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Author Archives: formerdundeeman
UK Never Got Post-Empire
I watched the BBC documentary “Das Auto The Germans, Their Cars and Us“. You can watch it complete on YouTube and I recommend you do even if you have no interest in cars or Germany. It’s the “Us” – the … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Economics, Europe, United Kingdom
Tagged Business, economics, Germany, manufacturing, Neoliberal, UK, workers rights
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French Economist Proves What Most Know True: Capitalism is a Rigged Game
Despite the rather feeble nit-picking effort of the Financial Times, French economist Thomas Piketty has done some tremendous work in proving what anyone with their eyes open and without hypocrisy or delusion already knows: capitalism in the form societies have … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Economics, Politics, Poverty
Tagged equality, Neoliberal, poverty, scottish independence, welfare, workers rights
2 Comments
‘Your nationalism is terrifying’
Better Together folk are a weird bunch. Engaging with them at times can invoke utterly surreal experiences. The vast majority of YES supporters are open to foreigners, are extremely positive over the benefits of an independent Scotland to people at … Continue reading
Posted in Independence, Project Fear, United Kingdom
Tagged bettertogether, empire, freedom, nationalism, scottish independence
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Leave EU to stop immigration but you also lose emigration
In all this debate about Britain staying in or leaving the EU, much focuses on preventing immigration. You know all those eastern Europeans coming to take those jobs that the existing British population don’t want or are useless at, and trying to … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Europe, United Kingdom
Tagged emigration, EU, freedom, immigration, liberty, UKIP
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Does Zero Hours and No Minimum Wage Actually Make Business Sense?
I once worked in the now demolished Tayside House in Dundee. This multi-storey block was situated at the end of the Tay Bridge and housed the HQ of Tayside Regional Council in those days. My 9 to 5 used to … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Economics, Poverty, United Kingdom
Tagged Business, economics, independent Scotland, poverty, workers rights
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The I Don’t Want High Taxes Idiocy
I’ve heard it far too often, the old, “Yeah Holland and Norway are all very well, but you pay such high taxes and I don’t want that.” This argument is so dumb it hardly is worth countering. But since it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Europe, Politics, United Kingdom
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Iron Man and the Myth of the Lone Entrepreneur
A popular misconception we’re often confronted with is the idea that successful business people somehow made it through their own hard work, graft and smarts. While it can take immense perseverance, skill and acumen to build business empires, it is … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Economics, Politics
Tagged Business, Elizabeth Warren, entrepreneur, iron man, Neoliberal, tax
2 Comments
When did the means become more important than the end?
Somehow everything has got into a big bloody mess. Somehow the means became far more important than the end. What is the end? To ask is to meddle with such cliched questions as what is the meaning of life. But … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics, Project Fear, Uncategorized, United Kingdom
Tagged Blair, Environment, Feynman, NHS, Targets
1 Comment
Independent Scotland Will Set the UK Free
Beyond the humour and relatively friendly, openness of the people, the overriding, defining trait of the UK is the class system. It has always been so. Living in the Netherlands, relatively free of class differences, and looking back at Blighty … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, Independence, United Kingdom
Tagged empire, equality, europe, independence, netherlands, welfare, workers rights
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The Political Class and the End of Heckling
In most countries the current generation of politicians is dominated by the so called political class. These people know only one thing and that is the game of politics and they’ll destroy their own party and country to keep their hand … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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A Former Dundee Man 