Bad Capitalism

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed"

Mahatma Gandhi

If there is one positive that has come from the crisis that we currently find ourselves in, it is that it has shone a light on some simply inexcusable and fucked-up behaviour from certain wealthy individuals and the companies that they are involved in.

As many ordinary people, and other businesses, have rushed to do good or have worried about how to survive, there are those that have looked no further than themselves, or even seen it as a time to fill their boots. This when their own personal wealth would allow them to minimise the impact if they took some responsibility themselves.

Make no mistake, this sort of shit has always been going on. It's just that in Normal Times, we sadly don't pay enough mind to it and it sneaks beneath the radar.

All of this is what most would agree is Bad Capitalism, or put another way, corporate shithousery. And there are a number of cases that have made the headlines over the past few weeks that provide us with examples of capitalism at its very worst.

First of all we had that old hippy - I use the term loosely in his case - Sir Richard Branson pleading poverty. The risk-taker who said "screw it let's do it". The man that backed the punks, and gave us Virgin trains, planes and coke cans. The billionaire tax-avoider that owns an island or two, waded in on the privatisation of the NHS and sued them for good measure. The man who wants to conquer space.

But the first thing he did when the arse fell out of Virgin Airlines was to swiftly demand a Government bailout for the aviation industry, and he's since followed this up in writing. Someone calculated that he could give every one of Virgin Airlines' employees £20,000 to cover the next three months and it would cost him something like 0.17% of his fortune. Instead he wants you and me to pick up the tab. Because Sir Richard has always done well from the teat of the taxpayer, so why stop now? You can stick Tubular Bells up your bollocks Mr. Branson.

Oh, and speaking of airlines, a special mention for EasyJet who paid out £174million in dividends to its shareholders before using the Government's job retention scheme to pay its staff just days later.

And then there was Jabba the Hutt of Croydon, Sir Philip Green, chairman of the Arcadia Group who own most of the places you get your jeans, blouses and knickers from. Green is probably best remembered for 'rescuing' BHS before finishing it off and trashing the workers' pension fund, though there are other more unsavoury things that he's also remembered for. Arcadia's response to the Coronavirus crisis was to refuse to cover the wages of their employees, and they have now topped that by suspending pension payments, while Green has asked for a Government bailout. Thank Christ I never spend money in Arcadia owned stores; but then skinny-look stuff doesn't really suit me anyway.

One of the most shittiest recent episodes occurred at the Coylumbridge Hotel at Aviemore in Scotland. The hotel is owned by Britannia Hotels - regularly voted Britain's worst hotel chain - a company owned by Alex Langsam and the Hawksford Trust Company Jersey Limited. They probably secured the vote for this year's worst hotel chain a couple of weeks back by sacking their staff at Colyumbridge Hotel and immediately booting them out, making some of them homeless (one member of staff said that they were going to have to live in a tent). Britannia Hotels has since reversed their decision, blaming it on an "administrative error". Call me a cynic, but the reversal was made shortly after the Government announced it was putting together a package to support businesses and their employees. Britannia Hotels have been on my shitlist for some time having run Stoke's North Stafford Hotel and the Grand Hotel in Llandudno into the ground. It seems that they treat both their property and their staff like crap.

And I shouldn't forget Man of the People, and the nation's favourite Father Jack lookalike, Tim Martin, founder and chairman of J.D. Wetherspoon. In recent times, Mr. Martin has made the headlines less for his pubs and beer, and more for being a 'patriotic' Brexiter and mate of Nigel Farage. Well, in the last couple of weeks he's made the headlines as being someone who couldn't care less about the ordinary people that have helped to make him rich. Firstly, he pushed hard to keep pubs open, and then when he realised this was a battle he wasn't going to win, he told his staff that he had no intention of paying them, before giving his suppliers the same message. But the icing on the cake was the circulation of a short video to his employees in which he encouraged them to seek work with Tesco. Martin has since backed down and confirmed that his staff will receive 80% of their pay, but again, this has coincided with the Government announcing their support package. To quote THE Father Jack, "feck off, gobshite".

I can't really talk about corporate shithousery without mentioning fat Mike Ashley. Plastic Brummie Mike began his career building a chain of sports shops before buying up 'distressed' sports brands, and expanding his shops into the vulgar Sports Direct brand, miserable sheds stacked high with crap Lonsdale trainers, massive Sports Direct mugs and Everlast tracksuits. Ashley is also recognised widely for "power drinking", vomiting in fire places, and turning one of the country's greatest football grounds - St James' Park, Newcastle - into a gigantic Sports Direct billboard. And we shouldn't forget that Ashley is also one of the biggest zero hours contract enthusiasts around.

But let's face it, Ashley has not gotten rich by being a nice bloke and without being able to spot an opportunity, and he certainly thought he'd spotted one in the Coronavirus crisis, first by claiming that Sports Direct should be exempt from restrictions placed on the opening of shops - because of course, we all need a 12 pack of Donnay crew socks at times like these - and then by circulating a new price list to his stores putting many products up, with some doubling in price. Ashley has since backed down and apologised, but we won't forget. The next time the Toon Army strikes up a chorus of, "Mike Ashley, you're a wanker, you're a wanker", we should all join in.

There have been many who have done things differently, and these should be remembered. The likes of Gary Neville, bet365, Manchester City Football Club and the City Football Group, and Pret a Manger and their owners the JAB Holding Company, who - while not being perfect - have stepped up to the plate in these unprecedented times.

And we should also remember those other bastards - the Bransons, the Greens, the Langsams, the Martins, the Ashleys - those who believe that any economic pain has to be socialised, and who have displayed the very worst traits of capitalism in these worst of times. And we should remember them specifically when we come out of the other side. For we will have to build a new economy.

The Big Boys will be able to look after themselves, and so they should. It's the Little Guys, the locals and independents that will need our help and support, and more importantly, our money. 

So when you're booking a holiday, do you need to catch a plane to go somewhere? Do you need to stay in a big hotel? Or can you find a little privately owned B&B in the Norfolk Broads or on the Welsh Coast?

When you're going down town for a few drinks with friends, do you need to go to 'the Spoons'? Or would it be better to support a small local boozer, or a little craft beer place?

Big isn't necessarily bad. But small is beautiful.