How can you privatise every service and yet not privatise a monarchy?

[X]

We privatized energy and what happened , my gas bill used to be about £120 a quarter to £360 a
quarter , same with electric bill.
Remember if profit comes into delivering ANY PUBLIC service, corners are cut in the name of profit
large wage bills for CEO, the public are ripped off.

I take your point, Dia, especially regarding huge profits and overpaid executives ....... But nationalised services are usually pretty crap, run by pen pushers and auditors, with staff who don't have to work hard because the unions are too strong and there is little in the way of performance management culture (I admit that these are huge generalisations too)

Governments are crap at actually running things, and local authorities are even worse. Your energy bill may have gone up, but that doesn't mean that it's more expensive, the nationalised companies were just gobbling up public money below the radar.

Just to b controversial, our NHS service is not generally good when you consider what it costs, and in the long term is genuinely unsustainable.

[Master]

X I agree that we should not have a state monopoly but we get back these public services sold off and bring them into organisations that are non-profit making and have ethics. This is similar to housing associations which were set up and compete for business. They bid for the work and winning on cost and quality of service.Any surplus made is reinvested back into the organisation.

It is the best way forward.

Regarding NHS, it is a victim of its own success. People are living longer because it provides a good service and stops people dying. We should be proud of that and not criticise it. I believe the same thing should happen to NHS and open it to voluntary organisations who can provide more cost effective way to provide the services.

[Gandalf]

Its just a Tory myth that the state is useless at providing key services. Our water and energy are as good as can be, cost very little each month and are state run. Furthermore, the monarchy was rid off a long time ago. In order to progress you have to discard a justification for inequality such as monarchy and realise that we all have a basic right to water and energy. In the Uk all these things are about fat cats and shareholders. They deserve no say in essentials. There is no justification for it and you are not getting a better service. Its only by comparing systems that you see the lies peddled via the UK media. No council housing? Just filling in fat cat profits too. It is feudalism.

[X]

No, I worked for a major top tier contractor for over 14 years, working for (amongst others) British Rail (then Railtrack then Network Rail), National Grid, the Highways Agency, Beitish Nuclear Fuels, MEB, Manweb etc ....... And they really were genuinely shit, wasteful and ineffective.

The problem with the current outsourcing is that they have only moved from a total state monopoly to a very very small number of companies doing the work. That breeds cartel behaviour and they become as bad as the monopoly itself.

I'm being just as critical of the monopsony 'private sector' companies who have cornered their markets with enormous barriers to entry and who don't really have to compete.

I also agree that the NHS was a wonderful, humane invention. At the time. But I don't buy into the almost holy awe that it and the people who work in it are held, especially during this election. Ove any organisation becomes untouchable, it does not feel the need to improve, to change and to become more effective and efficient. But like the Church really!

[Gandalf]

There is nothing shit about government involvement in key utilities imo. You cannot have a freemarket in these areas and so it is better that the government runs them in the interests of the people. There is nothing shit about water for a fiver a month. Water run for German pension funds and shareowners is very shit and a rip off. It should be run in the interests of people who cannot live without it and them alone. Everybody.

The NHS was fine until mass immigration, chronic non investment and bankrupting PFI's. On its own terms the NHS is a beautiful thing.

[Gandalf]

I know that is one of my contradictions. I want small government when it comes to tools of oppression like monarchy, police and the war machine. But when it comes to things like providing water and health and things like that I can only envisage a government role. You were right elsewhere X. I do have that push and pull when it comes to wanting to do the right thing. It's an uneasy balancing act.

[brocktonblockbust]

anarchy is the only natural order of things. the desire to accommodate the lowest common denominators has only brought about much strife and inequality

[Master]

anarchy is the only natural order of things. the desire to accommodate the lowest common denominators has only brought about much strife and inequality

That is illogical.

It is sad that Germany own some of our trains, hike up the prices so that it subsidises their travel in Germany. We are royally screwed.

[Dark Lord Al]

Tony Blair loves working for tyrants and the banks. On that basis he was born to serve monarchs. Here is Russell Brand's latest video, and I have to say, I think Brand is splendid these days. It is almost as though he has taken my ideas, vitriol and madness from several years ago and made it all palatable to the masses with a wonderfully cohesive set of factual points and observations.

The only thing funny about Brand is he claims to be a comedian.

[brocktonblockbust]

anarchy is the only natural order of things. the desire to accommodate the lowest common denominators has only brought about much strife and inequality

That is illogical.

It is sad that Germany own some of our trains, hike up the prices so that it subsidises their travel in Germany. We are royally screwed.

@Master you couldn't even be bothered to put down your mop as you were swabbing the deck, and show up to Brits pop out of the birthday cake party on the top deck on the starboard side Of bill Paxton's private yacht. you are the only an anarchist aboard this ship you hypocrite @Bill Paxtom

[X]

Network Rail are fucking useless and full of shit.

There is a sign on the platform at my local station saying you shouldn't stand near the edge, or you will get sucked off.

Five hours I stood there for

[Master]

Network Rail are fucking useless and full of shit.

There is a sign on the platform at my local station saying you shouldn't stand near the edge, or you will get sucked off.

Five hours I stood there for

You worked for them in the past so you knew they were incompetent and not trustworthy they could not even get that right.

[brocktonblockbust]

Prisons are privatised here and they have poor conditions and a lot of drug problems.

Oh quit being such a bleeding heart liberal

[Master]

Prisons are privatised here and they have poor conditions and a lot of drug problems.

Oh quit being such a bleeding heart liberal

Quit being a right wing moron.

[brocktonblockbust]

Prisons are privatised here and they have poor conditions and a lot of drug problems.

Oh quit being such a bleeding heart liberal

Quit being a right wing moron.

Just tell me if Gamo is really Bill Paxton or finny to El dinamita that's all we really want to know