In attempting to understand the current vogue for defending the indefensible, we need to look stateside. Today, the manager of Liverpool football club offered his reaction to the news that Luis Suarez, his star striker, has been banned for ten matches. Put simply, the imposed ban is a consequence of the said player biting an opponent during a recent match. Last year, he received a lengthy ban for racially abusing another opponent. Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, claimed that the ten match ban was too harsh. Each to their own, but the player did actually bite someone else in front of 40,000 fans. The truth of course revolves around money-American money at that. Liverpool's American owner wants a return on his investment and why wouldn't he? He hasn't paid a huge sum for the club to see his top goal scorer banned for ten matches. This is why Brendan Rodgers today attempted, with a reasonably straight face, to effectively defend the actions of his player by questioning the length of the ban imposed upon him. Even football has to have some sort of moral baseline and if biting an opponent doesn't cross that line, then I'm not sure what does.
On the Today programme this morning, an interesting discussion took place. James Naughtie was interviewing the Labour Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge, and a senior accountant from Deloitte. As the discussion turned its attention to the tax affairs of Starbucks, the senior accountant, whose company represents them, claimed that Starbucks don't pay much tax because they don't make much profit. If you fancy a bit of pure comedy, you can listen again on the BBC i player. Clearly, the man from Deloitte has a vested interest but even his most ardent fan couldn't possibly take such a claim seriously. Granted, the public have become justifiably annoyed at the revelations that a clutch of prominent American-owned companies are trading rather well over here at our expense. They are undoubtedly playing within the tax law to the letter of the law. In reality though, they are in contempt of our tax laws. The trouble is that there is no way of enforcing their moral compliance because the very people who advise Starbucks et al also happen to advise HM revenue and customs. Either way, the accountants win and the yankee dollar makes hay while the English pound languishes in the doldrums. At a time when we are all being asked to play our part in reducing the deficit, it seems absurd that huge multi-national companies can effectively pick and choose how much tax they wish to pay. The Starbucks board actually offered to pay£20 million earlier this year when they became aware of the extent of the public outrage. I suspect that the offer was actually made when they saw the effect on their till receipts..
There is little evidence of the Yankee dollar on the streets of the town where I live. Like many traditional market towns, Denbigh faces a slow death as its town centre is slowly squeezed by the large supermarkets. Slowly but surely the shops become vacant and the shoppers more scarce. Of course it is a cycle with a seemingly inevitable conclusion. It doesn't have to be that way though. At a dinner party last night, a guest pointed out four buildings whose current state of affairs makes him feel very angry. Many in the town would agree with him but few seem forthcoming with a solution. The former North Wales Hospital which once the envy of the UK mental health community slowly crumbles. Neglected and vandalised, it is now a mere shadow of its former self with its past glories but a distant memory for the many locals employed there. The old cinema is also derelict and it seems strange now to recall the building where queues would extend long distances when I was younger. The Church Institute is privately owned but only used as storage for a local antique dealer. First opened during the Greta War, it was built so that returning soldiers would have a place to go and recuperate. It is a stunning building and is thankfully intact structurally. Inside it is cavernous and it is easy to imagine the injured young servicemen coming there to meet up and recuperate. Finally, the Crown Hotel was a former Coaching Inn on the busy route towards the west coast and Ireland.
What these four buildings have in common is something very fundamental. They were all social hubs where people came to meet up with friends and work colleagues. The biggest worry is that they haven't been replaced. This is a poor reflection on the local community. It was the local community which first built these places and, if they are to have their day again, it must be the local community who make it happen. People coming together over a meal or a drink goes right back to the dawn of time. While the internet has certainly exerted a dramatic impact on our lives, we must avoid falling in to the trap of insularity. Our relationships with those in our local community are the very fabric of our society. When we lose the fabric, we lose our social cohesion. I hope for Denbigh and all the towns like it that our generation comes together to regain the community spirit which was lost to the all conquering supermarkets. Such a change will not be realised by local councils. Such a change will be effected by local people. There seems a popularly held view that nothing can happen without the involvement of the local council. The opposite could hardly be more true and it will be a breath of fresh air to see it happen. If we really care about where we live, we will become more engaged. If not, I fear the current trend will continue and that would be very sad outcome.
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