The Confederation of British Industry is the British umbrella business group that represents a wide swathe of British business and lobbies Parliament on behalf of it.

The head of the CBI, John Cridland, has recently gone on record as unbraiding his members. Firms benefitting from the economic recovery should pay their workers more, he says. He accuses them of keeping “far too many people in minimum wage jobs”. They should be passing on their new-found prosperity.

Hey, Mr. Cridland, come across the pond and repeat that! Especially in front of the crude dynosaurs at the American Chamber of Commerce.

Methinks Cridland is a closet Epicurean! Epicureans believe in equal opportunity and, for reasons of sensible self-interest, in making sure that society thrives fairly and amicably in order to reduce societal friction as much as possible.

(The writer worked for the CBI in the early 1970s. It was surprisingly moderate in tone and intention even then)