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FMNews
Email List Archive
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IN THIS BULLETIN...
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EVENTS: Ofsted head, CBI guy, Tory story and non-rhyming others
REPORTS: Billions go begging -- 30,000 public jobs could be yours!
STUFF: Put the wind-farms where the hot air is -- in Westminster!
WHO'S HOT: And who's not...
MORE STUFF: Economics and freedom on CD; and the UK public gets radical
BUT FIRST...
One reader complains that he could never see why we use the word 'service'
for public monopolies such as health, education, the post office (and even
the 'civil service') when they deliver such rotten products.
Then a local farmer mentioned he was getting a bull in to service his cows.
After that, our reader recognised that it was actually a pretty good way to
describe the relationship between public producers and the taxpayers who
have to fund them.
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EVENTS: Full list on http://www.adamsmith.org/policy/news/forward.htm
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OFSTED HEAD: Dr David Bell, head of the schools inspector Ofsted, joins us
at a Power Lunch on 16 July. Already full, I'm afraid, but if you want to
go on the waiting list, email events@adamsmith.org and let Steve know.
CBI GUY: Sir John Egan, head of the CBI, is our Power Lunch speaker on 23
July. Bit of a squash but one or two places left, so email
events@adamsmith.org for information and (if you're lucky) an invite.
TORY STORY: Our Autumn Power Lunch series kicks off on 24 September when we
welcome the best-selling author (and ex-Tory organiser) Michael Dobbs.
Email Steve at events@adamsmith.org for information and invitations.
YOOF: Can't think of anything relevant to rhyme with that, but here's the
autumn timetable for our whizzkid Next Generation Group meetings:
Tuesday 16 September Tuesday 7 October
Tuesday 4 November Tuesday 2 December
For more information, and invitations (sorry, Ma Hewitt, we're unashamedly
ageist about this, so under-33's only), visit:
http://www.adamsmith.org/tng/moreinfo.htm
INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT: There just ISN'T anything that rhymes with
this, but the brochures are going out for our second annual event in
November, featuring board-level speakers from Transco, Tube Lines, John
Laing, Ofwat, the Rail Regulator, and many more. For information, see:
http://www.marketforce-communications.co.uk/conferences/calendar.html
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REPORTS: Full list on http://www.adamsmith.org/policy/publications/home.htm
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THANKS A BILLION: Agreeable wodge of newspaper publicity for our new paper
by Jonathan Woolham, which surveyed the Guardian's weekly Society secton,
where new public-sector jobs are advertised. He found 30,000 of them in a
year, at a salary cost of a billion pounds -- plus as much again for
pensions, holidays and fringe benefits, of course. And on the list we find
that our taxes are going on such vital personnel as Ealing's Five-a-Day
Local Area Co-ordinator and Hertfordshire's 'Walking Officer'. Hmmmm.
Get the depressing full facts at:
http://www.adamsmith.org/policy/publications/industry-and-employment-pub.htm
JUST ONE IS A MAJORITY: There's a big EU debate going on. How many votes
should it take to allow some disgruntled state to pull out and leave the
Union? Euro-moderates of course would allow it only with unanimous consent.
A few loony right-wing Tory MPs say that a two-thirds vote would do. But US
Constitutional expert Prof Robert McGee says a vote of one is plenty.
States shouldn't be imprisoned in a Union they disagree with. If they want
to leave, let them: it would actually make the Union more harmonious. See:
http://www.adamsmith.org/cissues/exit-proposal.htm
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STUFF
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COMMONS KNOWLEDGE: Thanks to my friend Peter Smaill, who gives me the exact
figures on the House of Commons. It was, of course, years late, and cost
2,425,000 pounds -- three times the original estimate of 800,000 pounds.
But being a Scot, he can't resist pointing out that the Scottish Parliament
building is TEN times over budget, and "is pig-ugly, unlike Barry and
Pugin's masterpiece!"
WINDY THINKING: You'll be aware of the extensive work we're doing on energy
policy and our doubts about the potential of wind power -- particularly on
winter days when you're trying to cook your porridge and there's no wind!
Mind you, if you put a battery of turbines on the roof of the Commons,
those guys produce so much hot air you'd never be short of power.
You can find our views on our front page, or on our industry issues page:
http://www.adamsmith.org/cissues/industry-and-employment
But I thought yesterday's punchy Thunderer column in The Times, by Prof
Philip Stott, was spot on too. Very mischievous. You should read it:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3284-745832,00.html
BEST LABELS COMPETITION: Our webmaster, the excellent Mark Griffin from
cyberpoint.co.uk, was so taken by my story about people making their own
slogans to stick on fag packets that he proposes a competition. So: Ideas,
please, for labels you could stick on other annoying things to and from
the government -- cheques to the Inland Revenue, for example. I'll report
the best printable suggestions -- the rest I'll circulate by word of mouth.
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WHO'S HOT? WHO'S NOT?
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POLECONOMY, the Game of Power POLLY TOYNBEE, Guardian journalist
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/columnists
viewitem.php3?gameid=3114
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BALEFUL BULLETINS: gleaned from the news pages of http://www.ePolitix.com
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- One in three children leave primary school without reaching the target
standard in maths and English. Meanwhile, a survey says one school in five
is so short of cash that they are asking parents for financial support.
- The BBC director-general has apologised (in private) to the Tories after
complaints that its (public!) coverage of the May elections was biased.
- Flaws in the 2001 census are so bad that government statisticians have to
use alternative data sources when compiling reports, says the Office of
National Statistics. Meanwhile, the Statistics Commission doubts the value
of the 'league table' data on schools and hospitals.
- The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, has contemplated resigning
because Whitehall keeps obstructing her enquiries.
- Five key targets, including cutting congestion and boosting bus travel,
will be missed, says transport guru David Begg. Experts say the much-vaunted
plans to widen the UK's congested motorways won't even start until 2010.
- Families face even longer delays for their tax credits after tax offices
cut arrears and emergency payments in an effort to clear the backlog.
- The Chancellor will be 2 billion a year short as companies divert cash to
their struggling pension schemes, says the Times. Meanwhile, City experts
are alarmed that the Treasury has 100b pounds' worth of off-balance-sheet
liabilities, despite its sketchy knowledge of risky financial markets.
- The new head of the TGWU, Tony Woodley, has said that members should not
walk away from the party, but attempt to destroy New Labour from within.
- The cost of building two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers has risen by
1.2 billion pounds, over an original estimate of 2.8 billion. (ie a LOT!)
- The NHS ranks between Slovenia and Poland in terms of giving patients
little or no choice about where and how they are treated, says a survey.
Meanwhile, Which? says that NHS Direct often fails to identify emergencies,
and its advice is inconsistent and sometimes even dangerous.
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MORE STUFF (well, you can't have too much stuff, can you?)
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ECONOMIC FREEDOM STATS ON CD:
The Fraser Institute's annual 'Economic Freedom of the World' report allows
you to see which countries are getting richer and which are getting more
free. A correlation? You bet!
This year they've taken a big step forward by putting all the stats on CD
so you can manipulate the data to see, for example, how your country
compares against similar ones, so you can spot what your government is
doing wrong. It's an incredibly powerful tool. For all the details, see:
http://www.globaleconomicsoftware.com/Welcome.asp?efwsid=165
RADICAL PUBLIC: The campaign group Reform has scored another success with
its recent ICM poll showing that the public is much more willing to
contemplate radical reform of health and education than politicians are. If
you give people their tax money back, they're quite happy to make their own
decisions and purchase private health insurance, for example. Read more at:
http://www.reformbritain.com/module.asp?module=2&page=home
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AS ADAM HAD IT...
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Adam Smith noted that government often try to run business ventures, but
never succeed. Why? Well, the profligacy of governments 'renders it almost
impossible that they should'. The bureaucrats regard the wealth of the
government as 'inexhaustible'; they 'are careless at what price they buy;
are careless at what price they sell; are careless at what expense they
transport [public] goods.... No two characters seem more inconsistent than
those of trader and sovereign.
The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Chapter II, Part I
Remember that Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations' and 'The Theory of Moral
Sentiments' are downloadable and fully searchable on
http://www.adamsmith.org
I put The Wealth of Nations onto a CD once. It caused me slight shock when
the computer told me that to copy this weighty tome -- which Smith had been
ten years writing -- would take 'less than a minute'. Ah, well, that's IT.
e
Dr Eamonn Butler
Adam Smith Institute, 23 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BL, UK
E-mail butler@adamsmith.org - Visit us online at www.adamsmith.org
Tel +44 (0)20 7222 4995 - Fax +44 (0)20 7222 7544
To unsubscribe, visit www.adamsmith.org/lists.htm
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