Month: January 2011

A Free Country?

Freedom in any civilised society is often a matter of compromise between conflicting interests. There may be cases where someone’s freedom can be enhanced without loss of it by another, and in such cases the enhancement is not contentious. However, I am greatly concerned by a case in which two homosexual men have been awarded damages against the owners of a private hotel who refused to allow them to share a room. The hotel owners claim to be devout Christians, and say that they would refuse a double room to any unmarried couple. The plaintiffs were supported in their claim by the Equality Commission, a quango resting on the public purse.

In my view, this case is another indication that the freedoms of ordinary, law abiding citizens have been eroded to an unreasonable level. The Equality Act appears to provide a big stick with which discontented minorities can intimidate the rest of us. Can we be sure that scrapping that act, and the Commission, would, on balance, diminish freedom in Britain? I am convinced that it would not.

Hindsight & Muddled Thinking

Two or more years ago I coined the term ‘Assured Corporatism’ to describe the system that had replaced capitalism as we knew it. Under AC organisations are considered too big to be allowed to fail and are bailed out with public funds when they begin to sink. This has been most noticeable in, though not confined to, the banking system. I argued that Northern Rock et al should have been allowed to go down the pan, with the State guaranteeing depositors’ money, but not that of shareholders.

The fundamental error made by politicians and their advisors was to confuse banking as a function, with the organisations performing it. The function is critically important to economic wellbeing. That is not true of any organisation performing the function. When an organisation fails an opportunity is presented to other organisations ready to step in and fill the gap, having learned from the other’s failure. That is capitalism.

Now, at last, a deputy governor of the Bank of England has come round to that view. Hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing. What a pity that it was preceded by such muddled thinking.

Contemporary rhymes for Janus

You there, taxpayer! Have you any dosh?
No sir, no sir, not got lots!
But some for the warmists, most for the State,
the rest for the Jihadist who loves to hate.

—–

Armageddon’s coming and the debts are getting fat
Please put a penny in the politician’s hat
If you haven’t got a penny, a hundred quid will do
If you haven’t got a hundred quid, God help you.

—-

The old MP was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he;
He called for his house to be cleaned in the night
And he called for his mukkers three.
Every mukker had a fine fiddle, and a very fine fiddle had they;
Oh there’s none so rare as can compare
With an MP and his fiddlers three.

OZ