Four more former colleagues from The Sun have been arrested this week. I worked with all of them and have spoken to many others from our vintage. I think the general consensus is that a lot of Wapping refuseniks are sorry to see one of them, in particular, in this situation, but their reaction to the fate of the other three can best be described as a snigger.
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David Cameron made a speech about a week ago defending capitalism. Which is fair enough. After all, capitalism rewards hard work and those who pull themselves up by their bootlaces to make money, achieve things beyond their expectations and to compete in a free market economy. All by sheer determination and talent rather than through who you know, an old school tie and inheriting rather than earning money.
But which bit of capitalism do you want? No, really. Because it's quite clear we all like bits of it. The bits of it that mean we can make money mainly.
The bits of it that say businesses should be privately owned and run with the purpose of making capital by buying and selling according to market forces and that those who make the money should be rewarded for it. And controlling labour but at a rate which is economically viable to all concerned.
Like banks of course.
The bits of capitalism that says private businesses make more money if the state doesn't interfere too much. Like banks.
And when the last Labour government relaxed regulation, it meant they had the freedom to make lots of money. Instead, of course, they lost lots of money. But when you let a child go out into the world you allow them to make mistakes. They learn by them. Although you'd rather they didn't make mistakes that end up with you having to sell your house to cover them.
Too much regulation, they argue, and we'll be off. We'll take our ball and go and play in Hong Kong or somewhere. Of course they never do but the threat is enough to keep regulation as loose at Fred Goodwin's zipper.
Then there's the bit of capitalism that says that the state can own RBS but not manage it. Bankers manage banks, not politicians. So they can pay themselves what they want. Cameron believes this, even though he tried to put a seven figure cap on it. So the boss paid himself £953,000 instead. Except it wasn't that, was it? Experts reckon he pocketed around £5 million overall. But that's capitalism too.
In fact, it's probably the purest form of capitalism you can get. A company owned by the state but allowed to operate as if it wasn't in the hope the state gets its money back and more.
And bosses rewarded for their success in such a way it generates half a million quid for the exchequer, which could hire 100 nurses (though of course it won't).
But suddenly we don't like that bit of capitalism. It smacks of inequality even though capitalism allows for inequality in that it wouldn't work if everyone got the same.
And so when it comes down to it, we like our capitalism in easy to digest bite size chunks and not in great big whopping pay packets for a bloke who, when dressed in his riding gear, resembles a Michelin man with a penis on his head. That was such an unfortunate photo Stephen.
For even if we could sympathise a little with a man who gave up a safe job earning millions for a dodgy one earning millions, the sight of him in his black velvet hunting jacket and white cravat, astride a horse and holding a whip while in a knob hat, is enough to want to us all to see him thrown to the dogs.
I don't own the copyright to the photo so you'll have to click on the link to see it though I'm sure you already have.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/01/30/article-2093630-0D5959CA000005DC-979_306x423.jpg
Tally ho....Solly
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