Poster: Jubilee Debt Campaign
This poster outlines the overarching demands of the Jubilee Debt campaign including 1) debt cancellation (of unjust/illegitimate debt); 2) control lending and capital flows (regulate finance!!) and: 3) tax justice. The suggestions to bring this change about include: solidarity with debt activists in developing countries, awareness raising in the UK, activism (e-activism, sports, protests), lobbying and advocacy and empowerement + grassroots public education on economics. Some of the weakeness however include not having enough power to affect the change needed, and the public’s lack of time, headspace and money which has resulted from the financial/economic crisis and austerity.
Poster: Debt on Teesside
This poster discusses the Debt on Teesside event (June 27th, 2014). Some of the key objectives are to influence politicians, senior managers in the 3rd sector re policies including a round table with MPs, LAs etc.,using banking data, banning payday loans adverts, toxic High Sts. Another aim is to influence practictioners through debt advice workers, credit unions etc. money mentoring and practice workshops. Campaigns include cap on cost of credit, data sharing, affordability checks and reform to rent-to-own sector – Buy-as you-view.
Poster: Payday Lending
This poster discusses payday lending and sets out the following objectives: to make both cosmetic and transformative modifications to the payday lending industry. Cosmetic modifications include: observation of existing rules and regulations including credit checking and repayment plans. Transformative modifications include: cap on the cost of credit and then eventually making the industry surplus to requirements. The poster then asks: How do we do this? and answers: 1) by knowing who to target (Politicians, industry, regulators, agitators, campaigners and; 2) by knowing the subject by reading regulatory reports, the F.T,, gathering testimony to chuck at targets and importantly to have unrealistic goals but be honest if/when they are met/not met.
Poster: UK Debt Audit
This paper looks at the UK Debt Audit (draft paper available from david@dewhurst.net). The poster first addresses funding sources. These sources may include funding by voluntary citizens, Institutional funding (e.g. Joseph Rowntree foundation, Reform Trust, Charities, Uniions), funding in association with NGO’s, consultants and researchers, crowd funding and academic student projects.
The poster then asks by whom? and answers: radical (ish) academics, finance sector retirees, independent researchers, activists, bright people on the street, the Treasury, Bank of England, collaboration with European Debt Organizations.
The poster then poses the question Why?: and states that we need to know ‘what is’ before we can address the issue with intellectual honesty.
The follow up question of What? is then posed: The poster suggests this occurs through interlinked domains a) national; b) local authority, regional (-ised services), PFI’s on utilities; c) personal; d) between financial institutions; e) between non-financial institutions; f) owed into the UK; g) owed out of UK to foreign entities and; h) tax haven linked debt as a form of tax avoidance.
Some of the key steps in the UK Debt Audit include: co-ordinating, collaborating, generating a buy-in, agreeing ground positions and sustaining engagement
Poster: Local Government Issues and Options
This poster outlines a multi-layered approach to Local Government Issues and Options. Strating from the top the poster looks at Banking, FInance, Pension Funds (Cambridge and Counter Bank owned by pension fund + Trinity House to support SME’s). The question is asked: How do we put together a silo busting action plan to coordinate policy response. The next layer looks at spending and procurement in the supply chain (Collective purchasing/community energy). Some of the issues include apprenticeships, tax avoidance, local suppliers (Sussex). The third layer looks at employement/labour market relations and strategic planning/housing. Some of the suggestions here inclue promoting co-ops (housing, energy), reducing service demand (i.e. welfare and healthcare). The fourth layer addresses civil leadership and states that we need a debt resilience strategy, a road map and leadership to drive implementation. The final layer looks at raising the profile of debt problems and solutions (i.e. emergeny loans).This includes working with those in debt to schedule debt repayment plans around circumstance (i.e. for zero hours contracts), taxonomy of debt resilience strategy.
First published May 2014
Discuss this article