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Jacob S

@peopletrees.bsky.social

260 followers 560 following 570 posts

Organising, tenant unions, writing, post-capitalism. Bristol, formerly London. My book Renters Unite is an account of the new wave of tenant organising around the world. No access to DMs. https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745350011/renters-unite/

www.plutobooks.com

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Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · Aug 19

Why tenant unions? Why now? Find out in my new book, Renters Unite! 'A brilliant and inspiring analysis of the causes and possible solutions to one of the central issues facing people around the world today: the problem of housing' - Jeremy Gilbert

As housing crises proliferate around the world, so does the fightback. A new generation of tenants' unions are rising up to demand good, affordable housing f...

www.plutobooks.com

Reposted by Jacob S

Kevin Carson 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇹🇯 @kevincarson1.bsky.social · 20h

It's also not so much that they're "hoarding" money -- most of it's "invested" in some form of economic activity -- it's that they're in control of where the money's directed, and it's "invested" in their priorities -- which are mostly bubbles, enshittification, and private equity asset-stripping...

Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 1d

“The problem with billionaires isn’t that they’re hoarding money that would otherwise pay for a Scandinavian social utopia. It’s that their money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.”

Billionaires Are Hoarding Power, Not Money

Billionaire money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.

www.liberalcurrents.com

Reposted by Jacob S

Preorder Read This When Things Fall Apart @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 21h

Hear me out: What if it's both the hoarding and the havoc?

Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 1d

“The problem with billionaires isn’t that they’re hoarding money that would otherwise pay for a Scandinavian social utopia. It’s that their money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.”

Billionaires Are Hoarding Power, Not Money

Billionaire money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.

www.liberalcurrents.com

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 1d

Certainly sounds bad

David Klemperer @dmk1793.bsky.social · 1d

I think it's bad that we allow financiers operating out of the gulf states to run massive private propaganda operations designed to undermine British democracy and stir up racial hatred

Ben Fenton @benfenton.bsky.social · 2d

If a news organisation is making -200% margin after five years, it is not a commercial operation and should be assumed to have a different purpose.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 2d

Abolish landlords!

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 2d

The entire UK press either doesn't understand or pretends not to understand how house prices work. E.g. you could lower prices by stopping interest only mortgages. It is not simply about supply and demand of housing but of credit.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 2d

I guess these boring tweets are one reason I don't have a big following!

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 2d

The entire UK press either doesn't understand or pretends not to understand how house prices work. E.g. you could lower prices by stopping interest only mortgages. It is not simply about supply and demand of housing but of credit.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 2d

Houses are priced at what the market (people and companies with enough resources) can bear. If you knock 20k off in SD the price will go up 20k. A more general land tax would keep prices down, but I don't think any major party has lower prices as a policy goal.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 2d

I heard a young Tory who doesn't own a home enthusing about getting rid of stamp duty. SD isn't paid on most first time purchases, and getting rid without replacement will put house prices up. There will be zero benefits to house buyers.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 3d

Cameron could pass gay marriage while shredding public services. I just feel like without economic principles, like extreme inequality being bad, you would end up with Cameroonian social progressivism. I don't assume bad faith, I assume power relations exist.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 3d

More seriously, any party with no fixed economic position and a sniff of power would have their economic position bought and paid for within a year.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 3d

Sounds like the SNP

Reposted by Jacob S

Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 4d

The UK household debt is over £2 trillion.

Debt once public now loaded to households e.g. student debt. Energy debt rising. People borrowing for healthcare.

Mortgages 7 times salary being issued. Soaring rents.

Real average wage stuck at the 2008 level.

What could go wrong?

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 3d

Not quite abolition then, but a good set of policies to Minimise Landlords.

Greens Organise @greensorganise.bsky.social · 3d

The Green Party wants to Abolish Landlords.

The question on everyone’s lips:
What does that actually mean?

Here’s motion proposer @sallonsax.bsky.social talking to @turnleftmedia.co.uk about just that!

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 4d

Ah OK. At least the cost was peanuts though! Like the cost of one new motorway bridge or something.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 4d

No. Read what was written. It made the money back in tax. As does much government spending. It 'costs' nothing in the long run.

Reposted by Jacob S

Gareth Watkins @garethwatkins.bsky.social · 4d

Imagine this happening in the UK and not having to sigh 'what do their parents do?' every time you hear about a new band. Wouldn't it be great to hear music from somebody who isn't directly related to the Lord Admiral Wythenshawe Bloodfeast MP, the Butcher of Bangalore?

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 4d

He's clearly not a Badenoch Tory though. Anti-immigrant feeling may be inevitable but is stirred by the bad guys. The good guys are always pro immigration. His social liberalism is also beyond any stream of Toryism. So Lib Dems maybe.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 4d

My toddler semi-regularly screams at me to not do something that I am, in fact, not doing. Then gets angrier at me for not not doing it as she asked. Sometimes I just do the thing so she has a legit reason to be angry, then I can stop doing it as requested. Does that help? No, not at all thanks.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 4d

I wonder if it helped having the literal prime minister repeatedly saying the protests were understandable and he wouldn't want his daughter to be walking past asylum seeker hotels.

🔻Bela Lugosi's Dad (Even More Spooky) 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸 🇱🇧 🇮🇷 @belalugosisdad.bsky.social · 4d

We're so fucking cooked.

YouGov poll showing that 54% of British adults think that protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers are either somewhat or completely justified.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 5d

And that's before we get to regressive movements, which can also have social and economic (and blended) forms. Though they often hardly deserve the term 'movement', as some rich people are usually paying for it - see the 'movement' to raise flags in the UK at present.

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 5d

But that's a bit of a mouthful, so I expect we'll stumble along with the 'social movement' term for a while longer. BUT it is very important to distinguish between movements that would restructure the economy to the benefit of ordinary people, and those that won't (and thus have a liberal version).

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 5d

Monday morning geeky thought: the term 'social movement' was promoted by liberals who wanted to distance themselves from communist movements. However, an umbrella term for movements is so useful that we all end up using it. A better term for radical movements would be 'social and economic movements'

Reposted by Jacob S

Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 5d

We would be in a much better place if politicians from all parties hadn’t been spreading the lie that local governments have lots of fat to cut, essentially since Maggie Thatcher.

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 5d

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters on.ft.com/4pTvJ62

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters

Nigel Farage’s party promised to revive local authority finances by slashing wasteful spending

Jacob S @peopletrees.bsky.social · 6d

Dear God give me two (2) years where the UK doesn't pass another anti-protest law. Frog-boiling for the authoritarianism to come under Farage.

Reposted by Jacob S

Mekka Okereke @mekka.mekka-tech.com · 7d

The biggest barrier to the widespread adoption of renewables, is the fact that the richest, least intelligent, most self-important, fashiest 50 dudes in the US, wasted the low interest rates of the 2010s investing in monkey jpegs instead of solar cells and battery production.🤡

Now they fear China.

Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 7d

"Solar energy is anticipated to be the world’s main source of energy by 2050" hell yeah

Solar: main source of EU electricity in June with 22%