In praise of two way streets

In a journey it’s often the case that getting to your desired destination can be made difficult by the presence of a one way street. And the country’s economic journey to a destination that benefits society as a whole, rather than just a section of it, can also be made difficult to impossible by one way traffic.
The government appointee to the headship of the ‘Care Quality Commission’ recently added his voice to the strident right wing chorus calling for yet more private sector involvement in the National Health Service. He spoke of the need for ‘serious change’, ‘more competition to drive up standards’ and ‘more entrants into the market’. ‘Market’? So that’s what it now is? But let that pass. I couldn’t disagree with this individual more as regards the NHS but let’s suppose there are parts of what remains of the public sector that would benefit from more private sector involvement. Can’t quite think of many but let that pass too.
But all this of course is seen by the government, the right wing press and businesses seeking more profit as one way traffic. But could it just possibly be that there are parts of the private sector that are less than perfect? And could it just be that the way to improve them is through greater involvement of the public sector?
Let’s revisit the words of the CQC boss: ‘the need for serious change’, ‘more competition to drive up standards’ and ‘more entrants into the market’ and apply them to, well, say banking. They couldn’t fit better. Those characters in what passes for banking today show little sign of changing. Witness the city-wide contempt for one senior banker who, sensing the public mood, forewent his bonus. Are these casino and bonus addicts fit and proper persons to take charge of the modest savings of ordinary, and often vulnerable people? And it’s not as if there isn’t a very good public sector model available.
I admit I’ve said this before – I refer of course to municipal banks. There are elderly people who even today have still got their passbooks for the late lamented Birmingham Municipal Bank. They cherish the memory of a bank that was utterly reliable, honest, straightforward and which would not exploit them or sell them phoney financial or insurance ‘products’. This wonderful institution was of course by successive degrees privatised.
And what about water? You’ll have noticed the size of your bills. You will have heard of the tax dodging by water companies, many foreign owned, and their attempts to make the taxpayer pay for major investment projects. You may also recall the time when Birmingham invested to create its own water supply. An ecologically friendly (gravity operated) system to supply water to the city. Also handed over to the private sector.
And what about transport? You may recall when Birmingham ran its own buses and the railways did not have deliberately complex and super-inflating prices, companies abandoning concessions and when commuter trains were, in some parts of the country, less like cattle trucks. And what about the phoney ‘markets’ for energy supply and boardroom appointments.
I could go on, and no doubt you could too. My point is this. Some things are better run by the public sector or at the very least with a public sector system of values. It’s clearly better to have a two way street when it comes to moving parts of the economy towards better performance in the public interest. I’m fed up with one way traffic. Let’s do all we can to ensure that economic traffic moves both ways.