Compulsory water metering

Err Railtrack was a private company responsible for running the network. It had to satisfy the H&S executive and the Rail regulator. One was responsible for safety and the other for the levels of service.

The regulator wasn't intrested in safety and threatened to fine Railtrack for any delays caused by track work. They even fined Railtrack if they imposed speed limits on tracks as it was lowering the service levels. If this isn't discuraging safety work then what is?

Anyway there were no more deaths on the rail while railtrack was running it than before and there were less than since.

It didn't need digital exchanges to enable customers to have telephone lines. It just need an incentive to actually supply a service.

That is because with the supply model as it is nobody is going to build new resoviours to supply the overpopulated SE. So the only fix available is to ration the water.

If the supply model had been to charge for water used then the companies would have built infrastructure to supply as much as they could sell.

Don't you understand anything about the market economy?

Negative equity is caused by stupid people who insist on buying houses in the same place as everyone else. If houses really cost a lot to build there wouldn't be such a wide regional price difference. Eventually if the artificial planning restrictions are removed there will be enough houses built to satisfy demand and house prices will fall to what they are actually worth.. about 50k for a three bed detached. Then we will see negative equity.

I suppose taking £27 billion out of the high tech industries in the UK was to help them to grow and provide better jobs? And what did they do with the cash?... bribe the electorate.

Have you also noticed that the hole in the pensions funds is also the same size as the stealth tax Mr Brown has been taking out of the funds each year? What has he done with the £5 billion each year?

I thought all politicians were truthful!

Do you worry about that with your gas and electricity meters?

Or your petrol gauge?

Mary

That is the fault of government again for not setting the business and standards parameters correctly

Complete nonsense. The substantial aspect of this was competition and a change attitude - subscribers becoming customers, for example.

This is very obvious when one looks at the progress towards privatisation in other countries. They had new technology at the same time or even before BT in some cases but either remained as state PTTs or "private" companies where the state owned all the shares. Some are still pretty much at that stage and it is very apparent when one talks to their customers.

The key elements are commercial pressure and competition.

If there were competing entities in the public sector where people are incented for success and the opposite for poor performance it would be rather better, but this seldom happens.

There's nothing wrong with tax cuts. Negative equity is only an issue if one wishes to sell a property. Property values have risen and fallen since time immemorial. The actual issue is if one buys in at the peak of the market and sells below the amount of the mortgage and is unable to meet the shortfall out of other funds; or is unable to maintain loan payments. The danger comes with people overextending themselves without understanding the risk factors - i.e. change in property values and interest rates.

Investments go down as well as up. For example, if I had invested in a simple FTSE tracker in 2000, I would have lost money for the first two years, broken even in the third and made a fairly good profit for the last two years. Overall, I would be ahead but these are generally intended as long term investments.

In the property market, one of the issues is that we still have the repayment vehicles designed for a long term purchase rather than a short terms gain. Sellers and purchasers of endowment policies for example, were over optimistic about their performance.

As far as manufacturing industry is concerned, we have simply seen a correction towards the reality of the market. Unrealistic subsidies are disappearing where they haven't already.

We can't have it both ways. On the one hand, we would like to have a high standard of living and a respectable income. On the other, we want to buy for the lowest possible price. Most people are no longer willing to pay more for local manufacture, possibly better quality and better service. The market gives them what they want.

By observation, it would appear to be all administrations. Over the coming generation or two the trade unions will pass into history and be seen as a 20th century phenomenon.

Just FO,C

You are the unacceptable face of capitalism - self self self self...

invest

privatised.

technology

example.

negative

risen

mortgage

unable

overextending

first

generally

subsidies

longer

The message from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

Yes, and they get replaced from time to time for exactly that reason.

Petrol gauge is a red herring - it doesn't affect the amount you pay.

network.

service.

Nothing stopped them from mending broken rails, but they chose to protect their profits rather than pay the costs involved in mending the track.

Railtrack

So you admit that Railtrack placed profit before safety then, thank you, nothing stopped Failtract from paying the costs of track repairs. FACT.

No it did not, the only thing is would have effected was Railtrack profits, thank you for admitting that Railtrack put profit before safety.

only

Not DIRECTLY attributable to wilful non repair of known faulty track.

Ours have been replaced once in 43 years.

Would that satisfy you for a water meter?

The message from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

Really? I'd complain. Our gas meter got changed last year - it was about a decade old. Not sure how old the leccy meter is though - we've only been here five years. Bears a sticker "Tested 1989" at which point it was probably about eighteen years old. I guess it'll get tested again some time, or replaced with a solid-state one.

Our house was built in 1977. It had an electricity meter dated 1976, until several years ago when it was replaced 'because it was more than 10 years old. The replacement is dated 1954, and is only rated at 40 amps. At the same time they uprated the service fuse from 60A to 100A.

Oh dear. It seems that you are unable to hold a reasonable conversation.

However, consider this. Capitalism generates wealth, a great deal of which passes via corporation tax into the exchequer. Individuals who are successful in private business tend to be paid quite well and therefore contribute much more than the average man in the street in taxation.

I don't see anything selfish in either of these aspects of capitalism

- very much the opposite.

I can appreciate that that might not sit very well with you, but that's how it is.....

Guy King typed

Quite. Both my gas and electricity meters have been changed within the past year.

Yep, Libre, Solde and dineri.

Matt, Lord Hall said you do, so you must.

Matt would send kids up chimnies.

Matt, to you they are, as you would send kids up chimnies.

No, I'm happy with knowing that you're gainfully employed in the plumbers merchants....

The block of flats where my mother lives had meters installed by Thames Water several years ago, but they never read the meters and continue to send out bills based on the ratable value.

Last year, they wrote to my mother asking her if she would like to have a water meter. She phoned them to say that she already had a water meter, thank you, and that she would be happy to be billed accordingly. The call centre person she spoke to refused to believe my mother and declined her invitation to come and have a look at the meter.

Regards,

Yes, you would be happy send kids up from local council estate.