Edinburgh is set to have a demonstration against the government's criminal bank bailout, at the Corporate Headquarters of HBOS.
The top of the Mound in Edinburgh's Old Town is a symbolic and apt choice of rally point for this protest, with the corporate headquarters of HBOS (one of the crisis banks set to be bailed) out and the High Court just across the road. HBOS even has a public "Museum of Money" in its building.
Interestingly, the protest seems to have first been announced on a facebook group called "We wont pay for your crisis", and begun by a person calling themselves Tom Joad, a character from John Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath', who is angered and radicalised by the 1930's the economic crisis and exploitation of that time.
The description of the facebook group states: "The banks are being bailed out with £500 billion of our money. This is 5 times what the government spends on the NHS per year. Due to the greed of the bankers and speculators, there will be rising unemployment, lowering of wages, rising bills, public services cuts. Let's meet at HBOS headquarters on the Mound and tell them that they won't get away with this robbery."
This planned protest comes quickly in the wake of a lively student and Socialist Worker Party demonstration about the financial crisis in the centre of the City of London on Friday 10th. The Edinburgh protest no doubt aims to be a similarly heated event.
We can all see that the militant rhetoric of the facebook group is correct. Ordinary people like ourselves will get hit twice by the governments plans to rescue the banks - Firstly, we, the ordinary people, are paying for the bailout - this will happen through higher taxes. service cuts and benefit cuts. These things hit those who cant afford it hardest.
Not only will we have to spend our tax money to correct the mistakes of the greedy bankers, but Secondly the economic collapse, that they caused, will mean that we cant afford our repayments on our mortgages and secured loans. This is because this crisis will will mean that we will lose our jobs, wages, pensions and benefits, and we will see a rise in the cost of living, making ordinary people poorer. This means that for many of us our homes are now at risk of repossession from those same banks we will be bailing out.
Instead, what should be happening is that our £500 billion be used to guarantee that our homes will not be repossessed, that our jobs wont be lost, and wages wont be cut. However, with this bailout plan, the banks will be getting our tax money, and our homes, and most likely aim to continue business as usual. This is criminal!
See you at 16:30 on the 24th, at the top of the mound.
Comments
Hide the following 6 comments
typo...
11.10.2008 22:37
the "SWP demo in london on the 10th October" sentence shouldnt be there, can an editor delete that sentence please? I cut and pasted the article from scotland indymedia, and it pasted the photo caption into that paragraph :(
Thanks! :)
PS: Would be nice if IMC UK had a login function where i could edit my post; we can in scotland you know! ;)
Makhno
Homepage:
http://scotland.indymedia.org
and here!
11.10.2008 22:40
this sentence shouldnt appear: "HBOS on the mound (center), near the high court (right)". Again, a cut and paste problem! I should have read it over after pasting :(
Makhno
Homepage:
http://scotland.indymedia.org
Changes done ...
12.10.2008 19:37
By the way, you mention:
"PS: Would be nice if IMC UK had a login function where i could edit my post; we can in scotland you know! ;)"
Yes, true, that would be a good functionality, which, by the way, the new IMC-London website soon to be launched has, if a contributor chooses to register an account.
See:
maqui
UPDATE!
14.10.2008 16:23
It is still on Friday the 24th, and still starting at the same place.
Makhno
Homepage:
http://scotland.indymedia.org
surcharge the councillors
14.10.2008 17:43
Councils are quick to take people to court if they have not paid their local taxes, now the boot is on the other foot. They have been reckless with our money and we expect to get it back.
This was not the fault of the local community and therefore it should not be the local community that has to pay with higher taxes and cuts in services.
Officials who were reckless with our money should be made to pay with their jobs.
It was common knowledge that there was problems in Iceland.
People have already taken to the streets in Edinburgh. Widespread civil unrest will take place if any attempt is made to cuts services and increase taxes and no attempt is made to bring to book those responsible for losing our money.
Keith
And ermm RSB?
14.10.2008 21:00
jo