, the lowest in the G7. Now, business investment in the UK remains more than 9% below its pre-pandemic level. Crucial parts of our national infrastructure have been failed twice over: first when they were state-owned and let down by the stinginess of the man from the ministry – and then when they became privatised victims of modern capitalism’s increasing fondness for stripping out, squeezing down, and chasing dividends.
The fate of England’s water is a particularly vivid example. Pipes, reservoirs and treatment works were once owned and run by local councils, butof a mind-boggling mess of interests that includes a Malaysian conglomerate called the YTL corporation, Norway’s state-owned bank and JP Morgan Asset Management.
Executive bonuses based on annual results are part of the same problem. In the consumer economy, the results are bad enough . But once that logic dictates decisions that affect our most basic infrastructure, you get a mixture of tragedy and disaster: national resilience coming a distant second to the kind of greed that finds a home in offshore tax havens.
Our systems of politics and power hardly help. With elections seemingly arriving every couple of years, and with our fourth prime minister since 2016 imminent, it is hardly surprising that planning – and spending – for the future so rarely intrude on the national conversation.
Perhaps the biggest issue of all is that the British state is so centralised: overloaded Whitehall departments cannot possibly deal with demands for investment from wildly different parts of the country, and are usually beholden to the penny-pinching mindset of the Treasury.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Former NRL bad boy faces long ban for Super League tackleTwo decades after John Hopoate copped a 12-match ban for actions described as ‘disgusting’, Corey Norman has been hit with Super League’s most severe charge.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »
Commonwealth Bank hit with 23 criminal charges for not paying leaveTwo key businesses of Australia’s biggest bank have been charged with 23 criminal offences for allegedly failing to pay long service leave to staff benschneiders You want even better news? The CommBank has refused to obey a federal court order to pay 3 employees who have general protection cases against their previous employer. Such banks should be banned in Australia. benschneiders Haha how else do they keep breaking record quarterly returns in the billions? Now ya know
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »
Commonwealth Bank hit with 23 criminal charges for not paying leaveTwo key businesses of the Commonwealth Bank – Australia’s largest financial institution – have been charged with 23 criminal offences for allegedly failing to pay long service leave to staff | Exclusive | benschneiders benschneiders And they're will be a slap on the wrist for no one in particular and a fine of laughable proportions. Meanwhile if a small business did similar it'd be loss of licence, business and jail.
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »
Toilet maker GWA lifts prices by biggest rate in yearsMaker of Caroma toilets and Clark kitchen sinks says that freight prices have bumped up, requiring it to offset costs.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »
Greens propose shutting down all Victorian coal-fired power plants by 2030Exclusive: New bill also increases the state’s legislated renewable energy target to 100% by decade’s end Idiots. The discussion has to start somewhere and the Greens are the only ones prepared to raise it. Could we pay for the Greens to visit Germany Sri lanka and just look around and talk to the people ? Then visit France and see the difference.
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »
Chelsea v Tottenham: Premier League - live!MBM report: Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte are looking to make it two league wins from two. Join Daniel Harris for the latest
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »