Not Marxism
Last week I blogged about the fact that the water companies were asking for higher price rises from Ofwat because they needed to pay dividends to their shareholders (which is a lie for a start). Now they are demanding higher price rises because they have higher National Insurance bills to pay, following the budget.
Isn’t it strange that when the Tories slashed spending on everything from the NHS to education and defence to the police, the argument was always that they could do more with less, “We are just asking civil servants to do what the private sector does all the time.”
When actually we live in a world where huge corporations pass on their increasing costs effortlessly and hike some more profits on top all the time and the public has to like it or lump it. In fact we don’t notice we are being shafted because it is just the way of the world now.
Except for the water companies which find themselves in the embarrassing situation of having to try to justify price rises, because they have made such a complete failure of running their companies.
Don’t think of it as cheeky as hell, or shameless lobbying, or exploitation of their customers, this is what the real world is like a lot of the time. This is why insurance prices always rise, especially if you stay with the same company, why car repairs are so expensive, why food prices never fall when there is a glut, or energy prices when the international oil price collapse. It is just that this time we can see it.
How about learning the lesson and not letting insurance giants merge, or splitting up food giants and supermarkets, how about a real competition authority and not letting companies out spend the government in the courts.
You’ll never get more for less without real competition.
But both major parties are stuck in the post Thatcher world where the rules are rigged in favour of the big boys and it is accepted as a part of life, it isn’t.
Real competition, and utilities run for the national benefit, it is hardly Marxist.
Surely the Tory party should be leading this charge?
From Jonty Bloom Media Ltd
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
Totally agree with you however, the Tories will never lead the charge for a fairer society while they are among those who are profiting from the current situation.
cf the US healthcare insurance industry - a v small handful of companies own the whole shebang and that’s not ending well - for the insured or the execs. The whole Thatcher/Reagan era continues to be a disaster