Bloody Libertarians, Imagine the Mess if they Ran Government

Generali

Westland Helicopters doesn't seem to be about vested interests either:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westland_affair

According to Wikipedia it seems that Mrs Thatcher wanted Westland to be able to merge with whoever they wanted whereas Mr Heseltine wanted Westland to merge with who he wanted. It just looks like a stance taken in favour of free markets to me.

I have no idea what you mean about Murdoch though.

I think you're on a loser here.

lostinrates

Under the Labour government I believe we lost westland...its westland augusta now isn't it? An italian company?

Generali

lostinrates wrote: »

Under the Labour government I believe we lost westland...its westland augusta now isn't it? An italian company?

http://www.agustawestland.com/index.html

You got closer to the name than I would have!

lostinrates

Generali wrote: »

http://www.agustawestland.com/index.html

You got closer to the name than I would have!

DH will still still mock my error though.

michaels

Heseltine wanted a British National Champion a la French corporatist example. Theoretically the French model should be a disaster but actually it seems to work moderately well. Yes they accept an underclass of 10% unemployment but they actually seem to manage steady growth. High taxation true but nonetheless a good standard of living for most.

Perhaps Big G could explain how it works for them?

Generali

michaels wrote: »

Heseltine wanted a British National Champion a la French corporatist example. Theoretically the French model should be a disaster but actually it seems to work moderately well. Yes they accept an underclass of 10% unemployment but they actually seem to manage steady growth. High taxation true but nonetheless a good standard of living for most.

Perhaps Big G could explain how it works for them?

The 10% unemployment is the price. Youth unemployment is up to about 25 or 30% IIRC. Don't think that these people are an underclass (except perhaps non-white unemployment where they are an underclass insofar as corporations won't interview let alone employ someone with a North African name in many cases making it very hard to find work), it is normal to spend a long period of time as an adult unable to find work in France and has been for decades.

I agree that the French model works quite well in simple terms (their GDP is roughly equal to the UK's). The unemployment price is very high however. It's horrible for a young person trying to find work in France - even work in a supermarket or bar is hard to come by if you have no experience.

StevieJ

Generali wrote: »

You started the Big Bang thing. My advice to you (as it was to a colleague this week) is if you don't know what you're on about, don't argue the toss because I will find you out.


;-)

Falling out at work already, tut tut

michaels

I believe in investment banking along with the mega bonuses goes a ruthless weeding out of those who don't perform none of the cozy putting them in non-jobs where they do what they can - it is deliver bottom line or get out of the way.

vivatifosi

I'm not entirely sure its wise to raise my head above the parapet, but just wanted to talk for a minute about what London was like before big bang.

In the early 80s I worked for a while for a bank and also for a chartered surveyor. I hated working in the city. It was so dry and staid. If you wanted to buy anything, you had to take a tube to the West End because there were a few shops, all on Cheapside, they resembled a high street anywhere in Britain. Bankers still wore bowler hats and went home at around 5pm. There was no Broadgate (the first big post-big bang office development). There was no Canary Wharf. Switzerland was still mentioned as a major competing financial centre.

Big bang didn't just bring about a change in fortune for bankers, but for construction companies who built buildings, support workers who filled the jobs and retailers who saw that there was a new massive market on their doorstep. Within a year of big bang, companies were moving to the UK who previously had no presence, or if they did it was small. They didn't just go from no workers to 10 or 12, they went to having an office of 500 or more. Remember the amazement that Japanese banks actually wanted to set up here?

The implied success of big bang also led to the less well remembered "little bangs" - deregulation of the professional services which have also led to growth in the legal and accountancy sectors.

Personally I thought it was great. Nothing approaching that degree of growth would have occurred without it.

Generali

StevieJ wrote: »

Falling out at work already, tut tut

I spoke to my boss about it. He said I did well to last as long as I did before falling out with her.

To be fair, she gets a lot of aggro from the client, an ex-employee of ours who feels she has a grievance against our bank. That doesn't mean she can have a pop at me though.