Nationalisation? Yes Please!

A shocking thing happened in the UK recently - a bank - Northern Rock - was nationalised! It wasn't the fact that the bank should have gone bust that shocked the reactionary press, and politicians, nor the fact that undeserving shareholders will probably given a payout (and I am one though I've never bought a share in my life - I was given the shares when Northern Rock de-mutualised). It was the fact that the government took ownership that really rocked the boat.

Even though the government had no choice but to nationalise Northern Rock in order to protect British taxpayers, after a catastrophic private sector failure, taking such a step was seen as heresy, a blow against the sacred tenets of the free market.

But the sun is still shining, and as far as I know the earth is still on its axis. The simple truth is that after ten years of New Labour's slavish obedience to the market Britain is more divided and unequal than ever, The only time in our history when the gap between rich and poor has narrowed was the 30 year period following the second world war. The we had strong trade unions and public control of utilities, coal, steel and the railways. All of the latter were nationalised, not out of ideology, but because they were strategic industries which had failed under private sector ownership. While the private owners starved these industries of investment, the workers were sweated in near slave conditions. The owners wrung every last drop of sweat and profit out of them before they were nationalised - oh and then they got a handsome payout for their troubles. Ever since then the Tories have lied about nationalisation, and the Labour Party have spinelessly failed to refute their arguments.

We need more nationalisation not less. We need the utilities to be nationalised and taken out of hands of foreign owners and shareholders who don't care if we have secure energy supplies and clean water. We need to nationalise the railways and end the obscenity of private sector profits being paid out of taxpayers money, and Richard Branson trousering £24 million which could be spent usefully on reducing extortionate fares. We need the post office retained in the public sector, as a public service, not postal competition which relies on imported labour being paid minimum wages. The sooner this happens the better, and the sooner Britain will be back on the way to becoming a more equal and equitable society.

Northern Cock Up

Have you heard the one about how you get screwed by capitalism? Well it goes like this. A load of greed-merchants in America* are allowed to con poor people into believing that they can afford to buy their homes. Banks around the world just can't wait to get a piece of the action. But the small print says that within months of signing up crippling interest rates will be applied. Result - thousands lose their homes. While they become homeless, their houses, which nobody wants to buy, fall into ruin.

So what happens next? are the victims allowed to return home and pay rent? Do the greed merchants get sent to jail - which is where they belong? Er......no, the banks, such as Northern Rock incur huge losses, which is no more than they richly deserve , and they go bust. Except they don't go bust. Not allowed to apparently. So there is no comeback on their selfishness, greed and stupidity. Instead, we the taxpayers bail them out to the tune of several thousand pounds each. So that means we get to own Northern Rock doesn't it? Er...no again. Because Gordon doesn't want us to. He doesn't want us to because he wants another load of greed merchants to take Northern Rock over thereby nationalising the debt but privatising the profit.

As a footnote its worth mentioning that despite the fact that some have tried it present this as a problem of government - it is a private sector free market failure.

* Postscript - just in case you think I'm going over the top, Larry Elliot, who is the Guardian's economic editor had an article published on 19th March 2008 which was headed - 'America was conned - who will pay?'. In it he said - "Americans have been conned. They have been duped by a bunch of serpent tongued hucksters who packed up the wagon and made it across the county line before the lynch mob could be formed" Makes 'greed merchants' sound a bit weak doesn't it? Mind you - who is going to pay? There's no sign of the culprits being brought to book at the moment.