Economics

We reproduce here a report from the [Robin Hood Tax](http://robinhoodtax.org/latest/g20-verdict) campaign website in relation to the meeting of the G20. Who supports it, who will try to block it and how it could help the Eurozone emerge from its current crisis. As even some bankers are now talking about being responsible, the momentum for this tax keeps growing.

While European politicians are spending millions of euro on never-ending summits to seek the best way how to further fund their banks through new re-capitalisation plans, cooperatives silently gather over 800 million people in 100 countries, employing more than 100 million persons worldwide—that’s 20% more than the multinationals, without due attention from politicians.

Smallholder farmers, who produce up to 80 per cent of all food in some areas, mainly in Africa, “face the risk of exploitation under contract farming arrangements with processing or marketing companies,” according to UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, who presented his annual report to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee

Richard Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus of social epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, explains in a TED session how inequality harms society, not just the poor but also the rich. Not a moment too soon, in order to add to the discussion taking place globally by the Occupy/Indignados/ArabSpring movement about setting the basis of a new society.

The system of debt continues to devastate the lives of people around the world. People in the South face the daily impacts and consequences of the financial indebtedness of their countries, which far from having been “relieved” is growing in step with the crisis and the pursuit of extraordinary profits by the most concentrated forms of capital.

The similarities between our present behaviour toward the almighty Markets and our ancestors’ toward their rather difficult to please gods could not be more obvious. We build Temples (Banks) to them, we obey their Priests (Economists) and we make sacrifices (health, education, welfare) to appease them. But the marble gods crumbled anyway; and Europe should learn from its past.

The crisis in the economic system has been well anticipated by those who noticed the complex and esoteric way in which modern Monetarism creates scarcity through taking money out of a hat to lend it, but not making enough to repay with interests. Speculation then concentrates it. Challenges to such bizarre and poverty creating system are not tolerated. Oct 15th Wake Up Day.

UK commuters face an 8 to13% increase in rail fares, well above the rate of inflation, whilst Stagecoach, one of the private rail companies, announces a return of £340m in profits to shareholders – including an £88m payment to two chief executives. Meanwhile the inevitable austerity driven “double dip recession” looms across major economies but the banks refuse to lend.

The Venezuelan Minister for Energy and Oil, Rafael Ramírez, said bringing home the gold is a measure that will strengthen the economy and sovereignty. He also defended the government project to nationalise gold mining in the country. The Venezuelan executive announced on Wednesday that it will recover the gold deposited in countries such as the UK, the USA and Canada.

The greed of people as they accumulate wealth and resort to Riba (transactions involving usury and interest) are the causes of the current global credit crisis, according to an eminent and erudite Muslim and one of the leaders of the Muslim community in India.