In reply to yorkshire_lad2:
> I always chuckles at posts such as this that have a go at 'shareholders'. Yes, they might be the "Fat Cats" but they might be you, me, the person next door: just think of all those ordinary people you know who have a shares ISA invested in collective funds, a SIPP, an occupational pension .... where are they invested .... I have a friend who worked (now pensioner) for a nearby city council, who was having a go at Shell's 'massive' profits lining the profits of the wealthy. I suggested they take a look at the investments inside their employer's occupational pension scheme and find out where some of Shell's profits were going ....
To a certain extent I agree and it's a complex picture. We all have pensions and it would be impossible for us to be all over the detail of every single invested unit and this is where my left/centre left leaning makes an appearance, despite being more centrist in nature.
The central question, and its a big one, is whether critical infrastructure should be under national control or private control and then if under private control, to what extent should the conflict between public good be out of balance to private interest. After that, if private ownership is deemed the right strategy, to what extent should regulation control how the private owners operate the business, whether prices are set, whether profit and/or share caps should be applied and whether returns should be paid before the public good is satisfied, in whatever form.
Post edited at 12:09