Not the greatest benefit

THE EDITOR: Balanced boards are crucial in public enterprise. They would more stably work returns to the common good and would be a check and balance to “cornering the market” against it. They would not be free to exploit straddle situations with changing governments.

Royalty and tax schemes would remain to their advantage and be subject to a layered accountability. Windfalls would not be lost in unexpected changes in market conditions, eg oil price collapse in 2020. People would not be laid off suddenly and inexplicably and debts would tend to get smoothly reduced. Taxpayers would not be yoked with left-over defaults.

If a balanced board was needed at the former Petrotrin, it was not appointed. Instead, the Government told labour “wage restraint vs wage freeze” in November 2016 and then broke up the energy industry into a type of privatised sector. Owner-control is made as the paradigm replacing state enterprise so that, even if this Government does not get a second term, owners will be trying to soldify their positions.

The problem is that any government by any party is now free to isolate economic areas for its party adherents, and launch it as a marketplace. It is definitely not the greatest benefit to the nation and cannot measure up to the common good in any equation. It is more one-sided than an unbalanced board and places the corporate veil over the parties’ identities and what things they do.

E GALY

via e-mail

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"Not the greatest benefit"

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