And our seasonal message to Worthing’s very own council tax victims is: don’t take it lying down! It’s time for people to get together with their friends and neighbours and decide what they are going to do about it.
The council tax bill in West Sussex went up by more than 18% in April and another hefty rise is being predicted for 2004 - much more than the rate of inflation. The obvious response is one that is already surfacing from groups across the country: insist on paying only what you think is a fair amount - maybe the same as last year or an inflation increase.
Taking this on as an individual is a brave and scary thing to do in the face of authority. But if you are part of a group of rebels all backing each other up, suddenly the boot is on the other foot and it is the authorities who are breaking out in a cold sweat. There’s nothing that frightens the powers-that-be more than the thought that the public will simply say ‘enough is enough’ and refuse to do what they are told! At the end of the day, they simply cannot enforce any laws or impose any taxes that large numbers of people are not prepared to go along with - that was the clear message of the successful anti-Poll Tax campaigns.
Make no mistake, right is on our side. The local councils will try to confuse the issue by talking about diminishing grants from central government and so on. It is certainly true that it suits the Government to have local councils take the rap for increased taxes that really stem from Whitehall. But from the people’s point of view, the various layers of government are all really the same thing. It’s the same blood-sucking octopus that taxes us on what we earn, taxes us on what we spend and taxes us even for having a home to live in!
And what do they do with all that money? They pay their own fat salaries and employ armies of useless bureaucrats. They chuck billions of pounds at wars that nobody wants, lining the pockets of their friends in the arms industry. They divert even more of our money into rich businessmen’s pockets through the privatisation scams that are now running amok, despite public opposition.
And, of course, they spend our money on ways to stop us taking control of the way it’s spent. Millions are splurged on media propaganda campaigns to convince us that everything is just fine and we’re not all being sold down the river. Even more millions are spent in making sure nobody asks too many awkward questions, nobody gets away with defying the word of our rulers.
The politicians all know that the future is not bright for us in this country. Under globalisation, we are in a race to the bottom of the cheap labour market - witness the sudden popularity of moving call centres to India, like Norwich Union in Worthing have just done, where workers are cheaper, more compliant and don’t have all the rights our ancestors have fought for and won over the centuries. They know that at some point people here are going to crack and start rebelling against what is being done to them by the global forces of greed.
The current flood of draconian police state measures being rushed onto the statute books (see below and past issues) are not really aimed at terrorists at all. Neither are they ultimately aimed at the relatively small numbers of political activists. They’re aimed at ordinary people who the authorities know one day will simply not take it any more.
There’s no point in waiting and putting up with all of this until we’re all on our knees. If you’re ready to stand up to the Great Rip-Off then go ahead and do it! Let’s make 2004 the year when the people of Worthing finally stood up to be counted!
* Get together with a few like-minded friends, neighbours or relatives.
* Start your own local Council Tax Rebellion group and let other people know about it.
* Decide how you are going to make your stand and how you are going to support each other in doing so.
* Just do it!
THE PORKBOLTER will do anything it can to help local residents who stand up to the council tax. We can:
* Put people in touch with others in their area
* Publish details of new groups or meetings
* Include local group details in a section here on our website
* Keep campaigning against the taxation rip-off
But at the end of the day we’re only a newsletter. The rest is up to YOU!
Warned Tony Bunyan, editor of Statewatch (www.statewatch.org PO Box 1516, London N16 OEW): "Cities could be sealed off, travel bans introduced and all telecommunications cut off. Demonstrations could be banned and the news media be made subject to censorship. New offences against the state could be ‘created’ by government decree. At a stroke democracy could be replaced by totalitarianism." Even MPs are up in arms. A joint committee set up to look into the proposals says they have "potentially dangerous flaws" (BBC website, November 28). Added chairman Dr Lewis Moonie: "Our democracy and civil liberties could be in danger."
Also very worrying is the new Anti-social Behaviour Bill, which attacks the right to protest or to party. Currently there must be 20 or more people gathered together to legally qualify as an "assembly" (Public Order Act 1986). But the new legislation will reduce this to two!
Looking a little further ahead, a new threat to our freedom comes from the radio tagging of goods - not just in shops, but when we take them home or wear them around. The Independent on Sunday reported (November 23) that the European Commission has patented the tags, which may first be embedded into luxury items like Rolex watches - ostensibly to fight theft. But others warn that the real reason behind tagging could be to monitor human beings and once accepted in principle, the tags could be appearing in all sort of items.
The ultimate nightmare for our freedom was exposed in a science report in The Guardian on November 20. This explained how brain scans are being used to see what is going on inside people’s heads: "As well as brand loyalty and consumer choice, neuroscientists are probing violent tendencies, moral reasoning, feelings of love and trust and notions of justice." Presumably the long term aim will be to conduct brain scans of foetuses in the womb so any of them likely to reason morally or hold notions of justice can immediately be aborted, before they have the chance to be born into a brave new world where their very existence would make them guilty of Thought Crime.
Meanwhile, in an incident totally unrelated to police integrity, Sussex Police inspector Christopher Wratten (ex-inspector now - he resigned after his sick hobby came to light) has been jailed for six months for downloading disgusting paedophile porn off the internet (Argus, November 28).
* Even though they’re getting a bigger Home Office grant than expected, Sussex Police still want a hefty above-inflation increase in its part of the council tax - partly to fund "counter-terrorism” work, reported The Worthing Advertiser (November 26). And how richly they deserve it.
DON’T hold back on your seasonal spending. Worthing’s Business Community needs your generous support!
DON’T worry about the cost. Just bung it on your plastic. You know that’s the sensible approach in the long term.
DON’T ever stop to think whether what you are about to buy is useless, unnecessary or unwanted. Just get your wallet out. Now.
DON’T worry about rampant consumerism spoiling the planet for your children or grandchildren. There’s plenty more planets in the universe. And, frankly, who cares about a bunch of stupid kids?
DON’T ever think of repairing anything. It’s just not the modern way. Go out and buy a new one. Go on, it’s Christmas!
DON’T ever borrow things from friends or lend stuff to others so they don’t have to buy their own. Where would that sort of thinking lead us? Eh?
DON’T forget the true meaning of Xmas! Let’s make sure trading figures in town are the highest ever! It’s what Baby Jesus would have wanted!
DON’T forget either that shopping defeats Terrorism. The more you spend, the more tax money the Government gets and the more bombs it can buy to blow up people who don’t share our superior Christian values.
This public information announcement was brought to you by the Worthing Braindead Consumer Campaign
Supported by sussexploit plc and The Institute of Greed
Printed and published by The Pork-Bolter, PO Box 4144, Worthing BN14 7NZ. No copyright, no Christmas bonus...
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