Hi Hhiusa
I agree it was good business for him - he made a few million pounds profit over 2 years - and then sold the profitable garages off later to other companies.
Trouble is - it was good for him - as one capitalist entrepreneur - but - did he add to the economy? - No - he did not pay his fair wack in Capital Gains and Tax - he did over 300 + people out of their proper pay offs - ( top lawyers play hardball far better then the local solicitors representing the employees etc)
Its a great example of the strong intelligent and rich - exploiting normal joe public as well as other businesses and also the UK government - its causes hatred and resentfulness and as far as I am concerned - it stinks.
If that's the type of world you want and you think its good - then one day - i will tell you now - you could be on the receiving end of a trickster like this.
What pleased me about 3 yrs later - he got caught out badly on another deal - after someone else - stitched him up big time and he lost quite a lot of money.
Sometimes in life - "what goes around - come around"
Capitalism would be great if everyone sung off the same hymn sheet - but like so many things theory and reality -it's just so different
Regards
F
I agree totally with your sentiment FM.
It's about an entrepreneur taking a risk, in time T, arranging resources of production and producing a good or service which adds value in T+1.
However, we have people like in investment banking, basically simply not producing anything, but in the name of providing a service take the cream of profits.
If anything these very much shark like predatory businessmen attack what might be a perfectly good business, shred-it to pieces and walk away with a handsome profit and get applauded.
The invisible hand and the neo-classicals can come up with all SORTS of clever arguments about allocation of resources - to where they are best utilised and think nothing of structural and social costs. These are external costs and indeed very difficult to quantify in an environment of many contributors.
Moving to market structures, it is clear that successful business and some market dynamics lead to oligopolistic business; where we have a few to many; buyers or sellers.
In these markets companies prefer to deal in product differentiation as opposed to price competitiveness. Moreover, whether by design; colluding & cartels or by means of establishing natural price leaders the neo classical models of perfect competition and the invisible hand fails in these and many other local markets imo.
Where the invisible hand does take part like on the golf course, it is deemed to be good gentlemen's behaviour talking shop as one does. Look I'll take North of England you take the South and I won't attack your market share if you promise not to encroach on mine.
Exactly as you rightly point out; anyone with any experience of real business rather than theoretical, will appreciate the finer differences.
One is not proposing red tape and big G-hand but raising of concerns that not all is what it seems in these utopian capitalist visions of how wonderful it all is.
Personally, I have respect for good common sense but have learnt not to waste time on people who simply lack souls, empathy and have buckets full of self importance.
👍