Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealth...

...from poor to rich, hence the reason the ideology of the right wing is always to privatise. Think about it. Profit is derived from taking a product/raw material and adding value and selling on or providing a service that people will pay more for than the cost of providing the service.
Even where a private company could provide a service for less than the a local govt or central govt funded organisation by reducing costs and generating so a profit the taxpayer would not benefit. Future profits would be because the tax/council tax payers i.e. you and I would be effectively paying more than the 'more effcient' cost base and that profit would go to company directors/shareholders rather than being ploughed back to either improve the service or reduce the charges.
There is a clear conflict of interest, particularly where large multinational companies are involved as their main reasons for existence are to keep shareholders happy by paying dividends and growing the business. This conflicts with improving the service they provide as that costs money and eats into margins. This particularly applies when governments award contracts since these usually run for several years (as per the rail franchises).

How does a private company make a profit in, say, care homes whilst maintaining quality of care?

The answer is NOT privatisation and adding another element i.e. profit making. The answer is to improve efficiency within the EXISTING structures. Whilts it may be true that the culture within public sector is perceived to be inefficient/ and strait-jacketed by unions etc privatisation is not a panacea. Public sector does not have a monopoly when it comes to inefficiency and waste. There are many privatised companies out there (e.g. BT) who demonstrate incredible inefficiency and waste with internal systems on a daily basis.

This should not be a Left wing vs Right wing political argument. It is common sense.

A simple analogy ...If you run a family business and CAN employ family members ALL the profit can be ploughed back into the family. Once you employ outsiders then a proportion of that profit is lost and cannot be used to improve the business. The additional costs of tendering, awarding contracts restructuring etc could be better sepnt on training, development and general improvements.

Rant over!

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Great post mate, agree 100%. Pretty much the only decent thing about this country is the National Health System, and with that being destroyed there's nowt left I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll get out of it at some point.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Agree with you entirely....on the drive into work this morning on the radio they were discussing profit made by energy companies and even the wife who is American and to the right on certain issues said as a basic service, that people need heat, that it should not be run as a profit.
The utility companies - electric, gas, water etc should be provided at little over cost. In fact on the piece about the energy suppliers it was stating that in the last year their profit per customer had risen about 800%

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Good example! We will be retiring to Italy shortly. Whene we first went in 2004 and bought our 'ruin' people warned us that ENEL (or Anal) as many called being the sole provider of domestic electricity were inefficient and very expensive. Italy generates very little of its own electricity and so is very expensive. Funnily though, the massive price hikes we have seen in the UK from our 'competitive' private energy market don't seem to have happened in Italy in the same way so the excuse of 'wholesale' prices being the cause do not ring true as Italy and UK domestic prices are now roughly in line.

The profits announced today demonstrate the folly of stating that competition means a good deal for consumers in an unregulated market.

Unfortunately LPG heating gas prices ARE on the rise in Italy (funnily there is no government monopoly on supplying LPG to consumers).

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Absolutley spot on. If only you were in power...

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

I would love to be on newsnight a la Paxman as I am sure I could nail some of these slippery politicians. I love a good analogy something people can understand and something politicians cannot dodge by using doublespeak
!

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

I don't agree...... but that is the beauty of our fine green and pleasant land...we are allowed to have a view even tho i do not agree with yours. Reasonably written but it is YOUR view and fortunately you are not in power.

Hope this helps

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

So what does Young Nudger sorry "thereev" believe?

This ought to be good.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

thereev is thereev and no one else....just to clear that up.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

So what does he believe in response to Tekkytyke's perfect post.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Well a question could be....why he is retiring to Italy and not spending his pension here in Blighty, which would itself benefit our economy and not Italy's?

I suspect he is going cos he does not want to stay in Britain....where no doubt he has earned all his money. It would be ok for everyone to retire abroad somewhere nice but most of our population here cannot afford it. So while it is ok to drone on about what is best for our country.....he does not really care cos he has got his money and is off abroad to spend it!

Rather hypocritical i feel.... need i go on!?

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

I don't understand the Tories need to mess around with the NHS. Its a vote loser for them. If they give it a budget and leave it alone, just concentrating on the economy, they will probably win a landslide at the next election.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

They need to mess about with it because it is about the only thing left in the UK where their mates aren't making milliions at the expense of the Ordinary Joe.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Agree with every word. There are certain services where profit should not come into it, the tory kn0bs obviously don't agree. One point, if the NHS is 'privatised' and we start to pay directly for it will our taxes, NI etc be reduced to account for it, I doubt it.

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

Will they frig, if anything teh burden will rise as the money for the profit has to be found somewhere

The fact is that the system that needs continual growth is not working

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

No one seems to be arguing against this post i see!!

 

What has that got to do with the price of fish?

The fact that I have decided to retire to Italy has absolutely nothing to do with the Privatisation vs public ownership /distribution of wealth argument i have put forward in this thread. typically you have criticised my original post and disagreed with it (which I might add you are perfectl;y entitled to) but failed to explain why other than launch a personal attack on my lifestyle choice.

Please qualify your objection to my original post or dont bother posting. I have noted that many of your posts seem to digress and go off at a tangent. is this a hobby of yours?

 

Does thereev always disagree but respond with an irrelevant post??

He disagrees with me but when challenged to say whysimply criticises my lifestyle choice which is totally irrelevant with regard to the subject of my original post. Having read some of his previous 'offerings' he seems to like disagreeing for the sake of an argument without putting forward any logical opposing POVs!!

I would prefer not to get drawn into a battle of wits with someone so clearly poorly armed!

 

Re: Privatising public sector services is nothing more than a redistribution of wealt

That'll be because it's completely off subject. I see what you did there. Like a politician.

Back on subject, I agree with the OP. A private company would skim money from the system. Profitable because they are more efficient? Profitable because they are more ruthless.

 

Re: What has that got to do with the price of fish?

How convenient for you that your decision has nothing to do with private v public. Caught you out there didn't i old boy?

You are not dealing with your average numpty that posts on here now....your long winded waffle holds no merit at all. you are dealing with THEREEV.