The recent protests by students over tuition fees is an example of how the public are always too late to complain.
When football clubs floated on the stock market, fans jumped for joy at the prospect of more money for the club. Now they complain about foreign owners and over-paid players.
When the banks were deregulated (overturning the lessons of history) and banks couldn’t give credit fast enough, the few lone voices counseling caution were ignored. Then the boom turned to bust and the people found everyone to blame except themselves.
When Cadbury’s went PLC, it didn’t even make the news. But when it got sold to a foreign confectioner — the obvious result — then people complained.
In the face of popular greed, the US President gave the go-ahead for off-shore oil drilling. Did the people blame themselves, the root cause, when the well burst? No, they blamed the oil company.
Now there are mass demonstrations and near riots over the rise in tuition fees. But, without Labour’s University of Bums on Seats (the 50% graduate target) and the consequent tuition fees, this issue wouldn’t exist.*
When you hear the train’s whistle, that’s the time to get off the tracks. Don’t wait till it hits you before you do something.
[*If today's students wish to punish someone, they should go and slap those amongst their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who elected and re-electing (twice!) a party that sold out every one of their principles in exchange for a free vote on fox hunting.]
