Is private enterprise failing us?
Is private enterprise failing us?
The government have announced this morning they're taking control of the running of the East Coast rail service - which runs between London and Edinburgh. National Express say lower than expected passenger numbers mean they're losing money on the franchise - they expected a 10% rise in passengers every year. But fares have risen above inflation, so what is going wrong? Was it a mistake to privatise British Rail in 1996?
Lest we forget the taxpayer owns 70% of the Royal Bank of Scotland and all of Northern Rock.
So are big businesses too greedy - too concerned with profit over the service they provide? Or are they simply the casualty of a global recession? Do you welcome government intervention and takeover over companies?
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About this National Express story.
It was picked up by Evan Davis on Today - but Government spokesman managed to get that phrase "it is a good news story" in there somewhere.
Ah spin is certainly not failing us - but I suppose that is its function. To "go around and around and ar.."
I also heard on Today about family courts and secrecy and Royal parks and short stories being written for same - Parks.
The law representative in family court item is one of two I could normally name - married to an author I believe whose surname - sort of - is synonomous with a tennis ball clipping the net on its way over.
The other law man I could surname - if the word Park is added - becomes a novel himself.
I used to admire the Lawyer because I knew nowt about the profession.
Jury service fascinated me - as do legal dramas but now I am very disillussioned with the whole profession.
Selfish I know but they have failed me I believe. Family Courts and secrecy?
I thought that was for the children involved or are we talking about those of several generations after the child in my case? That is appropriate - how? I just want to verbally beat one or two lawyers up now.
Oh - and recognising their (QCs) abilities for litigation - no offence to either gentlemen mentioned - I was making a bad point. Offence? As if I care. lol
Subject: it failed to yield any results
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The re-nationalisation of the East Coast Railway (once part of British Rail) is yet another chronic incictment of privatisation and neoliberalism hailed by the Tories and shamefully New Labour (not to be confused with the real Labour Movement)
Of course this bail out is exactly the same as the bail out's the financial sector. It all reflects the gross inefficiency of the system and a Labour government, backed by the Tories bail these failed outfits out to prevent the public at large realising the full magnitude of the system's failings.
It's bad enough an unelected New Labour crony like Lord Adonis has to announce this as Transport Secretary . He even has the nerve to say that once it supposedly recovers it will be put out to tender again. However away from MP,s expenses etc it all sums up the real vacuum in Parliamentary politics today were there is no mainstream party exposing this free market hypocrisy.
The biggest welfare scrounger in the UK is capitalism itself. It needs to be taken into public ownership entirely but not run by free market ideologues as nationalised industries always have been in the past, but run by the workers, from who will emerge the country's real politicians. Accordingly this will render the issue of MP,s second jobs as an irrelevence.
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As I see it and I am NO expert on the economy, is that in Britain there has never been proper long term investment in anything. The bosses and shareholders have taken huge profit whenever they could and money that should have been used to improve things has gone straight into their pockets. I don't think there's anything wrong with a fair profit for bosses and shareholders but to take it all and leave nothing which has resulted in unemployment and business failure and misery for many thousands of people at the 'sharp end'.
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