Problematic Policy

[Sukerkin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24265314

Whilst in part I am delighted to see that the government-in-waiting is finally waking up to the fact that it has to shake things up and do things differently than it's political opponents, direct government action to control how much a business can charge unsettles me a little.

It is true that the energy market is broken (over here at least) with companies gouging us for ludicrous profits whilst laying people off and not investing in infrastructure but I would like to see, rather than a fiat freeze on prices, a cap placed on margins with the incentive that turnover can be offset against profits if it is used for meaningful investment in the infrastructure (that these companies inherited for free, more or less).

 

[K-man]

But will Miliband take on the banks. If the government needs money, perhaps they could take a leaf out of the US book of financial governance and just run the presses.

 

[Sukerkin]

Well, we've been enduring a policy of Quantitative Easing for about five years now .. i.e. printing money for the banks to keep whilst the rest of us suffer.

 

[K-man]

Well, we've been enduring a policy of Quantitative Easing for about five years now .. i.e. printing money for the banks to keep whilst the rest of us suffer.

Isn't it amazing that the substitution of a few words makes all the difference.

"We have been responsibly managing the economy by embracing a policy of printing more money", or ... "We have been responsibly managing the economy by embracing a policy of Quantitative Easing".

Yeah, right!

 

[Takai]

But will Miliband take on the banks. If the government needs money, perhaps they could take a leaf out of the US book of financial governance and just run the presses.

I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Sukerkin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24271960

I still remain unpersuaded that direct interference is the best way; whilst I do concur that the multi-nationals need their claws clipping, for they are the death of the real economy, it may be far too late now to do it without nasty consequences.