Cable on Capitalism

From the BBC:-

The business secretary will tell his party's conference that "murky" corporate practices threaten UK firms and "capitalism kills competition".

He will announce a consultation into issues such as executive pay and the role of directors in takeover battles.

OK, assuming that Cable means "capitalism" in it's correct term, using Britannica's definition of an Economic system in which most of the means of production are privately owned, and production is guided and income distributed largely through the operation of markets, then:-

1. Every player in the system would like to wipe out the competition but...
2. It's still the best system around for delivering competition

As for all this boardroom stuff, you have a very simple choice: don't own shares in companies that you don't like. I ended up with a philosophy that derives from Gordon Gekko - I only buy shares where the people in charge have a large stake in the company. Steve Jobs gives a shit about Apple in a way that most executives don't. 

Tories Shake Up The Tax System... ish

From The Telegraph:-

The Conservatives  are working on a pilot for a new automated bank-based system that would remove the responsibility of deducting and paying income tax from employers. The new system could save businesses up to £5.5bn according to the Tories and increase revenues to the Exchequer of £1bn., according to the Tories election  hopefuls.

I don't know where £5.5bn comes from. That sounds like about £200/annum per employed person, which seems a bit high.

Rather than leaving employers to process different tax codes and pay income tax for employees, the new system would automatically deduct income tax and national insurance contributions directly from an employee's gross pay as it is paid into their bank account.

How far out of date are the Conservatives? You buy a bit of accounting software and it does most of the donkey work for you. Costs a couple of hundred quid. For most businesses, it's part of a larger software package, so any change is going to be small.

The Tories, who are in talks with various technology providers who are developing the system, said the plans have been made in response to the increasing failures of the current tax system.

Oh goody. So, rather than businesses doing their payroll themselves using a bit of software, we're going to be paying the likes of Crapita running a system that will take what the employer puts in and deduct it before it reaches the bank account. See how happy the public are when that goes tits up and they're left without payments arriving in their bank account.

If the Tories really wanted to reduce the burdens of business, they'd scrap VAT and the ridiculous amount of red tape that kicks in once you've got 10 employees. They'd also change employment laws to something closer to right-to-hire and rollback Labour's changes to maternity leave.

H/T Tim Worstall

Trade Union Blacklists

From Pat McFadden in Comment is Free:-

No one should lose out on work because of their union role and it is wrong to suggest trade union membership is incompatible with successful business and progressive employment relations. Instead, it is time the vast majority of modern trade union representatives were commended for their dedication in helping workers and companies thrive.

Ah hahahaha.

Let's think of all those successful trade unionised businesses: GM, Chrysler, Jaguar, BA, BT, Rover.

No employer in their right mind wants a trade union involved in their business. Because against non-unionised competition, you really don't have much hope. They'll be cheaper and more able to adapt to changes in the market.

The only time a unionised business will do well is when it is up against other unionised businesses, often in highly regulated or business areas with high barriers to entry.