Tag: Adam Tugwell

Minimum Wage, Maximum Exploitation: A Collapsing System Propped Up by Rising Taxes

Introduction

As the cost of living continues to climb across the United Kingdom, many households find themselves struggling to maintain even the most basic standards of financial independence.

With impending tax rises on the horizon, the pressure on those already living near the edge is set to intensify, pushing even greater numbers below the threshold of self-sufficiency.

This is not a temporary crisis, but a symptom of a deeper, systemic failure—a collapsing economic model that now survives only by extracting more from those who can afford it least.

The money-centric economic system that we have – The “Moneyocracy” – perpetuates itself by shifting the burden onto workers and taxpayers, while the promise of prosperity grows ever more distant for the majority.

Against this backdrop, it is essential to confront a fundamental question – one that exposes the uncomfortable realities at the heart of our economy.

A Question:

Do you believe the minimum wage is enough for a full-time worker to live on – and if so, why?

The answer to this question, which varies depending on one’s relationship with the minimum wage, reveals uncomfortable truths about the foundations of our economy and the way work is valued in this country.

What is not surprising is that those who already have financial security often agree in principle that low-paid workers should earn more. Yet when confronted with the implications of paying every worker enough to live independently, many recoil. Why? Because such a change would disrupt their own relationship with the economy.

The Minimum Wage Reality

Let us be clear: the national minimum wage in the UK is not enough for anyone working a full-time 40-hour week to live independently—free from reliance on benefits, charity, or debt.

The widespread acceptance of this wage stems from government and establishment narratives.

What is legally mandated is presented as morally and practically sufficient.

Yet, in truth, the minimum wage is a carefully placed rock covering a pit of myths and lies.

Those who benefit from the system prefer not to lift that rock, because doing so would expose their complicity in maintaining the illusion.

The Employee

A worker earning the minimum wage – currently £12.21 per hour, equating to £488.40 per week or £25,396.80 annually – cannot afford the basic essentials required for independent living.

The gap between what they earn and what they need is effectively the amount by which they are underpaid.

Employers exploit workers by failing to cover the true cost of living.

Regardless of how the deficit is filled—through benefits, charity, or debt—someone else is subsidising both the employee and the employer.

The Employer (Small Business)

Small business owners often insist they pay fairly because they comply with the law. Yet compliance does not equate to fairness.

Paying the legal minimum is not the same as paying enough for employees to live independently.

Common justifications include:

• “They can top up with benefits.”

• “I can’t pay more or I’ll go out of business.”

But these arguments miss the point. The government—and by extension, taxpayers—should not subsidise businesses that cannot afford to pay workers a living wage.

In reality, small businesses are also exploited: they cannot operate independently within the current economic system, because they too are constrained by models that undervalue their work.

The Employer (Big Business)

Large corporations differ because they can afford to pay more.

Supermarkets and other major employers of minimum-wage staff generate enormous profits – even during a cost-of-living crisis, like the one we are experiencing now.

They could easily pay wages that allow workers financial independence, if boards and shareholders accepted smaller returns.

Instead, big businesses exploit both employees and taxpayers. Workers are underpaid, while the government subsidises wages through benefits.

This allows corporations to maximise profits while keeping the mechanics of exploitation hidden from public debate.

The Government

Why does the government subsidise wages so small businesses can survive and big businesses can thrive? Why not simply set a minimum wage that reflects the true cost of living?

The answer is stark: doing so would collapse the system.

The economy functions by undervaluing the majority of jobs deemed “low-skilled” or of “little value.”

If wages reflected reality, the house of cards would fall.

The Taxpayer

The system is a con. The complex machinery of what can be called a Moneyocracy manipulates trust and deference so effectively that taxpayers rarely ask basic questions.

Why, in an economy where corporations make billions annually, must taxpayers top up their employees’ wages through taxes?

Why are we threatened with price hikes whenever government policy shifts, while corporate profits remain largely unscrutinised?

Following the money reveals the truth: wealth is funnelled in one direction, made possible only by exploiting workers, taxpayers, and weak governments.

Corporations profit by underpaying staff, then spin narratives that justify charging consumers more.

Reality Bites

Exploitation of normal people has gone too far. The system enriches the few by exploiting the many – sometimes multiple times over – so profits can grow while wages stagnate or reduce in real terms.

The Moneyocracy survives by perpetuating the myth that it is acceptable for many to grow poorer while a few grow disproportionately rich.

The promise dangled before workers – that if they play the game long enough, they too might “live the dream” – is false.

Humanity is destroying itself chasing a dream that continually recedes, because playing the game requires forgetting our true worth.

The basic equation of the Moneyocracy is simple: for some to be rich, most must be poor.

This is neither humane nor true.

The Alternative

There is another way. A system built on real values – where people, communities, and the environment come first – can replace the current money-centric model.

This alternative requires transparency, local systems, and a commitment to prioritising human worth over profit. Instead of hiding self-interest behind complex structures, society must embrace a model where business and life are conducted openly, sustainably, and with fairness at the core.

The choice is absolute: continue with a Moneyocracy that exploits us all or build a future centred on people.

Path Forward

The Local Economy & Governance System provides the foundational framework for a truly people‑centric future – one where People, Community, and Environment sit at the heart of every decision.

At its core lies a new benchmark: The Basic Living Standard, a guarantee that every individual receives a weekly wage sufficient to cover all essential needs.

This principle of equity and equality is not an optional add‑on, but the priority that guides every part of the system.

By shifting away from exploitation and toward fairness, transparency, and sustainability, this model offers a pathway to rebuild trust and resilience in our economic and social structures.

To explore how this vision can be realised and what it means for the future, please follow these links:

The Local Economy & Governance System | Online Text
The Basic Living Standard Explained
Minimum Wage Maximum Exploitation PDF_Vers1_25Nov25Download

Understanding Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future –Everything You Need to Know

Introduction

Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future, authored by Adam Tugwell and first published on 14 November 2024, explores the critical issue of food control and its impact on the future of society, particularly in the UK.

Written in response to the changes in Inheritance Tax Relief for Farmers in the UK October 2024 Budget, it aims to reveal the complex layers of the food chain, the collapse of farming, the disappearance of food security, and the myths that obscure these realities from consumers.

Key Themes and Points

1. The Importance of Food and Food Security

  • Food is as essential as water and air for health and survival, yet its importance is often overlooked until access is threatened.
  • UK food security is fragile; political decisions and global dependencies have made the nation vulnerable to shortages if borders close or supply chains are disrupted.

2. Food Quality and Nutrition

  • There is a widespread misconception that all food is healthy, regardless of its source or processing.
  • Highly processed, low-nutrition foods have become normalised, driven by global business models and marketing narratives that prioritise profit over health.

3. The Food Chain Onion: Layers and Stakeholders

The document uses the metaphor of an “onion” to describe the multilayered food chain, each with distinct interests and influences:

Consumers

  • Consumers are key stakeholders but often feel and are treated as powerless, accepting what is available or affordable without questioning their influence.

Retailers (Supermarkets)

  • Supermarkets prioritise profit, using data and contracts to control farmers and manipulate consumers through loyalty schemes and pricing strategies.

Processors and Manufacturers

  • Processing has shifted from traditional, healthy methods to industrial, profit-driven practices that often harm health and undermine local food systems.
  • Manufacturers create addictive, unhealthy foods and collaborate with retailers to maximise profits.

Merchants and Landowners

  • Merchants and landowners add layers of profit and control, often prioritising investment over food production and community needs.

Money Markets, Financiers, and Corporations

  • Financial interests and big corporations have manipulated regulations and markets to maximise profit, often at the expense of farmers and consumers.

Politicians and Public Sector

  • Politicians and government officers lack understanding and leadership, often serving party, personal or hidden interests rather than public good.

Lobbyists, Activists, and Academia

  • Lobbyists and activists influence policy, sometimes without practical understanding.
  • Academia fails to champion necessary paradigm shifts, remaining anchored to the current money-centric system, which ‘pays the bills’.

Membership and Advocacy Organizations

  • The behaviour of big advocacy organisations like the NFU suggests they are more aligned with the establishment, rather than the industry and membership itself, often prioritising relationships with government over genuine change.

Farmers

  • Farmers have lost control and are pressured by external interests, subsidies, and contracts that undermine their independence, the viability of local food production and any willingness to embrace farm-led change.

4. Narratives, Myths, and Shibboleths

Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future identifies powerful narratives and myths that shape public perception and policy, including:

  • Globalisation makes food cheaper (a myth that hides the true costs and vulnerabilities).
  • Cost is the only important thing to the consumer (ignoring nutrition, provenance, and community impact).
  • “BIG” farming is the only viable model (marginalising small, family or local farms).
  • Money can solve every problem (overlooking the root causes of the problems that the food chain is experiencing that were created by money-centric systems).
  • Various other myths about food supply, farming, supermarkets, and political interests are also debunked, emphasising the need for local, transparent, and community-driven food systems.

5. Perceptual Barriers and Solutions

  • Situational bias and group gaslit isolation prevent people from recognising problems and acting for change.
  • Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future argues that profit should not be a right, especially in essential supply chains like food.
  • The proposed alternative is a farmer and community-led food chain revolution, rebuilding local food systems and local circular economies with food production at the centre, to restore control, independence, and food security.

Review of Key Messages of Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future

  • Food control is central to societal well-being and future security.
  • The current food system is dominated by profit-driven interests, complex layers, and misleading narratives that undermine health, local economies, and food security.
  • Consumers and farmers must reclaim influence, challenge myths, and rebuild local food chains.
  • Real change requires a paradigm shift away from money-centric thinking to people-centric values, prioritizing food as a public good.
  • Leadership must come from the grassroots, with communities and farmers working together to create resilient, transparent, and equitable food systems.

Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future closes by inviting readers to learn more, discuss, and remain open to new ideas, emphasizing that solutions must be collective and rooted in genuine understanding and community action.

Actions For Consumers

1. Recognise Your Influence

  • Consumers are one of the two key stakeholders in the food chain. You have more influence than you realise over what food is produced and how it is supplied.

2. Prioritise Healthy, Local Food

  • Seek out food that resembles its original form or source, and support traditional, local, and minimally processed foods.
  • Challenge the narrative that only processed or globalised food is affordable or convenient.

3. Question Narratives and Myths

  • Be sceptical of marketing, supermarket offers, and the myth that cost is the only important factor. Consider nutrition, provenance, and community impact.
  • Understand that “cheap” food often comes at the expense of quality, health, and local economies.


4. Support Local Farmers and Businesses

  • Build direct relationships with local farmers and small businesses. This is the only form of food chain that can be genuinely trusted.
  • Choose local, fresh, and traditionally processed foods whenever possible.

5. Advocate for Change

  • Engage in community discussions, challenge situational bias, and be open to new learning and perspectives.

Actions For Farmers

1. Reclaim Leadership and Independence

  • Farmers must recognise their role as business leaders, not just contractors, employees or recipients of subsidies and grants.
  • Accept that change must begin with farmers themselves if they want change that will benefit them.

2. Build Direct Relationships with Consumers

  • Focus on direct relationships with local consumers and small local businesses, rather than relying on contracts with supermarkets, processors, or global supply chains.

3. Shift Away from Profit-Driven Models

  • Challenge the myth that “BIG” farming is the only viable way. Small, local, family farms are vital for food security and community resilience.
  • Prioritize food quality, environmental stewardship, and community needs over maximising profit.

4. Lead the Food Chain Revolution

  • Farmers have the power to catalyse change by working with local communities to rebuild local food chains and circular economies.
  • Take the risk to initiate change, even if it means stepping away from established systems and subsidies.

5. Advocate for Policy and Paradigm Shifts

  • Engage with advocacy organisations, but push for genuine change rather than playing along with establishment interests and paying lip service to everything else.
  • Support a paradigm shift from money-centric to people-centric values, treating food as a public good.

Summary of Actions

  • Consumers and farmers must work together to rebuild trust, transparency, and resilience in the food chain.
  • Direct, local relationships are the foundation for a healthy, secure, and equitable food system.
  • Challenging myths, narratives, and profit-driven models is essential for meaningful change.
  • Grassroots leadership and community action are the keys to restoring food security and independence for all.

Get The Book

Understanding Who Controls Our Food Controls Our Future PDF_Vers1_23Nov25Download

The Local Economy & Governance System | Policy Summary

Overview:

The Local Economy & Governance System (LEGS) presents a comprehensive framework for restructuring society, economy, and governance to address persistent challenges such as inequality, environmental degradation, and social fragmentation.

LEGS prioritises People, Community, and The Environment as the foundation for all policy decisions.

1. Principles for Policy Design

  • People: Policies must protect individual dignity, personal sovereignty, and wellbeing.
  • Community: Emphasize collective responsibility, local decision-making, and mutual support.
  • The Environment: Ensure stewardship of natural resources and embed sustainability in all sectors.

2. Governance Reform

  • Transition from hierarchical, distant leadership to local, democratic, and transparent governance.
  • Leadership is earned through service and accountability, not status or authority.
  • Decision-making structures (e.g., the Circumpunct model) ensure open, participatory processes.

3. Economic Restructuring

  • Implement a local circular economy: value circulates within communities, minimising external dependencies.
  • Money is treated strictly as a medium of exchange, not as a source of power or speculation.
  • Essential needs (food, housing, healthcare, transport, clothing, communication, social participation) are guaranteed for all through the Basic Living Standard.

4. Public Good & Social Provision

  • Redefine public services as Community Provision, locally accountable and ethically grounded.
  • Every working member contributes 10% of their working week to public services and charity, replacing traditional public sector staffing with a community-led workforce.

5. Sectoral Policies

  • Food: Prioritise local, natural, minimally processed foods; restrict luxury and processed foods.
  • Health: Prohibit public smoking/vaping; deliver social care through relational, community-based models.
  • Housing: Limit ownership to one dwelling per person; treat housing as a right, not a commodity.

6. Education & Skills

  • Focus education on developing key life skills, self-awareness, and personal sovereignty.
  • Balance academic, experiential, and social learning to support independence and ethical awareness.

7. Business & Enterprise

  • Businesses must serve the public good, not profit. Social Businesses are non-profit, collectively owned, and fill gaps where private enterprise does not meet essential needs.
  • Ownership and wealth are distributed equitably among contributors.

8. Technology & AI

  • Strictly regulate AI and technology to ensure they serve humanity and do not replace human agency.
  • All essential services must have human-led, non-digital alternatives.

9. Freedom, Sovereignty, and Ethics

  • Protect personal sovereignty, freedom of thought, and belief.
  • Foster morality and ethics through freedom, security, and shared humanity—not through rules or oppression.

10. Decentralisation & Locality

  • Structure society around decentralised, self-contained Universal Parishes, ensuring governance, economy, and community life remain local, ethical, and responsive.

Strategic Takeaway for Policymakers:

LEGS offers a blueprint for policy innovation that centres on local empowerment, ethical governance, and universal access to essential needs.

Policymakers are encouraged to adopt and adapt these principles to create resilient, fair, and sustainable communities – where the public good is always the primary objective, and every individual’s dignity and wellbeing are protected.

LEGS Policy Summary 20Nov25 PDF_Vers1_22Nov25Download

Plastic Productivity and the Debt Trap: What the November Budget Won’t Fix

Governments do not collapse in the same way that individuals or businesses do. If they did, the United Kingdom would have gone under financially long ago. Instead, the state continues to function by rolling debt forward, reshaping obligations, and presenting the appearance of stability. For ordinary people, however, the rules are very different. When we cannot meet our commitments, we fail — unless someone steps in to bail us out.

Meeting financial obligations requires honesty. You must know whether you can truly pay your debts or whether survival depends on wishful thinking. Throughout history, people and businesses have thrived or failed for both good and bad reasons. As long as they appear to function, few question what lies beneath.

For tradesmen, small business owners, and entrepreneurs, the reality is harsh. None of us are “too big to fail.” Once obligations can no longer be met, collapse follows unless a benefactor intervenes.

We like to believe the same standards apply to everyone, whether sweeping streets or running government. Yet elites have always bent rules to their advantage. They forget that all people, high or low, share the same human experience. Power corrupts, and politicians often forget they were elected simply to fill a seat, not because they are uniquely qualified to decide what is best for everyone.

The shift to fiat money in 1971 changed everything. It allowed governments, banks, and corporations to manipulate the system, creating the illusion of endless funds. Behind closed doors, decisions were shaped by business and banking interests, while politicians no longer had to worry about the true responsibilities of leadership.

Debt became hidden behind GDP figures. Growth and transaction volumes disguised the reality of an exploding debt pile. To the untrained eye, it looked as though debt was shrinking, when in fact it was spiralling out of control.

This illusion was sustained by what might be called “plastic productivity.”* Assets and infrastructure were bought cheaply, production was outsourced overseas, and consumers were encouraged to buy more and more goods they didn’t need. People became indebted to the same banks that lent to government, yet could just about service their loans. It seemed as though prosperity was endless, and few questioned the narrative.

But the system was never sustainable. Its architects knew it would transfer wealth and ownership to a small elite. By making money and material wealth addictive, they ensured control. With industries hollowed out, productivity now depends almost entirely on expanding debt — by government, business, and individuals alike.

Politicians face a broken system. To keep the machinery of government running, they must tax normal people more heavily. Yet much of public spending delivers little benefit. Policies have been rewritten, words twisted, and meanings changed to allow politicians to cling to power while the wealthy grow richer. Assets of real value have been transferred to people who could never have owned them otherwise.

If the system collapses, the establishment will impose new rules. They may impoverish citizens further, leaving people no choice but to accept whatever is dictated. Many politicians may not even understand the system they oversee. They follow instructions blindly, blamed for decisions that are not theirs, lacking the skills to lead differently.

The situation could drag on for months or years. Collapse may come when the public finally says “enough,” or when the establishment has drained the country dry. Even if a new government is elected — Reform UK, Nigel Farage, or anyone else — they will face the same reality. Cutting spending or taxes cannot fix a nation that is broke and owns nothing. Wealth has already been transferred to lenders.

The system is broken. We must either accept subjugation under a corrupt structure built on trickery, or take a leap of faith and start again from scratch.

***

*”Plastic productivity” refers to the illusion of economic growth created by outsourcing production, encouraging over‑consumption, and sustaining debt, rather than building genuine, sustainable value. It’s not about plastics as a material, but about a system that mimics productivity while hollowing out real industries and transferring wealth.

How the UK was led into the fiscal-driven Armageddon we are now within
The harmful hidden meaning of ‘Growth’
The Local Economy & Governance System | Online Text
Plastic Productivity and The Debt Trap PDF_Vers1_ 21Nov25Download

Discover a Blueprint for Fair, Sustainable Communities: Introducing the Local Economy & Governance System (LEGS)

Are you searching for a fresh vision of society—one that puts people, community, and the environment first? The new book, The Local Economy & Governance System offers a transformative framework for reimagining how we live, work, and govern together.

Why Read This Book?

  • A Timely Critique and Practical Blueprint: LEGS doesn’t just highlight what’s broken in today’s world—it lays out actionable steps for building a society where everyone’s essential needs are guaranteed, and collective wellbeing is the top priority.
  • People, Community, Environment: These three principles guide every aspect of the LEGS framework, from local governance and economic models to daily life and public policy.
  • Personal Sovereignty: LEGS places strong emphasis on empowering every individual to live freely, responsibly, and authentically. Personal Sovereignty is recognized as the foundation for dignity, ethical living, and genuine freedom within the community.
  • Authentic Governance: Say goodbye to distant, hierarchical leadership. LEGS champions local, democratic decision-making, where leadership is earned through service and accountability—not status.
  • Basic Living Standard for All: Imagine a world where full-time work at the lowest wage covers all core living costs—no more poverty, reliance on charity, or skipped essentials.
  • Community Contributions: Every working member gives back 10% of their week to support local services and charity, replacing traditional public sector staffing with a community-led workforce.
  • Ethical Business & Economy: Businesses exist to serve the public good, not profit. Social enterprises fill gaps where private business doesn’t meet essential needs, and wealth is distributed equitably among contributors.
  • Responsible Technology & AI: LEGS strictly regulates technology to ensure it serves humanity and never replaces human agency. All essential services have human-led, non-digital alternatives.

Who Should Read LEGS?

  • Community leaders, policymakers, and activists seeking practical models for local empowerment.
  • Anyone concerned about inequality, environmental sustainability, or the future of governance.
  • Readers interested in social innovation, ethical business, and resilient communities.

Get Involved

LEGS is more than a book—it’s an invitation to participate in shaping a fairer, more compassionate world. Start conversations, challenge old systems, and take practical steps in your own community. The journey to a better future begins with the choices we make and the values we uphold.

Discover LEGS PDF_Vers1_ 20Nov25Download