Vince Cable called it correctly over the housing bubble that destroyed the boom of the early 21st Century; on Northern Rock and on Rupert Murdoch.
Surely its therefore prudent to listen to him before it goes wrong rather than a long time afterwards. I refer of course, to his description of the Beecroft Report as complete nonsense.
The challenge for the government is stimulating growth. Labour attempted to spend until they ran out of money. The Coalition government are trying another tack by austerity measures.
But to stimulate growth, you need spending. If the government does not want to do it, then it will have to be up to those in work. But a person who is at fear of losing their job will not want to spend except on the bare necessities. Depressing demand and entrenching stagnation in the economy. . Vince Cable has also said that there is a very flexible labour force already. He's right. It is easy to sack under-performing staff. It is easy to sack staff for misconduct. But employers have to do it properly, fairly, according to the law and natural justice.
Its not just employer's livelihoods at stake. Its employees as well. Both sides are entitled to a stake in a business, it is in both interests to ensure the business succeeds. Treat staff fairly and they will be motivated to work hard for you and be productive. Treat them badly, and they will return that in spades if your business run into trouble.
The 'fire at will' and other laissez-faire 'reforms' recommended by the wealthy Beecroft for his wealthy friends in the exploitative occupations would have to be agreed by the 'Quartet' as a departure from the Coalition Agreement. We know that Nick as Party Leader, is likely to listen to Party opinion (including Vince) and resist it. Cameron and Osborne will want to appease their Right Wing and wealthy donors by agreeing. That leaves the 4th member of the Quartet, whose post-graduate year as Press Officer for the Trossachs National Park, together with previous agreement to such beacons of Liberal reform as the Academies program and and the top-down Health Service reorganisation has fitted him for such crucial decisions as stripping British employees of what vestigial rights they have left. At least this will be a case of a Scottish MP making decisions which affect Scottish voters, unlike the wrecking of the English Education and Health services, which did not.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent argument for Scottish independence!