The Socialist 17 July 2013
All strike together!
'We've had enough' - All strike together!
Urgent - trade unions must build a political voice for the working class
Fire cuts, pay cuts, pension cuts, job cuts
MPs' pay to rise to £74,000...
G4S tagging scandal: another failure of privatisation
USA: Zimmerman, Trayvon and racism
'Black July' - Sri Lanka 1983 and the beginning of civil war
The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Lecturers in Wales expose working conditions
Fight Royal Mail privatisation!
Bedroom tax non-payment soars in Scotland: Stop evictions
Councils: Don't do the Con-Dems' dirty work!
'Sick Of Your Boss?' week of action reports
Durham Miners' Gala shows mood for new party
Campaigning against anti-LGBT bullying in schools
Lincolnshire - save our libraries
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Who are the real criminals?
Mike Whale
Desperate poverty drives some people to desperate acts. The Hull Daily Mail reports that 40% more people seem to be stealing food for personal consumption in Hull than last year.
The police believe this is directly linked to the fact that more and more people cannot afford to pay for life's essentials. As the bedroom tax, council and benefit cuts bite, more and more will be pushed towards tough decisions - "Do I pay my rent and bills or feed my family"?
The article says austerity is the cause of increased food shoplifting but sees the main victims of crime as the small businesses being robbed. In a time of austerity most small shopkeepers are squeezed by the giant corporations who can afford to undercut them and by sections of the working class who cannot afford to use their shops.
Austerity hits sections of the middle class badly - see how many independent shops have gone broke. Local butchers, bakers and greengrocers went bust and were replaced on the high street by pawnshops and payday loan sharks.
A determined working class fightback against austerity would draw in support from large layers of the middle class including small shopkeepers.
Tory media cry crocodile tears for the poor. The Hull Daily Mail's scandalous 'solution' was to name and shame six local offenders caught stealing food. We do not support theft as an answer to poverty. But who are the real criminals here?
Is it the mother who has just had her benefit cut through bedroom tax who steals baked beans worth a few pence to feed her children. Or fat cat businessmen who legally rob millions of pounds a year through exploiting tax loopholes?
The real criminals are the ruling class who run a capitalist system which robs the poor to give to the rich. Join the Socialist Party and fight for a socialist society.
In this issue
Socialist Party news and analysis
'We've had enough' - All strike together!
Urgent - trade unions must build a political voice for the working class
Fire cuts, pay cuts, pension cuts, job cuts
MPs' pay to rise to £74,000...
G4S tagging scandal: another failure of privatisation
International socialist news and analysis
USA: Zimmerman, Trayvon and racism
'Black July' - Sri Lanka 1983 and the beginning of civil war
Socialist Party feature
Socialist Party review
The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Socialist Party workplace news
Lecturers in Wales expose working conditions
Fight Royal Mail privatisation!
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Bedroom tax non-payment soars in Scotland: Stop evictions
Councils: Don't do the Con-Dems' dirty work!
'Sick Of Your Boss?' week of action reports
Durham Miners' Gala shows mood for new party
Campaigning against anti-LGBT bullying in schools
Lincolnshire - save our libraries
Readers' comments
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