Book Recommendation

Captive State, George Monbiot.

George Monbiot talks about the incredible level of corporate power. If you were wondering why people protest against the WTO - this will answer your question.

It also demonstrates that the level or corruption in government is very high. Big business can essentially tell the government what to do, and the government obeys, despite it being counter to the best interests of the public - the people they are meant to represent. It makes me think lobbying should be made illegal!

It also explains why the NHS is in such a mess, money is being bled out of it to pay company profits. The PFI and later PPI are not cheaper it seems - but then that should hardly be a surprise. Instead it sells the future for the now. In some cases borrowing to invest in the future might be ok, but the terms companies have got are so good the public sector is the looser. And what's more the private sector has far too much power to decide what the projects are.

Essentially what PFI does is allow us to build something we don't need for a lower upfront cost than the thing we do need, but then we have to pay over the odds for the next few decades.

And complaints are met with "commercial confidentiality". Sorry, but that's no good. All contracts entered into by the government (at all levels) must be public knowledge - otherwise there is no accountability. And without that we might as well abandon the illusion that we're living in a democracy.

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