Posts
Comment 24 (Leanomist)
See previous post on Remembering 1931 below:
Credit Crunch, Tax Crunch, Pensions Crunch ... entirely predictable outcomes until the style of 'leadership' and 'economics' changes ...
In a global economy only those capable of offering (and exporting) things other nations want will survive in the long run. This country lost this concept some years ago and/or wrongly believed financial services were the answer!
'Leanomics', a much wider and far more holistic form of 'economics', looks at community factors too ... such as individual well-being and community contentment, as well as the sustainability of enterprise and the environment. For example, one simple Leanomics test, called the "BUTS" test, can create a great deal of insight by looking at debt alongside the capability of the community to pay it back.
B=Borrowing
U=Untapped talent
T=Trade deficit
S=Stress
Trade deficits, untapped talent and stress all negatively impact on a nations ability/capability to pay back debt, and what do these look like at the moment ? I'll give you a clue - terrible!
We have got into huge debt, sold the family silver, demoralised people, stressed people out, created a broken society, overburdened our children (and our children's children), and still have the 1940's baby-boom to come (with a poorly funded pension system).
Will future generations stay in this country and pay the price for all this ... I doubt it. Would you?
Comment 57 (Leanomist)
From where we stand as a nation "where the jobs will come from" is THE KEY QUESTION - as previously it was created by a lot of 'spin' and increased Government borrowing- so is the answer MORE 'spin' and Government borrowing?
Comment 60 (Leanomist)
... Who will pay ... honest, hard-working people. Who will avoid it ... those in positions of power ... until hard-working people realise the world is about to change forever, and for the better.
Comment 63 (NotaProphet)
LibertarianKurt,
Your scenario sounds nice, but as a private road owner, I would spend the bare minimum on road maintenance, hire the cheapest, most unskilled laborers from afar and avoid as much investment in quality control, training, equipment, safety as possible in order to maximize my return so I could purchase more roads to squeeze out the competition in order to charge higher road use fees, thereby continually providing me and my shareholders the maximum value for our investment and attracting ever-more capital!
It might not be long before even Libertarians begin crying out for more government regulation, but that would not be a problem for me, because I would have all the decision-makers (and their families and friends) on my payroll! We would all splurge on fancy living until the roads got so bad people would demand changes, so the government might offer me either a nice price to purchase the roads back from me, or, since I have the administrative apparatus and political connections, the government would simply give me taxpayer money to invest back into "society's" infrastructure.
Of course, I would certainly funnel SOME of that money to "pet projects" important to certain of my favorite politicians - right before election time - and spend the rest in unnecessary capital investments to reduce my tax burden. Please push for this with your local representative so I may begin assembling investors to purchase the roads in your community!
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Comment 68 (Leanomist)
Notaprophet (63) has eloquently described for us all a simple example of Poweromics (see definition below), where a few people in a position of power manipulate proceedings for their own personal ends, and has pointed out very well that they will continue to do so until more people say no. There are very definitely alternatives, but more people will have to demand them, otherwise the system will not 'learn from it's mistakes', and those in 'power' will continue to create them (and profit from them).
Poweromics = People use position and power for their own personal gain, based on poor moral values, self interest and greed.
Do most people learn and take responsibility, or just have a quick winge and then go back to the latest reality TV programme? Would the bridge across the gorge have been built if the Government did not want it built and controlled all planning rules for bridges (note crossing this bridge is a charged for activity - it's just waiting for change when they start to charge £30/crossing ... like the M6 toll road eventually too)? If you're frustrated and interested in making a difference why not get involved in the development of alternatives:
e.g. the complete opposite:
Leanomics = People take responsibility for adding value and continuously improving the situation for others (e.g. customers, communities, overall environment), based upon fundamental values such as trust, honor, responsibility and respect.
The internet is changing the rules and will transform everything, including 'politics' and 'economics'. Google's mantra is "Do no harm". The Leanomics mantra is "Do good". If you believe in fundamental values and the common good feel free to join me and get involved in its development.
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Comment 72 (BobRocket)
People use the M6 Toll because on the cost benefit analysis it comes out better, faster journey time + less likelyhood of speeding but cost of toll against M6 Free - slower journey time + increased likelyhood of speeding tickets.
As the level of traffic decreases due to the economic slowdown then the cost benefit of using the M6 Toll is reduced, why pay 2 quid to drive on an empty motorway when you can do the same for free.
If the downturn continues then at some point the M6 Toll will become uneconomic and the owners will either have to reduce the charges or more likely force the government to stop maintaining the M6 Free (even though we pay for that one as well)
Private industry has only one motive - profit
Public industry should have only one motive - public good
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Comment 81 (Leanomist)
BobRocket (72) - I agree in the main about the M6 toll road, it's not a perfect example but it still makes the general point - it's a flawed scheme but it's owners, supported by their 'friends' in Government, are already trying hard to recoup their money from it and will have more 'surprises' in store for us in the future I'm sure (e.g. the way individual road charging will operate in that area in the future).
As an aside, have you ever have noticed the deliberate (and yet apparently accepted) way all the signs are designed to mislead people about charges, and charge most people far more for using the road than the big bold figures suggest (the less visible, less bold and less obvious prices placed to the left are the actual peak-rate prices and far more than £2!). The fact that the road system was also allowed to be designed to naturally place everyone on the toll-road itself, unless you spot this and quickly get off, was clearly also done in agreement with Government. Their 'friends' in Government will undoubtedly help them further in the future too, and they will probably get more money through a 'buy back' in the future (using tax payers money as NoProphet explained very well).
Did you know the Government have just admitted to having a deliberate policy of slowing traffic down (by using deliberately ineffective traffic light sequences) so they would gain lots more revenue from petrol tax too. At the same time they preached to us about saving the environment! Do you still believe the rhetoric about providing public good?
"Public industry should have only one motive - public good" ... I agree, but 'should' is a key word here I'm afraid. From a 'value' perspective, public services systematically waste 60-80% of all the money they take from us ... and that level has been rising, not falling! .. and guess what, going back to the subject matter in hand, rather than change this they want to take even more tax from us and get us to work until we're 70.
Everyone happy? Are most people unhappy enough to do something about it? I'm not sure yet. It needs to get much worse before they will. Poweromics and wasteful practices are everywhere and I'm afraid it will continue unabated until it is properly checked. Perhaps I'll will put more examples on my web site soon.
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