Funding the Future

Is Apple worth $4 trillion?

Apple has crossed a $4 trillion valuation. That’s $495 for every single person on Earth — if we all shared it. But we don’t.
This video explores how its shareholders extract vast profits from billions of people locked into Apple’s ecosystem — and what it means for inequality, democracy and tax justice.
I ask: who really creates Apple’s wealth — and who benefits?

What's wrecking Britain?

The UK is stuck in a self-inflicted fiscal trap. Larry Elliott, former Guardian Economics Editor and my co-author in the Green New Deal, joins me to explain why Rachel Reeves’ rulebook is economic guesswork, how the Bank of England is failing to control inflation and why capital controls could help rebuild Britain’s productive economy. Plus, the technology hype cycle, the risk of an AI bubble, and where new political leadership might emerge to take us beyond neoliberalism. And in all that, a message of hope. 

Will AI save us?

Politicians and tech billionaires want us to believe AI will solve every problem. But automation has always delivered gains to owners, not workers. AI risks concentrating power, destroying purpose and undermining democracy. This video explains why real productivity comes from education and care, not code, and why a humane future means using AI to support people, not replace them.

We can’t bank on Britain

We’re told that competition makes everything better — cheaper, fairer, more efficient. But when it comes to banks, that’s a myth. Six giant institutions dominate the UK market. They are all charging high fees, paying low interest, closing branches, and abandoning communities. But banking shouldn't be a marketplace engaged in a race to the bottom in service levels and to the top in charges; it’s a public utility. It’s time for a publicly owned Basic British Bank to make banking fair again.

Power is all around us

Economics isn’t just about spreadsheets. It’s about people, power, and place.
In this video, filmed in Ely, where I live, I explore what my friend Danny Blanchflower calls 'the economics of walking about', which is the idea that you learn more about the real economy by walking through it than by staring at data. From Ely Cathedral to Oliver Cromwell’s house, this is a story about how power shapes everything — from feudal rents to modern mortgages.

Trump's marching East

Trump is demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a privately funded $300 million ballroom. It’s being paid for by undisclosed corporate donors and is being built without proper regulatory approval. This isn’t restoration or renewal. It’s a hostile takeover of one of democracy’s most symbolic buildings, and when money rebuilds power, citizens lose it.

Tax is the price of civilisation

We’re told tax is a curse and even “theft.” That’s wrong. Tax is how we build a fair society. It plays an essential role in the funding of education, healthcare, and economic stability and justice. It’s how we express our shared responsibility. The real immorality lies in avoiding tax. In this video, I explain why tax is not a burden but the foundation of democracy itself.

Why 2% inflation?

Catherine Mann of the Bank of England says inflation will stay above 2%. But what if the problem isn’t inflation but is the target itself?
The 2% rule was invented in the 1990s to please markets, not to help people.
In this video, I explain why our obsession with hitting that number is crushing wages, stalling investment, and protecting the rich at the expense of everyone else.
It's time for an inflation policy that serves people, jobs, and the planet, and not financial markets.

Where's the UK debt crisis?

There’s a real debt crisis in Britain – but it’s not the one the politicians or journalists are talking about.
While Rachel Reeves and the media obsess over government borrowing, 4 million people are already in negative budgets, meaning they're unable to afford the basics of life without debt.
This video explains why the real debt crisis in the UK is about private debt, not public debt. It shows how austerity, low wages, speculative markets and broken benefits drive ordinary families into despair, all while the Treasury celebrates its so-called “fiscal discipline.”
I argue that government debt is not a burden; it’s a tool, but private debt is a real trap. Meanwhile, the Treasury's obsession with balanced budgets is leading Britain towards social collapse and, dangerously, towards fascism.
Watch, share, and tell me what you think in the poll below.

Tax rises now? Economic madness

Rachel Reeves says she needs to raise taxes to “balance the books.” But that’s not how government finance works.
In this video, I explain why that tax doesn’t fund spending, why raising taxes on most people now would kill demand, and why idle wealth, and not workers, should be taxed if anything has to be at this moment.
The government’s job is to sustain spending power, not drain it.