credit crisis
Articles about the financial crisis or "credit crunch" of 2008.
A brief history of the crisis
A concise background to the current financial crisis and recession.
However it may seem, the current crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. Following WWII, the government and employers were keen to appease a population weary from years of war and rationing.
What recession means for us
An analysis of the likely impact of the coming recession on workers' lives and a rallying call for collective action to mitigate that impact.
The recession is here. We're told to tighten our belts and brace ourselves for redundancies, wage and service cuts. Politicians and business leaders are united in saying we should pay for a crisis not of our making [see box for a brief history of the crisis]. A recession is simply when the economy shrinks for 6 months in a row.
The biggest ‘october surprise’ of all: a world capitalist crash - Loren Goldner
Loren Goldner's analysis of the recent global financial crisis.
Loren Goldner
October 2008
“There will be periods of 30 years which will pass with the seeming importance of a single day, and single days with the importance of 30 years.” (old Marxist maxim)
Inflation: rising prices and the 2% pay ceiling
An analysis of the use of inflation to attack workers' conditions.
If the government were to announce that it was cutting the wages of all workers - public and private sector - there would presumably be uproar. And yet this is exactly what they have done by calling for ‘pay restraint’ and insisting all wage rises are capped at 2%. Make no mistake, a sub-inflation pay ‘rise’ is a pay cut. No amount of statistical trickery changes this simple fact.
General strike over prices brings Belgium to a halt
A nationwide strike against rising prices disrupted transport, retailing and manufacturing across Belgium on Monday.
High-speed international rail services in and out of the country to France, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands were cancelled and picketing disrupted the port of Antwerp.
Workers were protesting in advance of the government's 2009 budget to demand action on inflation and the rising cost of living.
