Why work in the Knowledge sector?

On the day that the UK stock market is hammering technology shares, the UK government will announce an aid package worth around £100 million for the country's struggling coal industry. It seems that after the Rover workers and ship-builders were left to fend for themselves in a free market, the miners have tugged at the Government's purse and heart strings.

On the day that the UK stock market is hammering technology shares, the UK government will announce an aid package worth around £100 million for the country's struggling coal industry. It seems that after the Rover workers and ship-builders were left to fend for themselves in a free market, the miners have tugged at the Government's purse and heart strings.

The coal industry now only employs 10,000 workers, but it is still seen as symbolic of Britain's industrial heritage, and the UK's inability to compete in a changing global economy. Yet Ministers who are trumpeting the arrival of Britain as a major player in the e-economy are still prepared to support coal over emerging Knowledge Based sectors.

Nobody thinks that the miners and their families should be hung out to dry. But it seems crazy that such a subsidy should be paid out – presumably funded by those who are now paying extra tax as a result of setting up their own businesses and risking their careers to improve the Knowledge base of UK Ltd. Workers and entrepreneurs at the forefront of technology are being penalised, whilst those who work in traditional struggling industries are being propped up. Perhaps if independent contractors can stay in business another 100 years it may be their turn.