Politicians focused too much on market, says politician
April 08, 2009
This is absolutely brilliant. Mr. Tjeenk Willink, chairman of the Dutch government’s primary advisary board, the Raad van State, says that politicians have been focusing too much on market mechanisms in the past. Really? Did we really need a financial crisis to realise that?
I remember thinking that when they sold off our postal services (1989) and public transport systems (1992) to the highest bidder, claiming that market mechanisms would no doubt improve quality. Never mind that quality in fact worsened, while prizes went up. No wonder. Both companies have been virtual monopolists since they became privatized. And since then they sold a lot more for easy money. If a child could see through that, why couldn’t these wise men who govern us?
I really hope that the current global economic situation will rid us of Friedmannian dogma once and for all. Please?