[BITList] Britain Is Working - NYTimes.com

[HUGH]

Mike,

Like you, I'm not so sure.
 

<< As the British politician Oliver Letwin has argued, a generation of misrule between 1945 and 1979 left the U.K. with three large problems: a stifled industrial economy; an overcentralized welfare state; and an enervated people, some of whom are locked in cycles of poverty. By liberating the economy, Margaret Thatcher tackled the first of these problems, and subsequent Labour governments consolidated her gains. Meanwhile, a series of governments have been fitfully tackling problems two and three, reforming the welfare state and energizing the populace.>>



A stifled industrial economy liberated by Thatcher ?  That's a unique view of the process of getting rid of heavy industry to suit political dogma.



Reforming the welfare state .... and here I pause. What welfare state?  What state?  The UK?  There are two welfare states in the UK - one run from London, and one run from Edinburgh.



Energising the populace?  WTF is that?



Hugh.
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