I worked in the rail industry for c. 18 years, Steve and I was always a bit sceptical about the case for HS2, wondering (as you wrote) whether the money might be better spent on things like signalling upgrades or additional targeted investment (eg better east-west links in the north).
Spot on. If you look around the world, you see public choice theory in action. Many of our “nation-building” across the developing and emerging world have been based on an acceptance of public choice theory and a desire to help improve the functioning of the public realm. So it would be absurd to suggest it doesn’t apply in the UK. Tackling rent seeking should be a key plank of any attempt at economic reform, but I’m not sure how a mainstream party campaigns on such a platform without alienating many of the “professionals” who vote for it.
Excellent explanation of how State funds often end up destroying, not creating value, except where specific, strict, known conditions are met.
Even the Japanese Railway and Bullet Train tells a similar story over 100+ years, and shows recent privatisation as a solution to the massive losses to the whole economy.
"Giving money to politicians is like giving whiskey and fast cars to teenage boys". PJ O'Rourke.
Painful to read Steve, but as you say entirely predictable.
I suppose that's around £70bn wasted. Money that could have better been spent on welfare benefits (I'm joking obvs).
To add to my dismay, I was just reading an article about our recent fighter jet programs - Tornado & Typhoon fiascos & now, according to the Telegraph headline, "Britain's next generation fighter is a disaster in the making" Apparently it will cost twice as much per hour to operate than a F35 and with inferior capability.
However, our hopeless, useless, incompetent politicians & bureaucrats will no doubt press on with it.
Lucky for us that the half-wits who have been in charge the last 30 years were not around in WWII otherwise we would still be waiting for the Spitfire to get airborne.
You can have one HS2 at £102 Bn or about 150 Daring class destroyers at £660 Mn a pop....
What's more people do not understand that competition for rail travel does not only come from other forms of travel. In the case of rail in commuting distance from large population centres with considerable agglomeration effects prime competitors to rail include landlords and landowners.
The core problem is they never have to pay back the money. Instead when we look at all the crippling tax increases recently, all the costs have to be repaid by the people, and as such now look at the clearly visible VERY unhappy electorate. Now look at the arctic ice levels and see that they are ~1 million sq Km's less than 2012. Are we going to see the north pole free of ice this year, and, if so, will the Greenland ice cap start to collapse? Why ask? because if so then HS2 goes under water with a sea level rise of 6 meters.
So who within the HS2 camp holds the assets, the majority of the money made? The only way to bring the likes of a HS2 under control is to make the instigators pay the money back. In business it is called bankruptcy. For what it is worth, it is my opinion that HS2 should be immediately sent into bankruptcy, with the costs levied against the leadership. Every single individual involved should be made bankrupt, with their assets placed against the overall costs of the entire project. In business that is the only way to control such spending of other peoples money. The same should be immediately applied to HS2. Now, not a moment to lose. Yes, everyone involved.
I worked in the rail industry for c. 18 years, Steve and I was always a bit sceptical about the case for HS2, wondering (as you wrote) whether the money might be better spent on things like signalling upgrades or additional targeted investment (eg better east-west links in the north).
Excellent analysis.
Spot on. If you look around the world, you see public choice theory in action. Many of our “nation-building” across the developing and emerging world have been based on an acceptance of public choice theory and a desire to help improve the functioning of the public realm. So it would be absurd to suggest it doesn’t apply in the UK. Tackling rent seeking should be a key plank of any attempt at economic reform, but I’m not sure how a mainstream party campaigns on such a platform without alienating many of the “professionals” who vote for it.
Excellent explanation of how State funds often end up destroying, not creating value, except where specific, strict, known conditions are met.
Even the Japanese Railway and Bullet Train tells a similar story over 100+ years, and shows recent privatisation as a solution to the massive losses to the whole economy.
"Giving money to politicians is like giving whiskey and fast cars to teenage boys". PJ O'Rourke.
Painful to read Steve, but as you say entirely predictable.
I suppose that's around £70bn wasted. Money that could have better been spent on welfare benefits (I'm joking obvs).
To add to my dismay, I was just reading an article about our recent fighter jet programs - Tornado & Typhoon fiascos & now, according to the Telegraph headline, "Britain's next generation fighter is a disaster in the making" Apparently it will cost twice as much per hour to operate than a F35 and with inferior capability.
However, our hopeless, useless, incompetent politicians & bureaucrats will no doubt press on with it.
Lucky for us that the half-wits who have been in charge the last 30 years were not around in WWII otherwise we would still be waiting for the Spitfire to get airborne.
You can have one HS2 at £102 Bn or about 150 Daring class destroyers at £660 Mn a pop....
What's more people do not understand that competition for rail travel does not only come from other forms of travel. In the case of rail in commuting distance from large population centres with considerable agglomeration effects prime competitors to rail include landlords and landowners.
HS2 was at the very start an obvious boondoggle.
The core problem is they never have to pay back the money. Instead when we look at all the crippling tax increases recently, all the costs have to be repaid by the people, and as such now look at the clearly visible VERY unhappy electorate. Now look at the arctic ice levels and see that they are ~1 million sq Km's less than 2012. Are we going to see the north pole free of ice this year, and, if so, will the Greenland ice cap start to collapse? Why ask? because if so then HS2 goes under water with a sea level rise of 6 meters.
So who within the HS2 camp holds the assets, the majority of the money made? The only way to bring the likes of a HS2 under control is to make the instigators pay the money back. In business it is called bankruptcy. For what it is worth, it is my opinion that HS2 should be immediately sent into bankruptcy, with the costs levied against the leadership. Every single individual involved should be made bankrupt, with their assets placed against the overall costs of the entire project. In business that is the only way to control such spending of other peoples money. The same should be immediately applied to HS2. Now, not a moment to lose. Yes, everyone involved.