In article , Capitol
writes
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:

In article ,
Andrew wrote:
Some us remember how bad British Rail (and the GPO) was at it's
worst. Even Jimmy Savile used to advertise it on telly, but it
provoked one
chap to take legal action against the ASA because the advert bore no
relation to reality.

Good to remember. And there are now absolutely no complaints against BT
who provides a perfect service. As do all the various rail networks.

The difference is that these entities can be regulated and taxed,
unlike the old nationalised industries, which were sinks of money.

My sister used to complain about how cheap water provision used to be,
and ooh look how much it costs now. Overlooking that the nationalised
water boards, for whatever reason, did no investment in their victorian
infrastructure, unlike the water companies now, which have been ordered
to do so at no cost to the taxpayer.


Correction, at vast cost to the taxpayer. I am not aware of any
water company building new reservoirs in recent years, even though the
population is increasing rapidly.
Where would you like to build them?
Some water companies are borrowing money at 7% interest rates for no
good reason. Companies should be selling shares to raise capital, not
taking out unnecessary loans.
Interesting aspect of corporate governance. Directors can take out loans
without permission of the shareholders. However share issues have to be
agreed and are much more expensive and complicated. There is also always
a risk they may be under-subscribed.
--
bert