The Housing Trap

Why aren't we building more houses?

Well, let us start off by imagining the situation if we were building lots of council houses. These would have restrictions of course. Firstly they would NOT be for sale, neither would they be available to anyone as a second home.  So what are the consequences?

Houses would be much cheaper, simply by the mechanism of supply and demand.  Rents are much lower.  A private landlord must compete with council house rents and mortgage repayments on cheaper houses.

Immigrants, who we desperately need to work in the NHS would have places to live almost immediately, and NOT at the expense of locals - there are enough house to go round.

This was the case back in the 1970s.  A typical house cost around three years wages (Now it is seven and a half years)

Why won't we build lots of council houses now?

Do you have your own house?  

How would you feel if the council started to build houses close to yours, at a similar standard to yours, but let out at half of your mortgage payments? 

When you sell your house you will not get what you paid for it. You will be in a state of "negative equity".  Due to the stupid way our banks work you will find it difficult or impossible to move house. Even if you have to move house for a better paid job to pay your mortgage!

Are you a landlord?  

Are you happy for your tenants when they move out into cheaper accommodation supplied by the state. You bought your properties when the prices were high and you need the income from them to pay off the loans you took out to buy them.  

The establishment has managed to trap you in this position by restricting the number of house available. You have bought at a high price and you really don't want to see the value of your house fall.  After all it's your major investment.

So you will not vote for any government who says they will bring house prices down. But building more houses will bring them down!

Margarets Thatcher's dream of "A nation of home owners" has come about. There is no easy way back.

So the current situation of the poorest people in our country being unable to afford a house or struggling to pay for food after paying rent or mortgage, and no place for migrant workers to live will continue for the foreseeable future.

Fining Pieces of Paper

Originally published July 12, 2021

The government has just fined Southern water £90,000,000 for pouring sewage into the sea.

In 2017 a worker lost a thumb and fingers in an industrial accident. Almost four years later (May 2021) the company was fined for breaching Health and Safety regulations.
We have fined banks;  we have  fined hospitals;  we have fined network rail

This is ludicrous beyond belief. Corporations or companies are NOT negligent or dishonest.  They are pieces of paper with writing on. PEOPLE are negligent and dishonest. And in these cases, the people are usually high up the tree, and their crime is almost always not taking their role seriously and ignoring their own staff at the bottom of the organization.

But who pays the fine? Either the public, or if the fine actually effects the companies finances then cuts will be made at the BOTTOM of the tree.

The ONLY deterrent is a prison sentence for those found responsible. A fine has no effect on a person with a substantial personal fortune, and access to almost unlimited funds from their organization.

Somewhere in the organization, someone has withheld the funds, or not allocated resources and the result is either breaking the law, or a tragedy. That person is never identified, will probably keep their job, and their salary, and their bonus, and their pension. It’s unfair, and just plain stupid.

The threat (and actuality) of a few months, weeks, or even days in jail together with the subsequent criminal record, and increased sentences for subsequent offences would have an immediate effect on directors, executives, and managers behaviour.

So why don’t we simply SEND THE BUGGERS TO JAIL.

In such cases someone MUST go to jail.  If the culprit or culprits cannot be found then it must be the head of the organization.  It is his job to keep the organization on the straight and narrow.  He has failed and its up to him to find the reasons. If he can’t, then he has failed again and that warrants the jail sentence.  When he gets out, he will make damn sure it doesn’t happen again, and his friends will take more care too.

Addenda 13/01/2023

And a piece of paper takes the hit for Trump dodging taxes.

10/06/23

And another piece of paper has been fined £2.1m as for dumping raw sewage into the sea. The CEO of South West Water, Susan Davy, is paid over £400,000 per year and usually gets over £1,000,000 in bonuses. She decided not to take it this year, but she is paying out £112m out to the shareholders.  (I would guess she is a major shareholder). All the “outraged” local MP is calling for is resignations.  

No!

SEND THE BUGGERS TO JAIL.