits from clowns and other entertainers. Also, we have been made lots of promises of more parties and fun to come. Unluckily there is a rumour that the teachers may soon come back from the public house and we will be back scratching at our slates with pencils and learning that sparing the rod spoils the child.

But even the teachers have trouble with the big boys. The result is something of a stand off where the seniors go through the motions but are then allowed to do exactly as they want when teacher tips the wink or looks the other way.

There are times when the teachers go in with the boots and fists but only at the weaker of the big boys. It does serve however to cause the others to remember their place. It is not the law of the jungle; that is much nicer place where the creatures tend to take care of their young and normally eat only what they need.

Unluckily, the seniors are not like that. As well as taking everything they do enjoy mindless vandalism and arson. They often call it creative destruction because out of the ruins something new will emerge.

The trouble is it is often bigger than needed, ugly and costs a fortune to keep up. Quite why the teachers think this is a good idea nobody is sure, perhaps it is that it is not long since they were big boys and have not quite lost the habits.

Ring a ring a roses, a pocket full of posies, a’tishoo a’tishoo, we all fall down.

A Girl's Best Friend

The world may be tottering and all may be confusion, but at least the political philosophers still seek to address the great questions before us. The Mises Institute has published two articles on the subject of household washing.

One is to illustrate how so much of our government now is self defeating in most of its activities. The other suggests that for all the “progress” things are actually getting worse. This thesis might apply to many other things.

http://mises.org/daily/5263/The-Attack-on-the-Washing-Machine

http://mises.org/daily/5267/Why-Everything-Is-Dirtier

In the developed world over the last half century the domestic washing machine has had a major impact on all households and how they function. Arguably, it has been one of the most “liberating” features of the age for many women.

Before then, it was perhaps the sewing machine that had held this role. This is vividly illustrated by Betty Hutton in this 1947 film with the undertone that the machines may have helped many women in the home but had meant that they were only released for hard factory work at low pay.
The same might be said of washing machines in their turn and for other work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=999ph8iRT4o

They don’t make them like that any more.

Power To The People

When a government talks about decentralising or others chant “Power to the people” or we assume that by devolving administration or powers of decision to localities that there will be the people who want to and will take on this work.

Over the last three decades in the UK we have seen the atrophy of the major political parties and the others might have numbers of subscribers there can still be a dearth of those who want to be active.

One way or another with all the complexities of our personal lives these days together with all the techie gear to entertain us and grab our attention for the young it is hard to get interested or started and for the older there really are other, better or worse, things to do.

Essentially, these leaves us with either those wanting to push themselves forward or who see something for themselves there and those with long standing family connections or with a belief in one thing or another.

As you look around the UK now compared to the past there is a dearth of voluntary work being done together with those societies etc. still functioning they do so with many fewer members and a preponderance of older people.

Recent government has not helped by creating higher hurdles for reasons of health and safety, complex employment laws, who can do what when, who is liable for what and how and the need generally to seek formal and expensive permission to do many things.

One of the most striking things is with extended education together with more strictly controlled and more expensive voluntary work so few young people are able actually to work at something, organise it, put together initiatives and the rest without embroiling themselves with complex bureaucracy.

In any case the schools they attend today and the impact of the media notions of lifestyle and the rest impact on the images of what a young person should be and it is not someone doing much for others.

At the age of 17 or so did I and my friends really hire halls, book the bands, organise the cloakrooms and the catering and take care of the money?

Meanwhile in other places they cannot find people to take on the business of local government:

http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/tshogpas-gone/

Are we going the way of Bhutan or is it already worse?

Taxing Questions

We have now had a period when major stories have commanded the media together with the fall out from the very messy election and referendum campaigns. While these go on many other issues vanish from sight. Given what could develop, they might stay out of sight for some time yet.

Drought or more problems arising from the nuclear reactors in Japan or other events around the Mediterranean could be occupying the media space as well as any impacts they may have in the UK.

It is tempting to go with the mainstream but if I have nothing much to add then perhaps picking away at some matters with long term implications might seem to be avoiding the big ticket things but they may be more important for the future.

There seems to be a lot of odd business going in the question of UK taxation. When New Labour with all its mysterious intricacies and money flows within fell from power there was a hope that a fresh and fairer approach might emerge.

This does not seem to be the case. If anything it is not simply business as usual in the London Village, in some respects it may be worse. The selling off of HMRC premises for cash and going into leasehold/rental may have seemed clever. But the substantial annual sums payable over many years will cost a great deal and moreover are going to people and places whose UK tax liability is minimal.

Recent editions of “Private Eye” have been plugging away at what the HMRC is up to and the sight of its top man doing sweetheart deals with the likes of Vodaphone and Goldman Sachs is not a pretty one. Especially, as he seems to be taking decisions without reference to either law or internal advice.

There are other things too. Nicholas Shaxson notes this one:

http://treasureislands.org/britain-outsources-tax-collection-to-criminal-facilitators/

This picks up on other stories:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6b4f2fb2-74da-11e0-a4b7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1LJ1j7qxr

And from another standpoint:

http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2011/05/03/lets-just-call-it-an-endorsement-of-criminality-or-a-slap-in-the-face-for-honest-taxpayers/

This is one to make you wonder, The British Virgin Islands and Russian roads:

http://bankwatch.org/documents/Vinci_oligarchs_taxhavens_Khimki.pdf

Then:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/07/tax-city-heist-of-century

And:

http://taxjustice.blogspot.com/2011/05/private-eye-on-cdc-and-london-laundry.html

In the meantime:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Household-FAce-Biggest-Squeeze-Since-1870-As-Incomes-Fall-By-780-According-To-Deloitte/Article/201105115984437?f=rss

Some of these may be from the viewpoint of the Left, such as it is. But there are a lot of people now from other areas of politics who wonder not only just where is all the money going but how on earth we can raise enough to do what is necessary.

The famous 1979 Tory poster said “Labour Isn’t Working”. It does not look as though our taxation system at present is working. This may be another legacy from Labour but the present government could be making matters worse.

When a tax system becomes so inequitable that not only does a regime lose control of it but if the only people they can collect from cannot afford them and revolt then regime change will occur.

It is happening in other places a good question is when it will begin to occur in one part of Europe or another. Certainly, the EU tax and spend policies are making matters even worse.

The History Men

Just as the aftershocks off Honshu continue so those of the Brown and Blair years do in UK politics. In the last few days, while other things were going on, the head teachers union voted for a strike at an alleged 98% in favour. This followed a similar move by other teaching unions.

Little mention in the media was made of the 2006 government agreements implemented in 2007 which gave a number of “improvements” to retirement provisions for teachers; nor of the gradual relaxation of conditions and other improvements made down the years.

The teacher’s pension scheme is an “unfunded” one which was founded and run for many decades on the basis of the contributions made by employers and teachers year by year meeting the outgoings of pensions payable to those retired.

In the time of my father’s education before the First World War there was relative price and wages stability and in any case the qualified teachers were in a minority in the schools. By the time I was in school there were still many unqualified and outside the scheme but of those who were entitled many did not make it to take their pensions at 65 for men and 60 for women.

In any case for both sexes of teacher the effect of wars on one and family needs on the other meant that a good many of those who did make it over the last fence did not put in enough years to have full entitlement.

Until the 1970’s moreover, there was no adjustment for inflation nor were there widow’s pensions or provision for early retirement other than in the most serious medical cases. By then the drive was on to end unqualified teachers and to extend the training and increase the qualifications of all and by definition pay and eventual pensions.

Additionally, all the salaries were determined on publicly based national scales centrally determined. So by the 1960’s a Head teacher retiring from a £2,000 a year job would have £1,000 or less and a teacher on the basic scales from around £750 at the top of their scale to £375 or less.

Over the last three decades, early retirement moved from being a device to clear older teachers to make way for new more highly qualified ones with longer training to what became a “right” along with a raft of other tweaking to add to the liabilities.

The theory was that the uprating of the teachers and their salaries would give the extra inputs of contributions to meet the added expenses of earlier and longer retirements of relatively lower paid teachers, especially as a period of surpluses had occurred.

That all this might begin to run out at some time and the question of deficits arise was all put out of people’s minds. This was a decade or two away. Then the central government began to change the way the schools were run and notably, pay at the top end.

So now we can have someone on £100,000 retiring on a £50,000 a year pension, index linked, at not long over 50 years of age. They may have worked for 35 years or less yet be retired for 30 or more years.

This was never going to add up. No wonder the relevant Head teachers voted to strike if this was going to be taken away from them.

The trouble is that Gordon Brown and friends not only needed to buy the teachers and their influence on the voters but they believed that the Goldilocks economy would cover any deficits especially if covered by managed inflation. Already most of capital spending on schools was shifted off balance sheet to PFI.

The trouble is that if you pay a group of employees more then you create a greater eventual pension liability on a final salary scheme. If it is a scheme based on those paying in, if this falls short where does the money come from to cover the payments?

Does it come from taxes? That is everyone becomes contributors indirectly. Does it come from raiding other schemes, in the case of New Labour the private pension sector? Does it come from reserves? But we have no reserves and Gordon sold the gold. Does it come from borrowing? This just puts off the evil day.

Does it come from inflating the economy by creating money? We have tried that before and it finished in disaster. In our globalised world now we could never get away with that one in the way that Wilson and Heath tried to.

The teacher’s pension fund now does not and will not work on the existing basis. This is especially the case if those who do retire at the highest levels of salary and at an early age are taking out historically far greater multiples of pension than those from ordinary levels of salary.

The teachers pension scheme is just one example of the serious and damaging mess that almost all public sector pension schemes were left in by 2010 for the governments of the future to sort out.

I understand that History these days is little taught in schools.

Spinning For Poodles

We think that the world of spin, the doctoring of information and presenting it in a new light is all very modern. But it seems it was alive and literally kicking in the 17th Century during the Civil Wars.

Prince Rupert was an able and feared commander of the Royalist Cavalry. Also, he liked to hunt. But whilst being nobody’s poodle himself, his preferred dog was a Red Hunting Poodle.

You may find this difficult to believe but see the link below to “Past Horizons”.

http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/04/2011/who-was-afraid-of-prince-ruperts-dog

The breed is still alive and biting although one with a less elite following today. Google or Bing “Red Hunting Poodle” and you will find where to buy one.

They are featured also on Youtube as you many imagine, which is bad news for ducks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYJ74xwzmpc

At the moment I am fantasizing as to which politicians I would like to chase round the Royal Parks with a pack of Red Hunting Poodles.