Top Stories Thursday 21 Nov
Junius is involved in a discussion with
Natalie Solent about the welfare
state:
One of the unfortunate things the welfare state has done has been to push aside networks of voluntary co-operation, charities, friendly societies and so on. I’m happy to encourage a growth in that sector and I think the state can play a role in helping other people to do the things it does badly. (The trouble comes back of course when the state tries to micromanage housing-associations, universities and so on – and there’ll always be that temptation for politicians.) If you push me, I’d say that I support a pretty diverse eco-system of firms, co-operatives, some state agencies, charities and so on (what a wishy-washy social democrat I’ve become!). And I think the state has a role to play in maintaining that balance and diversity, since when we leave things to the market, short-term gain can lead to undesirable homogenization: witness the whole demutualization bonanza in the British financial sector. I don’t think efficiency is the only issue, by the way: the sort of institutions we have affect the sort of people we get – or at least their behaviour. (How could libertarians disagree given what they say about dependency?!). A system of diverse instititions rather than a thoroughgoing market society should provide opportunities for diverse sorts of people.
Beyond Corporate on her experience trying to get government contracts in San Francisco:
I sat there and listened to two other women/minority small business owners tell their stories of large firms using their women/minority/small business certification status with the City (and believe me, getting certified ain’t a walk in the park…it takes a lot of time and effort to get through the paperwork) to win big projects only to see not one dime spent for their time, effort and good business name. One woman even had a large firm put her name and company on their RFP without even telling her that they were doing so. She only found out about it when someone smelled a fish and checked in with her. Eight months later, she is still trying to get someone to go after the slimebags. In the mean time, I am sure that the slimebags are winning new business with the City, and she is winning, well, none.