I've played cards with a bloke for 30 years. He's a Tory councillor and dairy farmer. For all that time he's told me (politely) that I'm an idiot when I've mentioned possible government intervention in a whole range of industries. "You can't buck the market" ; "the markets are always right"; "inefficient industries must be allowed to go to the wall. If the Poles can produce cheaper coal and India cheaper steel then that's all there is to it."
Now he's part of a delegation trying to persuade the government to intervene in the milk market. Apparently the market has got it wrong, peoples' livelihoods are too important to leave to market forces etc, etc. Of course it helps that several senior members of the Tory party are farmers while none are steelworkers or miners. Watch this space.
The 'markets' are rigged anyway in favour of those with wealth and the power that comes with it, in your friends case the supermarkets. I also have a very wealthy farmer friend (12000 acres mixed arable in Lincolnshire) who recently told me he was putting off his holiday this year because he had to wait for a visit from Defra as he was to be given, just given £250,000 , because he owned land, he's a Tory too but a decent bloke.
The energy markets are rigged by the 'big six' . The publicly owned railway,BR, is sold off for being inefficient and cost the good old 'hard working tax payer' millions in subsidies. It is flogged of a below 'market' price and then continues to be subsidised by the tax payer to the tune of £3.8 billion, in order to pay out shareholder dividends of £183m. The water companies are doing the same. Private landlords are doing the same, The public purse is being slowly drained by subsidies to private companies (who then avoid paying taxes, another drain on our resources) which apparently is good for business and good for the economy, (the market) but when subsidies are used to support publicly owned utilities its wasteful!
No wonder they keep telling us there's 'no alternative', they're making a mint from us every second of the day and we allow it to happen. In any sane society it would be regarded as theft, and dont get me started about the banks and where the subsidy that cost every household in the country £27,000, disappeared to ........
Same as a house value is based by a bloke with a clipboard surveying your house, foundations of sand, the red flag will fly once again over 10 downing street.
Also Intercity under BR was making a profit before it was franchised.
-- Edited by WorcesterMiller on Thursday 13th of August 2015 12:43:54 PM
Always the same free market they cry when making big money both farmers and banks. Then when the free market goes tits up they want handouts from the tax payers. Cant have it both ways live by the sword die by the sword. The poor just watch and get poorer, while they must be laughing their bull hooks off.
Always the same free market they cry when making big money both farmers and banks. Then when the free market goes tits up they want handouts from the tax payers. Cant have it both ways live by the sword die by the sword. The poor just watch and get poorer, while they must be laughing their bull hooks off.
The problem is though, they get the hand outs from the 'Tax payer' without question. Its been estimated that the total cost to the public purse in subsidies, and tax breaks start at around £93bn or a little over £3,500 per household. The handout to the banks alone which, we were told was to enable the banks to continue to supply loans to business, which never happened, was £850bn. At the moment our national debt is running at a little over £900bn.
So the question is, is our national debt a direct result of the unemployed, scroungers, benefit cheats, foreigners and socialist as we are led to believe
You are right Ian. I know I sound like some ranting Marxsist, Commi, Trotskyist, actually I dont know the difference, but I know I am neither, but I do object to unfairness and injustice.
I cant see how the economy can be kicked started by austerity and impoverishment, I guess they arrange it so that there are just enough with just enough while the rest look on and envy them. Divide and conquer
