Bloody Libertarians, Imagine the Mess if they Ran Government

michaels

I have noticed tho that you are more forthright in your views now you are back being a master of the universe whereas when you were a mere lecturer you were more willing to suffer fools...what does your wife say?

Generali

michaels wrote: »

...what does your wife say?

There's a joke there along the lines of, "whatever I tell her to" (sorry Mrs G - Love You Sweetie)....

I hadn't noticed the rest of it. Draw whatever conclusions you like. I'm not in much of a 'Big Swinging Richard' environment so it's unlikely to be work directly. Possibly it's an increased sense of self worth as I'm earning a living at last, perhaps it's coincidence.

Sir_Humphrey

Well, all this talk of Big Bang is very informative, but it does nothing to disprove my wider point about Thatcher.

Generali

Sir_Humphrey wrote: »

Well, all this talk of Big Bang is very informative, but it does nothing to disprove my wider point about Thatcher.

She (or rather her Government) 'took on' the unions, the accountants, The City, lawyers and dentists. They swept aside restrictive practices that existed to support interests rather than people as a whole.

The example of the Big Bang is a good one but far from the only one.

Sir_Humphrey

Generali wrote: »

She (or rather her Government) 'took on' the unions, the accountants, The City, lawyers and dentists. They swept aside restrictive practices that existed to support interests rather than people as a whole.

The example of the Big Bang is a good one but far from the only one.

What about the police?

As I say, I am not sure we are disagreeing too much here. People would have had an interest in those things you mention (and there are a couple of uses of the term vested interest which may mean we are arguing at crossed purposes).

To illustrate, mortgage lenders have a vested interest in keep house prices high. Renters have a vested interest in lower house prices. Satisfying one vested interest means defeating the other. This is not to be confused with legal vesting. The term vested interest is used in the political rather than legal sense here.

Perhaps this is why we are perplexing each other here?

kennyboy66_2

Generali wrote: »

She (or rather her Government) 'took on' the unions, the accountants, The City, lawyers and dentists. They swept aside restrictive practices that existed to support interests rather than people as a whole.

The example of the Big Bang is a good one but far from the only one.

Accountants, Solicitors and Dentists are poor examples - changes were underway before Thatcher was even in power. This is an example were people tend to credit her with things she didn't initiate. Maybe she pushed it over the finishing line.

Big Bang & Beer Orders legislation would be good examples, particularly as both were against what was normal Conservative business interests.

Westland was another good example - let management & shareholders decide rather than a cosy merger forced by Govt. Sadly this lesson lost on the Lloyds board when they destroyed shareholder value to prop up jobs in Scottish constituencies.

Privatisation & not allowing BT to get involved in mobiles, meant that Vodafone thrived and is the worlds biggest operator.

Not really sure what the Murdoch point was - he bet the ranch on Sky and footie and it paid off. Odious bloke but won the TV battle fair & square.

Generali

kennyboy66 wrote: »

Accountants, Solicitors and Dentists are poor examples - changes were underway before Thatcher was even in power. This is an example were people tend to credit her with things she didn't initiate. Maybe she pushed it over the finishing line.

Big Bang & Beer Orders legislation would be good examples, particularly as both were against what was normal Conservative business interests.

Westland was another good example - let management & shareholders decide rather than a cosy merger forced by Govt. Sadly this lesson lost on the Lloyds board when they destroyed shareholder value to prop up jobs in Scottish constituencies.

Privatisation & not allowing BT to get involved in mobiles, meant that Vodafone thrived and is the worlds biggest operator.

Not really sure what the Murdoch point was - he bet the ranch on Sky and footie and it paid off. Odious bloke but won the TV battle fair & square.

I didn't realise that about the Professions but then I was 8 when she got in!

It strikes me that the amazing thing about her was that she wanted to take on all these privileged groups. The Labour Party has always been good at taking on The Evil City and the Tories always liked having a swipe at the unions. What made her unusual IMO is that she saw The City and Trade Unions as being the same thing - interest groups advancing themselves at the expense of everyone else.

sabretoothtigger

Schiff vs Krugman vs Reality - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=402717025131

As these tensions escalate, most economists urge Washington to tread lightly because of the negative fallout for America if China were to begin selling its enormous cache of U.S. Treasury bonds. Krugman pushes back, asserting that the U.S. risks little by playing hardball, and that China has more to lose. He asserts that a Chinese decision to end its purchases of U.S. Treasury debt would make only a marginal impact on long-term interest rates. Did you hear that Stockholm?

Privatisation & not allowing BT to get involved in mobiles, meant that Vodafone thrived and is the worlds biggest operator.

BT sold O2 off to Telefonica which is an aggressive Spanish telecoms company. Much better to own them then BT I reckon