Another argument for privatising the molly-coddled BBC

The BBC is in many ways a great resource, but has become far too complacent over the years. The strike by these over-paid public-sector employees is yet more evidence that these people are far too insulated from the economic realities the country faces. It is creditable that a couple of the Today presenters broke the stirke yesterday and came to work to present the programme; perhaps it's no accident that one of the two (at least), Evan Davis, has a background in economics, although Sarah Montague perhaps also a similar background, but at any rate she is one of the better presenters there in my view.

The last Labour government debauched the economy with major negative consequences for the private sector, the part of the economy that actually generates the money that the public sector spends. It's the sense of entitlement by well-paid people at the BBC that really grates; their attitude seems to be that the rest of the country can go hang, provided their cosy little cartel is not disrupted. I continue to hope that the present Coalition government will not chicken-out and carry through its promises to reform (i.e. reduce in size) the BBC; if the cost of this tough action, and the sackings that should go with it, is a few days or weeks of 'dead air', then so be it. The Humphrys and Kearneys of this world must be made to realise they are not indispensible. The strikers may whisper malevolently that those who went to work instead of striking will not be forgotten, but equally those who did strike will not be forgotten either.