Vince Cable tells it as it is!

I was going to write masses of stuff on Vince Cable's critique of corporate Britain. But I can't just yet get it all out of my head for it to make much sense. So I went to Robert Peston's blog and found his first unmoderated comment from someone called "watriler". It goes:-

"The reaction to Cable's remarks reminds me of the quote "The religion of the Englishman is the law of supply and demand". In modern capitalism there is no free market except in that free enterprise is hardly controlled. Their aim is to eliminate or manage competition. Throw the text books away."

Couldn't put it better myself. Vince Cable said of Gordon Brown that he had gone from being Stalin to being Mr.Bean. British corporations have made sure that there are no Mr.Beans to cause trouble and have made sure their gravy trains remain on track. We must be mad to put up with it all.

On the radio this morning a woman from Price Waterhouse was complaining about the immigration policy. She apparently wants 63 erudite beancounters from outside the EU to "make a cultural difference" to PWC's business in London. She also popped in the now mandatory blackmailing threat that she and her co-workers "might leave the country".

What is it with these people? Is patriotism dead? Are they so craven to filthy lucre that nothing will get in their way? David Cameron says we are all in this together. I get the impression it is not about fighting the deficit but stopping these boardroom bozos from causing us any more problems.

Free enterprise is not an easy thing, but at least it allows people to develop their talents, try out their ideas and be free to work as they wish. On the other hand, the big business theory of today seems more like an effort to circle the wagons and keep the real entrepreneurs out. Pension deficits, uncontrolled remuneration committees, slapdash safety and forced redundancies are just a few of the negative aspects of corporate business.

If shareholders really did control these large companies, we might get some real change. But all the while they try to eliminate or manage competition and keep everything as it is, we won't.