Government please note: a new ‘security QE’ programme would fund our social, environmental and defence shortfalls

An article by Colin Hines, the convenor of the UK Green New Deal group, written in a personal capacity, may be read in full on the blog hosted by the Green Alliance. 

Summary

The article opens by saying that the appalling events in the Ukraine, coupled with the recent chilling report from the IPCC, suggest that the world is on the verge of being too late to cope with the climate and nature crisis.  The spiralling cost of living crisis, the rapid erosion of social provision for our basic needs and the lack of secure, adequately paid jobs to tackle all these issues is becoming ever more apparent.

A new massive ‘security QE’ programme is needed to tackle our social, environmental and defence shortfalls

A way forward is shown by the way in which the systemic shocks of the 2008 banking crisis and Covid were mitigated. Between 2009 and 2021, the government, via the Bank of England, created £895 billion of new money using quantitative easing (QE).

A report by Richard Murphy and Colin Hines showed last year how this could be leveraged to raise the tens of billions of pounds needed to make all the UK’s 30 million buildings energy efficient and create jobs in every constituency. The potential for further social purposes for these savings clearly exists.

This report proposed that the UK government should seek to reallocate part of the annual savings of UK residents so that they are redirected towards funding the cost of the UK’s transition to being a sustainable economy.

The Office for National Statistics recently estimated that there are £1,933 billion of net savings in the UK, in addition to pension wealth of £6,445 billion.  Together these represent 55% of the UK’s total wealth, including property ownership.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics/commentary-for-annual-savings-statistics-june-2021 

Major sources of additional taxes could be used to help fund the social infrastructure and jobs required for a secure green economy, building on the new determination to sanction oligarchs, shell companies, tax havens and their facilitators.

This combination of funding sources is what Hines has referred to before as a QuEST: Quantitative Easing, Savings and Taxation, a concept developed with Richard Murphy, in consultation with other members of the Green New Deal group.

Such epoch making shifts in policy, underpinned by funding as described, could result in the achievement of crucial national and regional security goals. These would encompass adequate defence, tackling the climate and cost of living crises, and a massive increase in the provision of basic social needs. This could be organised to provide secure, adequately paid jobs and predominantly local business opportunities.

The nuclear threat must be removed. (See references here)

Colin Hines finds that it is now becoming increasingly apparent that there will be massive political pressure for a solution to the cost of living crisis, and a damaging interaction with cuts to health, housing, education provision and other public services.

 

 

 

 

o

 

 

 

 

 

o

 

 

 

 

o