My investigation, for the people of Croydon, representing the Young People's Party, to get to the bottom of the staggering number of misadventures in a thriving town full of enterprising and hard working folks, is starting to produce fruit. It has nothing to do with the good people who live and work there.
Last week when I first stood outside Allders, I deduced this was yet another collapsed pyramid scheme as they all are eventually, including the wider economy. I hear you, this is amazing and hard to believe. Read on and think very carefully about this ...
Let's see how this multi level market ran, starting from the bottom:
- The 'staff' who worked in Allders were tenants of Harold Tillman, their landlord
- Harold Tillman was a tenant of Minerva the property developer, his landlord
- Minerva is a tenant mortgaged to Deutsche Post * a German 'bank', their landlord
- Deutsche Post is the ultimate and absentee landlord in another country. God of Allders essentially
The Croydon department store was not really a department store. It was a shopping mall. Each of the counters was an independent trader, disgracefully called a 'concession' as if they owed their masters a tribute for being allowed to work and be enterprising.
Handing over ALL their takings to Tillman each day and 'maybe' getting some of it back at the end of the week to pay wages and keep up stock. In economic terms these takings are called RENT. 200 years ago this practice was know as rack renting.
It was futile for Tillman to ask for a business rates holiday from the Council. Daft to think it would make a difference. Business rates tax already comes out of the total rental value of the property. A free gift there would just mean Minerva could raise their rent by the amount of the subsidy.
This is a perfect exposition of how the world really works, on a micro scale. The ones at the bottom, the workers and real businesses, truly fleeced. The ones in the middle bribed just enough to vote against a better system. The ones at the top smoking cigars and laughing at you the people of Croydon. The government you elect with your vote, wholly in the pocket of the bank now moving on to their next adventure.
Is this happening elsewhere in Croydon? Yes! Look close by at the Whitgift Centre. The landlord there is partly a 'charity' to boot! There will be many more, especially in those big skyscrapers over there. This is how the world really works.
But people of Croydon - Is this the kind of world you want to bring your children into? Our future. How well do you think your enterprise will fare in this rotten environment, no matter how hard you work, how skilful your art and industrious your colleagues? You are being robbed. You keep voting for it.
What are Labour, Conservative and Libdem offering you... That's right, the opportunity to climb on to the next pyramid. Remember, that opportunity produces only one winner. Dead politics.
The Young People's Party have a simple and radical policy and we mean to see it fully adopted. We will abolish these pyramid schemes. Fully. The Rent Seekers at the top will have to start working for a living again. And you the people of Croydon will finally receive the full reward for your hard work and enterprise... and a far better life.
To find out exactly how we will do this I will be in Croydon daily. Call me.
* I've not checked to see if the finance for the land actually comes from another level above Deutsche Post yet
