The problem is ‘learned helplessness’; the widely adopted but false belief that financial constraints on government spending severely limit action on climate change. From the top echelons of the civil service to locally elected councillors we have bought into the lie that government has no money- or none beyond what tax revenue brings in.
But get this: the UK government is the monopoly supplier of its own currency. It owns the British Pound. It taxes in pound sterling and it borrows in pounds sterling. For money to be taxed or borrowed it must first exist in the real economy. How did it get there? The answer is that the government first spends money into existence before taxing and borrowing back.
Get this too; Parliamentary supremacy is the cornerstone of our nations constitution. It means that it can instruct the Bank of Bank of England, a public body, to create any amount of money it needs to address the climate and nature crisis without touching a single penny of tax payers money.
Many people will greet these statements with a mix of outrage and incredulity. Decades of indoctrination by our media, politicians and policy pundits have led us to unthinkingly accept spurious claims that ‘the UK’s credit card has been maxed out‘ or fears of a ‘debt default by government‘. The media merely parrots what politicians say – and politicians either believe their own rhetoric or count on public ignorance to run rings round us. It is high time we took this issue by the horns and refuse to accept what we are being told. There is now too much at stake not to do so.
So I appeal to all of you who read this – but particularly climate activists in Cornwall: start asking awkward questions of our elected representatives. Do your own research, start digging, questioning and reflecting on this whole issue of public finances. Do so at speed for we have no time to lose. As a starting point I highly recommend this article by the economist William Thomson
The New Kows 
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