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Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 22/n Last point and then I will stop for today: saw #Hamilton a few weeks ago and was really struck by how then it was possible to start a revolution, raise an army and WIN! Like, that would just be totally impossible now. The imbalance in military power, just as in wealth (and control over media etc etc) is just so VAST now. It’s impossible to beat. That’s why noone really even tries anymore.

Photo from a performance of Hamilton. Man in blue coat and tripod hat at front, raising sword. Not my Photo, taken from this website
11 April at 7:05 | Open on mastodon.green
15 comments
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 23/n. Sorry- one more! Just to end on a less bleak note: seeing this toot reminded me that, of course, that billionaire military might AI bleak dystopia is real,IS our world, but there is actually an even bigger reality here every day, in all of us, since forever. Which is that the vast majority of us humans basically just want a simple life, with family, friends, barbecues (ok maybe not perfect example but since it’s here). #FrugalAbundance

ohai.social/@archaeohistories/

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 23/n. Sorry- one more! Just to end on a less bleak note: seeing this toot reminded me that, of course, that billionaire military might AI bleak dystopia is real,IS our world, but there is actually an even bigger reality here every day, in all of us, since forever. Which is that the vast majority of us humans basically just want a simple life, with family, friends, barbecues (ok maybe not perfect example but since it’s here). #FrugalAbundance

11 April at 7:29 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 24/n. Like, watching the blue tits busy building their nest in the box outside our kitchen window, feeding their young, flying back and forth: most of us humans are so much closer to them than to scheming billionaires.

And: this forever (i hope forever- in peril due to other!) reality - of birds, trees, parents hugging children, just enjoying being together - this is perhaps the real reality. Or at least always also there. Mustn’t forget!

Nice photo of a pair of blue tits, outside their box, surrounded by green leaves. Not my own, from this website: https://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-to/wildlife-gardening/garden-bird-nestbox-guide
11 April at 7:39 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 25/n back to a reality most of us in the UK inhabit on a daily basis: the crumbling public sector. Found this report on NHS dentistry’s struggle for survival really very moving just now. #NHS #dentistry #UKpolitics

bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001y0kf

13 April at 10:39 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 26/n An outstanding review by Will Davies (my Goldsmiths colleague) of Brett Christopher’s “The Price is Wrong”: about our neoliberal political economy (using a Braudelian distinction btw “the market” and “capitalism” - SO useful) and how this explain why investments in fossil fuels continue to vastly outstrip those in renewables. Key point: Capitalism IS rent-seeking.
#ClimateEmergency

lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n07/wi

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 26/n An outstanding review by Will Davies (my Goldsmiths colleague) of Brett Christopher’s “The Price is Wrong”: about our neoliberal political economy (using a Braudelian distinction btw “the market” and “capitalism” - SO useful) and how this explain why investments in fossil fuels continue to vastly outstrip those in renewables. Key point: Capitalism IS rent-seeking.
#ClimateEmergency

18 April at 8:53 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§”27/n The piece btw contains a necessary critique of my sci-fi “money rules” take a few posts above. Although i still like the idea of all this being a kind of superorganism. But yes, it is about power - political economy, not just economy.

The effects of this economic settlement are all around us, in the spiralling wealth of financial elites, the dilapidated public realm, unaffordable housing and contin- ued investment in technologies - such as coal-powered generators - that harm us. Attributing all of this to 'the market', as if nobody designed it and there are no centres of power within it, prolongs the failure to understand it. Capitalism, unlike markets, has command centres. Capitalism, unlike markets, shrouds itself in complexity. On the other hand, the implication of The Price
18 April at 9:03 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 28/n But honestly, just read this piece - everything in this đŸ§” in one brilliant analysis. And, crucially, using to explain lack of climate action. This is what everyone, each one of us, needs to think about! “Ecologically speaking, neoliberalism couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

Here Christopher’s book itself:
The Price is Wrong. Why Capitalism Won’t Save The Planet.

versobooks.com/en-gb/products/

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 28/n But honestly, just read this piece - everything in this đŸ§” in one brilliant analysis. And, crucially, using to explain lack of climate action. This is what everyone, each one of us, needs to think about! “Ecologically speaking, neoliberalism couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

18 April at 9:08 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 29/n Another overlap with #AcademicVenting đŸ§”- because it’s all of a piece! Because the crisis in HE is a key phenomenon in all this!

This great piece by Jessica Wildfire really needs to be read in full, but this extract most apt here:

“Universities aren't institutions of knowledge anymore. They're assets. They're revenue streams. If they're not generating money for the top, then they only pose a threat, and they have to be weakened and destroyed.”

mastodon.ar.al/@aral/112359018

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 29/n Another overlap with #AcademicVenting đŸ§”- because it’s all of a piece! Because the crisis in HE is a key phenomenon in all this!

This great piece by Jessica Wildfire really needs to be read in full, but this extract most apt here:

“Universities aren't institutions of knowledge anymore. They're assets. They're revenue streams. If they're not generating money for the top, then they only pose a threat, and they have to be weakened and destroyed.”

30 April at 9:23 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 30/n

Wow. As Bregman says: Stunning graph: the plummeting tax rates of the richest Americans. For the first time in history, billionaires have a lower effective tax rate than working-class Americans.

Look at 1980 - I do continue to think that *everything* could have been different if Carter hadn’t lost to Reagan.

Graph showing US income tax rates for the richest plummeting from 56% in 1960 to 23% in 2018 - lower than working class America s Rutger Bregman & @rcbregman Follow Stunning graph: the plummeting tax rates of the richest Americans. For the first time in history, billionaires have a lower effective tax rate than working-class Americans.
4 May at 6:31 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 31/n I think the graph came from this New York Times piece but don’t have a subscription so can’t check.

nytimes.com/interactive/2024/0

4 May at 6:38 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 32/n Watched “The Founder” on Netflix yesterday, about McDonalds. Really interesting- would recommend it. Particularly how the real breakthrough came when Kroc, advised by Sonneborn, went for real estate. Checked it on Wikipedia:

“McDonald's present-day real-estate holdings represent $37.7 billion on its balance sheet, about 99% of the company's assets and 35% of its annual gross revenue.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_

In 1956, Ray Kroc met Harry J. Sonneborn, a former vice president of finance for Tastee- Freez, who offered an idea to accelerate the growth and investment grade of Kroc's planned McDonald's operation: to own the real estate upon which future franchises would be built. Kroc hired Sonneborn and his plan was executed by forming a separate company, Franchise Realty Corp, to hold McDonald's real estate. The new company signed leases and procured mortgages for both land and buildings, passing these costs on to the franchisee with a 20-40% markup and a reduced initial deposit of $950. [12][131 The "Sonneborn model" of real-estate ownership within the franchise persists to this day, and may be the most important financial decision in the company's history. McDonald's present-day real-estate holdings represent $37.7 billion on its balance sheet, about 99% of the company's assets and 35% of its annual gross revenue.
5 May at 6:59 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 33/n

Today an overlap with #ClimateDiary: British farmers are struggling due to climate change, Brexit AND supermarket power:

Most farmers receive less than 1% of the profit made from the food they grow. Of the 20% food inflation experienced by the public a minuscule proportion made its way back to the farmer. Tesco made a £2.3bn profit last year, while 49% of fruit and veg farmers fear they’ll be out of business before the end of this one.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 33/n

Today an overlap with #ClimateDiary: British farmers are struggling due to climate change, Brexit AND supermarket power:

Most farmers receive less than 1% of the profit made from the food they grow. Of the 20% food inflation experienced by the public a minuscule proportion made its way back to the farmer. Tesco made a £2.3bn profit last year, while 49% of fruit and veg farmers fear they’ll be out of business before the end of this one.

Opinion I'm a British farmer. Here's the scary truth about what's happening to our crops Guy Singh- Watson The climate crisis is making the farming business unsustainable - and without support for us, food security will suffer too Guy Singh-Watson is the founder of organic veg box company Riverford Follow Guy Singh-Watson 0)) Notifications off 258 Wed 8 May 2024 15.26 BST
9 May at 5:56 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§”34/n #ClimateDiary

We had a veg box for 12 years from Hankham Organics; 3 weeks ago we suddenly had a note with our box that they were closing, as it wasn’t working financially any more. 😱😱😱

And a fish merchant who we got smoked salmon for Christmas from closed this year too, for the same reasons. Plus Goldsmiths’ woes of course (#AcademicVenting). So many good, small organisations struggling and ending.

Photo of a veg box from above, eggs on top, note saying they were closing.
9 May at 6:06 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§” 36/n Here a positive, progressive use of money flows:

1400+ Columbia University alumni from its 20 schools have pledged to withhold all “financial, programmatic, and academic support” until school meets demands related to divestment, student discipline, and community safety.
Group website says over $63 million of donations at risk. #Gaza #studentprotests

Thousands of Columbia University Alumni Pledge to Withhold All Contributions to School Until Pro-Palestinian Student Demands are Met New York, NY - A group representing thousands of Columbia University alumni from its 20 schools and across decades of graduating classes has pledged to withhold all "financial, programmatic, and academic support" in an open letter to Columbia University's President Minouche Shafik and its trustees until the university meets demands related to divestment, student discipline, and community safety. In the letter released this week, alumni estimate that the pledge puts $41 million in financial contributions at risk. It was issued in addition to petitions calling for a stop to the unjust expulsion and suspensions of student protesters, and nearly two score letters previously sent to the administration representing thousands of alumni who graduated between 1966 and 2023 from all of the University's schools, and identify across a variety of racial, ethnic and religious groups. "I sign because my Jewish values of inquiry, empathy, and moral courage compel me to," said an alumna of CC '03 and CLS '10 who grew up in both New York and Jerusalem. (Half of text can provide more on request)
9 May at 17:23 | Open on mastodon.green
Pauline von Hellermann replied to Pauline von Hellermann

#FollowTheMoney đŸ§”37/n

Even though all of us living in the UK know that homelessness is terrible (and has grown exponentially since 2010), it is still shocking to see this graph.

(There are notes on methods: all countries included both rough sleeping and invisible homelessness).

oecd.org/social/homelessness-c

Experiencing homelessness As per 10 000 people, 2023 or latest year (point-in-time data) UK (England) * France Czechia Germany United States New Zealand Australia Canada Portugal Denmark Sweden Spain Mexico Norway Korea Finand 30.7 28.4 25.9 19.2 13.5 12.4 10.5 10.3 6.3 5.5 5.4 3.6 2.6 1.6 1.6 42.6 10 20 Note: People experiencing homelessness (PIT data) who are living rough or staying in emergency accommodation (ETHOS Light 1, 2, 3), as reported by governments. *Data for the United Kingdom (England) refer to the number of households experiencing homelessness per 10 000 households for ETHOS Light 2 and 3; data also include people enumerated in the Rough Sleeping Snapshot (ETHOS 1). Source: OECD Affordable Housing Database, HC3.1 People experiencing homelessness. 30 40 OECD
15 May at 11:22 | Open on mastodon.green
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