GOOD EVENING
I’M HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT CAPITALISM.
I’M HERE BECAUSE A FEW WEEKS AGO I SAT ON A PANEL AT CBS ASSESSING STUDENTS WHO HAD APPLIED FOR OVERSEAS INTERNSHIPS
I EXPECTED TO MEET DENMARK’S NEXT GENERATION OF BUSINESS LEADERS
INSTEAD I MET DENMARK’S NEXT GENERATION OF NGO OFFICERS, CHARITY WORKERS AND UNITED NATIONS BUREAUCRATS.
ONE STUDENT AFTER ANOTHER TOLD ME HOW THEY HAD NO INTEREST IN A CAREER IN BUSINESS.
HOW BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN MONEY.
IT WAS AS IF CAPITALISM WAS SYNONYMOUS WITH EXPLOITING THE POOR, PUTTING CHILDREN TO WORK IN FACTORIES, DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT.
IT WAS AS IF YOUR SCHOOL HAD BEEN POISONED, THAT A COLLECTIVE GROUPTHINK HAD TAKEN HOLD AND IT HAD BECOME IMPOSSIBLE TO STAND UP FOR THE MARKET ECONOMY WITHOUT LOSING ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
THAT’S WHY I’M HERE. I ASKED TO BE HERE.
TO STAND UP FOR THE MARKET ECONOMY. FOR CAPITALISM.
AND FOR LIBERTY – WHICH IS WHAT MAKES IT ALL TICK.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE MARKET ECONOMY IS MANKIND’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT
DARWIN’S THEORY OF EVOLUTION WAS GOOD.
EINSTEIN’S THEORY OF RELATIVITY WAS QUITE IMPRESSIVE.
THE LUNAR LANDINGS DESERVE A MENTION.
BUT CAPITALISM IS A MIRACLE.
WE HAVE INVENTED A MAGICAL SYSTEM THAT ALL BY ITSELF GENERATES PROSPERITY AND MAKES EVERYBODY RICHER.
CAPITALISM IS A FORCE FOR GOOD NOT BECAUSE IT MAKES THE RICH RICHER – ALTHOUGH IT DOES - BUT BECAUSE IT LIFTS THE POOR OUT OF POVERTY.
THE BIG WINNERS FROM CAPITALISM – THE JACKPOT LOTTERY WINNERS – ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT RICH
THE MARGINAL VALUE OF AN EXTRA MILLION DOLLARS TO A RICH PERSON IS ALMOST ZERO.
IF MARK ZUCKERBERG WERE GIVEN A BILLION DOLLARS TOMORROW IT WOULD NOT CHANGE HIS LIFE IN ANY WAY.
BUT A GOOD JOB, DECENT HOUSING, GOOD HEALTHCARE AND FREE EDUCATION ARE ABSOLUTELY TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR THE POOR.
WHAT THE MARKET ECONOMY HAS DONE FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT RICH IN THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS IS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE.
ON JUST ABOUT EVERY MEASURE – EDUCATION, LIFE EXPECTANCY, HEALTH CARE, DIET, RECREATION, HOUSING – ORDINARY PEOPLE IN EUROPE HAVE BENEFITTED HUGELY FROM THE PROSPERITY CREATED BY THE MARKET ECONOMY.
AND YET THE MARKET ECONOMY IS UNDER ASSAULT.
OUR STREETS ARE FILLED WITH PROTESTERS – ANTI-CAPITALIST, ANTI-AUSTERITY, ANTI-BANKING, ANTI GLOBALISATION –
IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU TO HEAR: I AGREE WITH THEM.
THE SYSTEM IS ROTTEN.
BUT I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THEIR ANALYSIS OF WHY IT’S ROTTEN.
CAPITALISTS ARE NOT EVIL. FAR FROM IT.
IN MY CAREER I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO SERVE AS THE PRESIDENT OF COCA-COLA’S AFRICA DIVISION.
I RAN A VERY LARGE BUSINESS, WITH OVER 75 MANUFACTURING PLANTS IN 39 COUNTRIES IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA.
MY FRIENDS, WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF IN SUCH A POSITION YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES
YOU HAVE LEVERS AT YOUR DISPOSAL THAT THE PLACARD WAVERS IN THEIR TENTS IN THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT WILL NEVER HAVE – AND YOU CAN USE THAT POWER TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
SO ASK YOURSELF THIS:
IF YOU FOUND YOURSELF RUNNING A BILLION DOLLAR DIVISION OF A MULTINATIONAL SOMEWHERE IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD – INDONESIA, VIETNAM, BOLIVIA, WHEREVER – WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
WOULD YOU PUT CHILDREN TO WORK IN YOUR FACTORIES?
WOULD YOU PUMP RAW SEWAGE INTO THE LOCAL RIVERS?
WOULD YOU EXPLOIT THE POOR?
OF COURSE NOT.
AND NOR DID I.
WHAT I DID DO WAS USE MY POSITION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.
IF YOU DON’T AGREE WITH THE WAY BUSINESSES CONDUCT THEMSELVES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD THEN DON’T JUST MOAN ABOUT IT IN THE STUDENT UNION BAR, TAKE THEM OVER AND RUN THEM YOURSELF.
DON’T SIT THERE BLOGGING ANGRILY – GET YOURSELF INTO A POSITION OF POWER AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
THE WORLD OF BUSINESS GETS BETTER EVERY YEAR BECAUSE OF A BLOOD TRANSFUSION OF YOUNG MANAGERS WHO HAVE SOCIAL VALUES THAT DIDN’T EXIST EVEN 30 YEARS AGO.
WE ARE NOT LIVING IN THE 19TH CENTURY ANYMORE. WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF ENLIGHTENED CAPITALISM .
THE PLACARD WAVERS ARE WRONG BECAUSE THEY HAVE MISSED THE POINT.
THE SYSTEM ISN’T ROTTEN BECAUSE OF BANKERS BONUSES, IT’S ROTTEN BECAUSE OF THE ASSAULT ON LIBERTY AND THE ASSAULT ON THE MARKET ECONOMY, WHICH IS PUTTING OUR PROSPERITY AT RISK.
HALF A CENTURY AGO, THE GREAT AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER AYN RAND WROTE A BOOK CALLED ‘ATLAS SHRUGGED’.
IT’S A NOVEL SET IN A WORLD WHERE THE GOVERNMENT SETS UP WHAT IT CALLS A NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC PLANNING TO DIRECT INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION FOR THE GOOD OF SOCIETY RATHER THAN LEAVE IT TO THE MARKET.
IT SENDS OUT INSTRUCTIONS TO ALL THE COMPANIES TELLING THEM WHAT TO PRODUCE, WHEN AND AT WHAT PRICE.
AND WHEN THINGS GO FROM BAD TO WORSE IT SENDS OUT NEW ORDERS TO WORKERS AND CONSUMERS TELLING THEM WHAT TO BUY, WHAT TO EAT, WHAT TO WEAR AND SO ON – ALL IN THE GREATER NATIONAL INTEREST OF COURSE.
THE IDEA IS THAT GOVERNMENTS CAN PULL ALL THE LEVERS AND CONTROL EVENTS, STEERING THE ECONOMY BACK ON COURSE.
IT ALL ENDS IN TEARS OF COURSE, AS IT ALWAYS DOES IN THE REAL WORLD.
EVEN AYN RAND DIDN’T REALLY EXPECT THAT HER NIGHTMARE WOULD COME TRUE, BUT SADLY IT HAS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, NOVEMBER 19TH 2008 WAS A BLACK DAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THAT BEACON OF THE FREE MARKET.
MARK IT IN YOUR CALENDAR AND CIRCLE IT IN BLACK.
ON THAT DAY, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF THE THREE BIG AMERICAN CAR MAKERS – GENERAL MOTORS, FORD AND CHRYSLER – TURNED UP AT A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON CAPITOL HILL WITH THEIR BEGGING BOWLS TO ASK CONGRESS FOR MONEY.
THEY PLEADED WITH CONGRESS TO GIVE THEM TAXPAYERS’ MONEY AND TOLD THE SENATORS THAT IF THEY DIDN’T GET IT THEIR BUSINESSES WOULD GO BUST.
WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH THEY ASKED FOR?
FIFTY THOUSAND MILLION DOLLARS.
LET’S LEAVE ASIDE FOR A MOMENT THE FACT THAT THESE THREE GENTLEMEN SHOULD NOT EVEN BE ALLOWED IN THE SAME ROOM AS EACH OTHER – THEY ARE COMPETITORS! – BUT LET’S ASK INSTEAD WHY THEY NEEDED THE MONEY.
THEY NEEDED IT BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN WIPED OUT BY CONSUMERS WHO HAD STOPPED BUYING THEIR BIG, GAS-GUZZLING EXPENSIVE AND UNRELIABLE CARS AND INSTEAD HAD STARTED BUYING CHEAPER, BETTER, MORE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED TOYOTAS, HONDAS, NISSANS AND BMWS – ALL OF WHICH, INCIDENTALLY, ARE NOW MANUFACTURED IN THE US BY US WORKERS.
IN FACT, IN THE TEN YEARS LEADING UP TO THAT MEETING, THE MARKET SHARE OF THE BIG THREE IN THE US HAD FALLEN FROM 70% TO 50%.
THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS BADLY – CONSUMERS SWITCH TO SOMETHING BETTER. IT’S THE MARKET AT WORK.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE DAY THESE THREE CHIEF EXECUTIVES ON THEIR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SALARIES, BONUSES AND STOCK OPTIONS, PITCHED UP ON CAPITOL HILL TO BEG FOR A TAXPAYER FUNDED RESCUE OF THE COMPANIES THEY HAD LED OVER A CLIFF STANDS AS ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
BECAUSE INSTEAD OF KICKING THEM OUT AND SENDING THEM AWAY WITH THEIR TAILS BETWEEN THEIR LEGS CONGRESS VOTED THEM THE MONEY.
A $17BN RESCUE PACKAGE WAS SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT BUSH LATER THAT YEAR.
TODAY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT OWNS 32% OF GENERAL MOTORS.
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC PLANNING IS ALIVE AND WELL IN AMERICA.
WHO COULD EVER HAVE BELIEVED IT?
SO WHAT SHOULD CONGRESS HAVE DONE?
LET THEM GO BUST, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
LET. THEM. GO. BUST.
BANKRUPTCY OF BADLY MANAGED COMPANIES IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE MARKET ECONOMY AND IT’S ALSO THE MOST POORLY UNDERSTOOD.
IF GENERAL MOTORS HAD BEEN ALLOWED TO GO BANKRUPT IT WOULD NOT HAVE CHANGED THE NUMBER OF CARS AMERICANS WANT TO BUY EACH YEAR.
THAT MEANS ALL OF GM’S MARKET SHARE WOULD BE UP FOR GRABS AND THE REMAINING COMPANIES WOULD HAVE TO EXPAND PRODUCTION HUGELY TO MEET DEMAND.
UNDOUBTEDLY HONDA AND TOYOTA WOULD HAVE BOUGHT SOME OF GM’S FACTORIES, FIXED THEM UP TO RUN MORE EFFICIENTLY AND FILLED THE GAP THAT WAY.
UNDOUBTEDLY MANY OF GM’S BEST PEOPLE WOULD HAVE BEEN RE-HIRED BY NISSAN AND BMW.
UNDOUBTEDLY SOME OF THEIR BETTER CAR BRANDS WOULD HAVE BEEN BOUGHT TOO.
AND WHAT WOULD EMERGE AT THE END OF THAT IS A FITTER, LEANER AND MORE PRODUCTIVE CAR INDUSTRY IN THE US.
AND THAT IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN ANYWAY.
IN THE LONG TERM, GOVERNMENTS CANNOT PROTECT COMPANIES FROM THIER OWN INCOMPETENCE. CONSUMERS WILL MAKE THE DECISION.
THE HISTORY OF GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS IS LITTERED WITH FAILURE.
THESE CAR MAKERS WILL STILL GO BUST EVENTUALLY – BUT NOW THE GOVERNMENT HAS ENSURED THAT WHEN THEY DO GROTESQUE AMOUNTS OF TAXPAYERS MONEY – MONEY TAKEN FROM ORDINARY FAMILIES ON MODEST INCOMES - WILL BE LOST TOO.
MEANWHILE OTHER BUSINESSES ARE ALLOWED TO FAIL.
IN THE US ALONE THOUSANDS OF BUSINESSES FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY IN 2008, SOME OF THEM LARGE EMPLOYERS, YET CONGRESS DIDN’T FIREHOSE TAXPAYERS’ MONEY AT THEM.
IT SHOULD ALREADY HAVE OCCURRED TO YOU THAT THERE IS SOMETHING VERY WRONG ABOUT A SYSTEM WHERE ELECTED POLITICIANS SIT IN JUDGEMENT OVER WHICH COMPANIES WILL BE SAVED AND WHICH WILL BE ALLOWED TO FAIL.
ARE YOU GOING TO ALLOW THE SAME KIND OF ASSAULT ON THE MARKET HERE IN DENMARK?
I HOPE MRS THORNING-SCHMIDT HAS MORE SENSE.
DENMARK TODAY HAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD.
TO SAY THAT YOU PUNCH ABOVE YOUR WEIGHT IN THE WORLD IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
DENMARK HAS FIVE MILLION PEOPLE. JUST LIKE SCOTLAND. JUST LIKE THE ISLAND OF SICILY.
SCOTLAND? IT’S KEPT AFLOAT BY HUGE WEALTH TRANSFERS FROM ENGLAND, SOME 30 BN EUROS A YEAR.
YOU’VE ALL SEEN THE FILM ‘BRAVEHEART’. THE SEQUEL COULD BE CALLED ‘BEGGARHEART’
SICILY? HOW MANY WORLD-BEATING SICILIAN COMPANIES CAN YOU NAME?
BUT DENMARK IS A WORLD BEATING ECONOMY.
I HAVE BEEN LIVING AND WORKING IN DENMARK FOR A YEAR NOW AND I HAVE TO SAY YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC COUNTRY. I LOVE IT HERE.
THAT’S THE GOOD NEWS.
THE BAD NEWS IS THAT YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE IT – ALL OF IT – IF YOU TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.
YOUR PROSPERITY ISN’T GRANTED TO YOU BY GOD – IT’S THE LEGACY OF YOUR FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS WHO WORKED HARD TO CREATE IT.
YOU NOW HAVE TO STEP INTO THEIR SHOES.
IF YOU DON’T, YOU WILL SQUANDER THAT LEGACY AND I PROMISE YOU YOUR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP POORER THAN YOU.
IF YOU THINK IT CAN’T HAPPEN, I’D LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO STARE DOWN THE BARREL OF A GUN WITH ME AND TAKE A LOOK AT HOW BAD IT COULD GET.
I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT MY COUNTRY, THE UK.
IN 1997 – JUST FIFTEEN YEARS AGO –WE HAD THE STRONGEST ECONOMY IN THE WESTERN WORLD. WE WERE FLYING – WE HOOVERED UP A GIGANTIC PROPORTION OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT INTO THE WHOLE OF EUROPE. BRITAIN WAS THE PLACE WHERE EVERYONE WANTED TO DO BUSINESS.
ROLL THE MOVIE FORWARD TO TODAY AND WE ARE NOW THE MOST INDEBTED NATION IN THE WORLD- BY SOME DISTANCE.
THE UK IS IN FACT INSOLVENT ON ANY DEFINITION OF THE WORD.
OUR NATIONAL DEBT WAS 40% OF GDP 15 YEARS AGO. NOW IT’S APPROACHING 100% OF OUR GDP.
YOURS IN DENMARK IS ABOUT 40% TODAY. WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO BE IN 15 YEARS TIME?
THE UK GOVERNMENT’S DEFICIT - THE RATE AT WHICH IT ADDS TO THAT DEBT PILE EVERY YEAR – IS WORSE THAN THAT OF GREECE OR SPAIN.
THE UGLY TRUTH IS THAT THE UK HAS ALREADY RUN OUT OF MONEY.
THE GOVERNMENT IS BORROWING 350M POUNDS A DAY TO FUND THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT IT SPENDS AND WHAT IT RAISES IN TAXES.
EVERY THREE DAYS IT ADDS ANOTHER BILLION POUNDS TO THE DEBT PILE.
THERE IS OBVIOUSLY NOBODY WILLING TO LEND MONEY TO A GOVERNMENT THAT IS SPENDING LIKE A DRUNKEN SAILOR SO TO PAY THE WAGES OF OUR NURSES AND TEACHERS THE GOVERNMENT HAS RESORTED TO PRINTING MONEY.
THE UK TREASURY ISSUES BONDS ON A FRIDAY AND YOU CAN SELL THEM BACK TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND ON MONDAY IN EXCHANGE FOR NEWLY CREATED POUNDS. THEY’VE PRINTED 325 BN POUNDS IN TWO YEARS AND THERE’S NO SIGN OF IT ENDING ANY TIME SOON.
WE ARE PRINTING MONEY, DEBAUCHING THE CURRENCY AND TRYING NOT TO READ BOOKS ABOUT THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC, WHERE WHEELBARROWS FULL OF BANKNOTES WERE REQUIRED TO BUY A LOAF OF BREAD.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN IN JUST 15 YEARS?
WELL THE POPULAR MYTH IS THAT GREEDY BANKERS CAUSED IT.
IN FACT THE BANKS ARE A SIDESHOW.
IT HAPPENED BECAUSE IN THREE SUCCESSIVE ELECTIONS, THE BRITISH PUBLIC WERE SEDUCED BY PROMISES OF SOMETHING FOR NOTHING, THAT YOU COULD SPEND MONEY YOU HADN’T EARNED WITH NO CONSEQUENCES.
IN JUST TEN YEARS, THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY UNDER TONY BLAIR AND GORDON BROWN INCREASED PUBLIC SPENDING BY 58% WHEN THE ECONOMY GREW ONLY 17%.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A MATHEMATICIAN TO KNOW WHAT THAT LED TO.
THE UK NOW HAS A BLOATED STATE SECTOR THAT IT CAN’T AFFORD AND DARE NOT CUT BACK.
IT SEEMS THAT WHERE THE STATE IS CONCERNED THERE IS NO NO REVERSE GEAR. IT ONLY GETS BIGGER, NEVER SMALLER.
LIKE SO MANY OTHER COUNTRIES, THE UK TOOK ITS PROSPERITY FOR GRANTED.
THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR SHORTER HOURS.
LONGER VACATIONS.
EMPLOYEE PROTECTION LAWS THAT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIRE ANYONE.
A NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE THAT PUT OVER A MILLION OUT OF WORK.
LAYERS OF RED TAPE AND BUREAUCRACY STIFLE ENTERPRISE AND CHOKE THE LIFE OUT OF BUSINESS. HARDLY ANYONE WANTS TO INVEST IN BRITAIN NOW AND SOME VERY LARGE BUSINESSES ARE PLANNING TO LEAVE.
DURING LABOUR’S REIGN OF TERROR WE LOST A MILLION JOBS IN MANUFACTURING AND REPLACED THEM WITH A MILLION NEW JOBS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
SO EVERY TOWN HALL NOW HAS ITS GENDER AWARENESS CO-ORDINATION DEPARTMENT BUT THE FACTORY DOWN THE ROAD IS BOARDED UP.
THE GOVERNMENT IN LONDON IS PINNING ITS HOPES ON GALLOPING ECONOMIC GROWTH - 2.5% A YEAR - WHICH WILL RAISE TAX REVENUES, REDUCE THE DEFICIT AND ELIMINATE THE NEED TO PRINT ANY MORE MONEY.
THIS IS THE PLAN.
WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE ECONOMIC GROWTH RATE IS RIGHT NOW?
IT’S NEGATIVE. THE UK ECONOMY IS ACTUALLY SHRINKING.
PLUG THAT INTO THE TREASURY FORECASTS AND THE UK IS BUST.
I KNOW BECAUSE I’VE DONE THE NUMBERS. IT’S TOO SCARY FOR WORDS.
AND IT ISN’T JUST THE UK.
WESTERN EUROPE IN GENERAL IS COMMITTING SLOW ECONOMIC SUICIDE FOR MUCH THE SAME REASON..
EVERY YEAR THE EU COMMISSION AND POPULIST GOVERNMENTS – BOTH CENTRE RIGHT AND CENTRE LEFT - ANNOUNCE A RAFT OF NEW DIRECTIVES AND LAWS WHICH ALWAYS HAVE TWO THINGS IN COMMON:
THEY INCREASE THE SIZE AND INFLUENCE OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR
AND
THEY RAISE THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALL OVER THE WORLD, EVERY DAY, COMPANIES ARE MAKING DECISIONS ON WHERE TO BUILD THE NEXT FACTORY, THE NEXT R&D LABORATORY, THAT NEW SALES OR DISTRIBUTION CENTRE.
PRESENTATIONS ARE BEING MADE BY PEOPLE IN SUITS, PEOPLE LIKE ME.
THESE INVESTMENT DECISIONS HAPPEN EVERY DAY AND THEY WILL DRAMATICALLY AFFECT YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN.
I HAVE SAT IN MANY OF THESE MEETINGS MYSELF AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT TWO OF THE MOST POWERFUL INFLUENCES ON THE FINAL DECISION OF WHERE TO INVEST ARE TAXATION AND REGULATION.
THAT’S WHY PUNITIVE TAXES ON THE COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO CREATE WEALTH ARE AN ACT OF ECONOMIC SUICIDE.
MAYBE SOCIALISTS GO TO BED WITH A SMILE ON THEIR FACE WHEN THE TOP RATE OF INCOME TAX IS RAISED, AS IT WAS RECENTLY IN THE UK, BUT WHO REALLY PAYS THE PRICE?
WEALTH CREATORS – COMPANIES AND PEOPLE - ARE MOBILE – THEY JUST MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
AND WHEN THEY GO THEY TAKE ALL THE JOBS AND TAX REVENUES WITH THEM. UNEMPLOYMENT GOES UP AND TAX REVENUES FALL.
IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
REGULATION IS EQUALLY CORROSIVE.
NO COMPANY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND IS GOING TO INVEST IN A COUNTRY WHERE YOU CAN’T FIRE ANYONE, EVER, WHERE NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO WORK MORE THAN 35 HOURS A WEEK AND WHERE EVERYONE RETIRES AT 43 OR WHATEVER IT NOW IS IN GREECE.
POLITICIANS ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE INTRODUCING ALL THIS STUFF – AND IF YOU VOTED FOR THE SNAKE OIL SALESMEN WHO TOLD YOU WE COULD DO ALL THIS WITHOUT ANY IMPACT ON JOBS OR PROSPERITY YOU ARE ALSO TO BLAME. IN A DEMOCRACY YOU GET WHAT YOU VOTED FOR.
I AM FANATICALLY PRO-EUROPEAN.
I SPEAK FLUENT FRENCH AND ITALIAN AND I LOVE THE HISTORY, CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND RICHNESS OF EUROPEAN LIFE.
BUT I ALSO SEE EUROPE COMMITTING SLOW ECONOMIC SUICIDE.
WE LIVE IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY AND BUSINESS WILL GO ELSEWHERE IF WE DON’T MAKE EUROPE A GREAT PLACE TO INVEST AND REMOVE THE STRANGLEHOLD OF TAXES AND REGULATION THAT ARE CHOKING THE LIFE OUT OF ENTERPRISE.
CAPITALISM IS THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN.
IF YOU THINK THE ANSWER IS A NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC PLANNING – WHICH IS WHAT THE EU COMMISSION IN BRUSSELS IS BECOMING – THEN YOU ARE CONDEMNING YOUR CHILDREN TO GROW UP POORER THAN YOU.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE – ALL OF YOU – BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES.
DON’T WASTE YOUR TALENTS WAVING PLACARDS AND SENDING OUT ANGRY POSTS ON A BLOGGING SITE. THAT MAKE NO DIFFERENCE TO THE LIVES OF ANYONE, ANYWHERE.
USE YOUR TALENTS TO MAKE THE MARKET ECONOMY EVER BETTER.
BE PART OF THE BLOOD TRANSFUSION.
THANKYOU.