Quote:
Originally Posted by Houseboy
I do find that opinions about Thatcher tend to be divided and quite extreme but I don't think even the most blue-eyed Tory could deny that there was a great deal of "bad" going on at that time. Could I ask you though, do you, with hindsight, still agree with the privatisations? Do you think that people working hard to make a living and struggling to make ends meet as a result of those privatisations were a price worth paying for a bit of political dogma? Was the destruction of tens of thousands of peoples way of life really worth it just to prove a point?
Just for the record (in case I'm accused of bias) I have been driven away from the Labour party because of the slavish adherence to American foriegn policy. I may be back in the fold soon but at the last couple of elections I have voted (bizarely) UKIP out of desperation and partly because of my dislike/distrust of the EU.
Oh, by the way, in my last post I forgot to mention the 15% interest rates that were forcing people out of there homes and causing businesses to close in record numbers.
Come to think about it, can anyone come up with anything done in that period that worked out well for the ordinary man and woman on the street?
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Privatisation wasn't just a "bit of political dogma". It lead to competition which benefited the consumer, replacing inefficient state monopolies and taking the taxpayer off the hook. Take the telephone market. Could you imagine only having the choice of BT? There'd be no reason for them to improve their service, sort out your problems with haste or provide cheap internet access. You have the choice of a large number of suppliers, allowing you to pick the one you prefer.
Politicians do not know best. They can't predict what goods and services people want. Business meets consumer demand, and business fails when it gets it wrong. When politicians decide what is best for us we end up with inefficient and expensive services that we all pay more tax for.