Alternatives to Plumbers

Robert Kiyosaki has made a curious assertion in one of his
many books. He says that the tax system, the legal system,
in fact the whole economic system, has been set up to
favour entrepreneurs. He says that everything is there to
encourage people to take risks, borrow money, set up
businesses, build factories and houses and create jobs.
Why? Because that's what the country needs. We need
employment and housing, so we need enterprising individuals
who can make that happen. We need these top people.
Everything else has to serve their needs, and the system
exists to support them.

Down at the bottom of the pile, things look different. 'The
bosses need us', say the workers, so ask for bigger pay
rises. That's not going to work out. These days, those
bosses have a choice. If you're not willing to work for the
dollar rate offered, they'll find someone who will, often
from overseas. In Britain today the argument is about all
the East European countries who have joined the European
Union recently. It means that their residents now have the
right – yes, the legal right – to travel to
Britain and offer themselves for work. The problem for us
locals is that these new arrivals are used to working for
less money than we need and are grateful for any jobs they
can get, no matter how second-rate or poorly paid. They are
also willing to work hard and don't demand time off and
holidays. From the point of view of the employers, they're
just what they need.

The example most often quoted is 'Polish plumbers'. In the
last few months, many plumbers and other skilled people
have arrived in Britain from places like Poland, and are
offering their services. They work hard and they don't ask
for much money. They are suddenly in demand. Everybody
wants them. English plumbers are up in arms. 'Not fair',
they say, forgetting that the economic system doesn't set
out to be fair. It exists to make things, deliver
services, create new businesses and provide profits. It
never sets out to be 'fair'. If you want fairness in
society, you have to vote for a government that will do
something about that. Economics isn't in that business of
being 'fair'.

English plumbers have forgotten one thing. People don't
like them. People in Britain know that when their washing
machine goes mad and starts pumping water all over the
kitchen floor, then they are in trouble – mainly
because it will be practically impossible to find anyone to
come round and fix the problem. You will be standing up to
your ankles in water, telephone in one hand and Yellow
Pages in the other, and you can go down the list for quite
a way before even getting an answer. Then there's the
reply, 'It will be £60 to come out and £20 an
hour after that' – too expensive. There's a lot of,
'Sorry, too busy right now. I can maybe fit you in sometime
next Tuesday' and the question of time: it's unheard of to
get a plumber out of his cosy house after 6 o'clock at
night. After all, he has a family too. He likes watching
TV, just like you. He doesn't want to miss the football, as
you don't. Well, no, he's not exactly like you. He's set
himself up as a plumber, that's how he earns a living. To
do that, he needs customers. Polish plumbers know that, and
are willing to work to please their customers, not
themselves. That's the difference.

Plumbers in Britain have a different take on reality. They
think that everything was great, life was good, and then
these guys from Poland started arriving – and it
ruined everything. Most British people know the opposite.
'Things were great'? For plumbers! 'Life was good'? For
them, not for the customers. English plumbers complain that
these new arrivals 'work for less money'. Money isn't
everything – especially when water is dripping down
your walls. When that happens, the main issue is getting it
fixed. Oh yes, at a reasonable price, but someone –
please – come and sort it out. English plumbers
weren't prepared to do that, to put themselves out or make
an effort, and the customers got fed up with them. It's
always been that way. In the 1960s Japanese motor cycles
started arriving in Britain and swept the market. They were
welcomed. People had got fed up with British bikes. They
were too heavy, difficult to start, and leaked oil. The
Japanese bikes were light, easy starters, and clean. Of
course people bought them.

This is the great truth. British plumbers complain of their
prices being undercut and say it's all 'unfair
competition'. There's no such thing as 'fair competition'!
But that's not it. A new service, new invention, new
product, doesn't catch on unless it's better than what's
out there now. So if your plumbing services are no longer
required, maybe it's because you weren't doing a very good
job, and people are gladly taking up the alternative. So
what's that got to do with taxes, the legal system, and the
things we started with? Because customers are always
looking for a better product or service and we need to
encourage the people who are hoping to provide it. We want
those entrepreneurs, hungry, anxious to get on and find the
new big thing. We want new factories, new jobs, new
opportunities. It might mean disruption for workers as old
established industries collapse. It might mean re-location,
re-training, re-skilling, but the system can provide that
for those who are willing. It's the only way the economic
system progresses and it's made a good life for millions of
people in the last few generations. The lesson is clear: if
you are a British plumber, you should have had an eye over
your shoulder, just in case someone came along who could do
a better job. And if it kills your job, then you need to
change. Maybe, even, you need to become the new
entrepreneur that's going to make a killing out of the new
trend when it comes along, as it surely will.

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Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author, with novels and
stories to his credit, loaded onto the web from his current
home in Manchester, England. However, he was also spent the
last 20 years as a Small Business Advisor and has something
to say to would-be entrepreneurs. Find out more at his web
site and follow the links. Try
http://www.mikescantlebury.info