Consumer Sovereignty, UK Style

Excellent editorial in the UK Telegraph "Why Snow Closes Schools But Not Shops"

Last Thursday, the day of the Great Snow, neither our scheduled rubbish collection nor any postal delivery took place, but our newsagent managed to struggle through the arctic conditions – well, the four inches of crunchy white stuff on the ground – to deliver our papers at 7am. The schools in our area were all closed, but every single shop and supermarket was open for business at the normal time.

There is a certain common theme in the way that government-run public services treat you, as opposed to the ones that have to compete for your business (and whose survival depends on pleasing the consumer).

Thanks to Bob Houbeck for the tip.