Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Sustainable public services



Helping create sustainable public services
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Regarding a new booklet: 

   'The tragedy of the private, the potential of the public'

Publication Date: 
14 March, 2014

Hilary Wainwright for
Public Services International (PSI) *

This booklet presents anti-privatisation campaigns by PSI affiliates around the world. From South Africa to Brazil, from Italy to the US, in Uruguay, Greece, Norway, the UK and in many other countries, municipal councils are taking services back under their control.


*Public Services International brings together more than 20 million workers, represented by 650 unions in 148 countries and territories. We are a global trade union federation dedicated to promoting quality public services in every part of the world. Our members, two-thirds of whom are women, work in social services, health care, municipal and community services, central government, and public utilities such as water and electricity.

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Regarding this booklet, John Courtneidge offers: 

I've briefly looked at this booklet and can offer three thoughts - all of which flow from the possibility of Co-operative Socialism (for which, please see the papers' section at www.interestfreemoney.org.uk - a work in progress.

So:

1) Finance - our work in the UK Parliament to provide capital for public services is gathered at our sister site, www.forumforstablecurrencies.org.uk - you will see the support that it gained from those MPs who are democratic socialists.  The lead worker on this is Sabine McNeill.

2) Asset lock - to sustainably - permanently - deprofitise public services needs asset locks that cannot be undone.  In organisational terms, please consider the community co-operative model in the plan for Co-operative Socialism.  These have parallels, to some degree (see below) in the 'Crown Corporations' in Canada.

3) Finally, even within asset-protected structures dysfunction emerges (it's the 'Corporate Degeneration' thesis: things become conservative as they age).  The health of any organisation depends on its income distribution (see 'The Spirit Level' and associated web-site www.equalitytrust.org.uk - Michael Marmot's Whitehall Study is an early example of this as it relates to the public service).

Our work at the Bromley Income Equality Group - in association with My Fair London and The Equality Trust - introduces a randomocracy variant of the Fairness Commission - which leads to a Fair Pay policy determination by the effective employers - the elector data-base.

Please contact me if any of this appeals/needs clarification.

For all- the best! - equally!

john

John Courtneidge
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