Current Affairs The General Election

[abelard]

I just read on the side of a bus that “Labour are nationalising all bus companies and giving free transport to everyone”.....

When was the last time you took a bus outside London?

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

When was the last time you took a bus outside London?

There are buses outside London?

 

[peteblue]

When was the last time you took a bus outside London?

What’s a bus ?.....

 

[Jebus_lives]

What’s a bus ?.....

It's something you put Brexit propaganda on or you throw the DUP under.

 

[zzr45]

Well, if you can demonstrate economic growth and jobs created by the establishment or expansion of businesses doing their work online, then I would imagine you could demonstrate a return.

Albeit 20 years too late really. I don’t see how free broadband rollout would effectively create any more jobs in this day and age. Likewise broadband costs are hardly a barrier for entry for businesses to expand.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

Albeit 20 years too late really. I don’t see how free broadband rollout would effectively create any more jobs in this day and age. Likewise broadband costs are hardly a barrier for entry for businesses to expand.

Well there is that. Although maybe the economy of the future is vlog-based.

 

[OnlyBlueWillDo]

It's the economic equivalent of Trump's 'building the wall and the Mexicans will pay for it'. The formula seems to be 'nationalise something > the rich/multinationals will pay for it'. They're treating people like utter cretins, but the base lap it up.

The Tories should have never sold them off to prop up their terms in government in the first place.

Billions and Billions taken out of the public's coffers for the last 30 years.

Sold all the national companies, sold all the council house stock, to spend on winning votes and staying in power.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Albeit 20 years too late really. I don’t see how free broadband rollout would effectively create any more jobs in this day and age. Likewise broadband costs are hardly a barrier for entry for businesses to expand.

It is valuable, I'm just not sure why Openreach would need to be nationalised in order to achieve it. Labour under Corbyn were supposed to be all about localism and cooperatives etc., and there are numerous community led initiatives to get broadband in underserved communities, yet they have to go for centrally managed nationalisation instead. It smacks of vote winning because that sounds so much grander.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

The Tories should have never sold them off to prop up their terms in government in the first place.

Billions and Billions taken out of the public's coffers for the last 30 years.

Sold all the national companies, sold all the council house stock, to spend on winning votes and staying in power.

BT is worlds better in private hands than it was when we owned it. I would argue there are successes and failures in other areas but BT is the success story supporters of that policy would point to.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

It is valuable, I'm just not sure why Openreach would need to be nationalised in order to achieve it. Labour under Corbyn were supposed to be all about localism and cooperatives etc., and there are numerous community led initiatives to get broadband in underserved communities, yet they have to go for centrally managed nationalisation instead. It smacks of vote winning because that sounds so much grander.

Because they're led by a Bennite.

 

[tsubaki]

It is ideological because there's this assumption that the state (or the Labour-run state) are the best people to do literally everything. What's more, there's this overwhelming sense that they are the ones capable of being fair and just, and righting the wrongs imposed by rotters who have distorted society to date. It's akin to religious mania.

Is it, though? A lot of people on the right and the centre seem to have this really odd notion that the state cannot be trusted to actually run things, though it can be trusted to stump up billions in taxpayer cash to support projects that it doesn’t derive a direct benefit from or underwrite them so that no one loses out when it all goes wrong.

As for the rest, I think the people who have gone around telling everyone that this state of affairs is good are the ones who are rather more acting on faith than anyone else.

 

[Milkman]

The broadband is one policy of many all with the same narrative: Labour will save the country by running this service for you, and we'll get the meanies to pay for it. It's exactly the same 'we're the good guys, and we'll do something you like whilst getting the 'enemy' to pay for it' shtick that Trump is using with the border wall.

Are you really saying that the scapegoating of migrants and their countries of origin is the same as targeting greedy corporations and their CEOs?

 

[Milkman]

I don't know about everyone else, but I know I'd rather be promised everything and receive something rather than promised nothing and receive even less.

 

[OnlyBlueWillDo]

BT is worlds better in private hands than it was when we owned it. I would argue there are successes and failures in other areas but BT is the success story supporters of that policy would point to.

How do you know BT could not have been improved under state ownership?, that's what the Tories do, everytime they privatise something they say it needs fixing, to hoodwink the public into believing it must be sold, they did it with Royal mail, it was making half a billion a year in profit with profits increasing due to internet sales and more goods needing to be delivered year on year, and they said it was on it's arse.

What has happened to Royal mail since selling it off?, it's making more profits, you know why?, because they've increased prices, now it's a company run to make maximum profit for shareholders, just like everything the Tories ever privatised, the public pays more for the services to line the pockets of shareholders.

 

[Disgruntledgoat]

How do you know BT could not have been improved under state ownership?, that's what the Tories do, everytime they privatise something they say it needs fixing, to hoodwink the public into believing it must be sold, they did it with Royal mail, it was making half a billion a year in profit with profits increasing due to internet sales and more goods needing to be delivered year on year, and they said it was on it's arse.

What has happened to Royal mail since selling it off?, it's making more profits, you know why?, because they've increased prices, now it's a company run to make maximum profit for shareholders, just like everything the Tories ever privatised, the public pays more for the services to line the pockets of shareholders.

The only reason anybody would use BT's services pre privitisation is that they were forced to. Given they were the only show in town if you wanted a landline (that you normally had to wait upwards of 3 months to have them activate), why on earth would they get better? What's in it for them? A nice warm feeling? This is why monopolies, public or private, are bad.

I couldn't tell you Royal Mail's results pre-privitisation (and, my apologies, I don't have time to look for them) but I do recall them paying Elton John a million quid to do an advert that they hailed as a great success in raising awareness of their brand. Their brand being the Post Office, that I'm fairly confident we were all aware of. A quick search shows me that they issued a profit warning last year also.

I'm not an idealogue as regards privitisation, I think that there are certain natural monopolies where state ownership makes sense... I just lived through the years of BT being hopeless.