The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has promised to declare war on the “enemies of enterprise”.
Well, if he is indeed fighting a war – and there is little sign of it – the enemies of enterprise are winning and he is losing.
The bureaucratic burden on small business is increasing rather than decreasing. April 6th is one of two “red tape days” – the other being in October – when new regulations come into force. According to the respected Financial Times, no less than fifty additional obligations are being imposed on business.
If Mr Cameron is serious about fighting the enemies of enterprise, he should stop employing them. Those who make the lives of entrepreneurs unnecessarily difficult should be told, “You were employed to make the economy fairer and more efficient, but you have done the opposite. You have put a burden on your fellow citizens when you should be relieving them of it. Your services are no longer required. Since you are being dismissed for cause, you should not expect any public honours, or any lump sum or pension beyond the absolute legal minimum”.
These words could and should be applied to a very long list of bureaucrats.