We can't afford this profit system

The last year has seen families face price rises day in, day out. Inflation is said to be running a 4.2% but this is way off the mark.

Ronnie Stevenson

Wherever we look the story is the same. From morning to night we are facing price rises way beyond even the official rate of inflation.

These increases pile misery on working class families trying to survive on fixed incomes. The only things which don’t go up are wages.

Benefits do not keep abreast of the cost of living either.

These price increases are part of a world wide phenomenon, particularly the food price increases. This has had the effect of increasing the misery of the downtrodden millions in the poorest countries of the world.

For themselves New Labour ministers in Britain have bathrooms installed in their second homes for over £10,000 at our expense.

For us the same government ministers seek to impose wage ”increases” of 2%, well below the rate of inflation meaning a cut in living standards.

Meanwhile companies are reporting record profits. Scottish and Southern energy just announced profits of £1.3 billion and British Gas of more than £500 million. These energy companies are making billions of profit between them whilst putting up domestic energy bills. Meanwhile 4.5 million of us are living in fuel poverty.

City spivs are collecting obscene bonuses and that at a time when through their greed they have caused the effective crash of Northern Rock. For demonstrating all this skill what did the government do - hold them to 2% - not a chance.

They threw money at them to avoid a crash of the entire banking system. No wonder the finance industry was able to report billions of profit.

Capitalism is in crisis. As is always the case the working class is being asked to pay. They will not give us reasonable living standards.

Capitalism does not seem to be able to afford us. The truth is we can’t afford them and their rotten system.

Yes we should fight back and fight for better wages but what we also need to do is fight to remove this rotten system from the earth. History shows us that every time we make gains the bosses conspire to reverse them.

Let’s end that cycle once and for all and fight to create a planned economy with wages and prices determined by workers in the best interest of the millions rather than the greed of the millionaires.

Lets fight for Socialism.