Why aren't we angrier?
Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has blamed the current economic woes of the UK firmly at the feet of the financial sector.
"The people whose jobs were destroyed were in no way responsible
for the excesses of the financial sector and the crisis that followed,"
he
told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee.
He went on to say that the standard of living for most people would not recover for many years, if ever.
But the line that caught our eye was this.
"I'm surprised the real anger [at the banks] hasn't
been greater than it has."
We've seen some protests from students, UK Uncut and other protest groups, and at council budget meetings up and down the country. But nothing on a scale that makes you sit up and take note, and it doesn't feel like mainstream public opinion. Why is that?
We don't know. But that won't stop us suggesting four theories. But we'd like to hear yours, too.
Labour and its cosseting of the feckless unemployed
The Government's approach is to airbrush the financial crisis from the collective memory. The reason why we're broke is the profligacy of the last Labour Government, they say. In tandem with this is the demonisation of the unemployed, youth, and the public sector who all rely on handouts from decent, hard-working taxpayers.
Lets not forget that until late 2008, when the financial crisis was unfolding, it was Conservative party policy to match Labour's spending commitments.
The Media
OK, controversial this one, but has the media moved on from the banks? The novelty of protests is gone, and with it much of the coverage. There also seems to be a general acceptance that the Government has won the argument about there being no alternative to the austerity programme.
Its boring. And complicated.
So we all have some vague idea that the banks needed money, and the last Government ponied up, and now we're paying for it. But getting to the details and understanding US sub-prime mortgages, credit default swaps, derivatives, CDOs, the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act etc etc is extremely hard work and zzzzzzzz...
Spirit of the blitz
Lets face it, us Brits never like it as much as when the going gets tough. Its why we love to moan about the weather. The Government's austerity programme lets us show to the world just how stiff our collective upper lip is, boil up some cabbage soup, and batten down the hatches and hunker down for some good old fashioned hard times.
Your comments
"Why aren't we angrier? We are very angry! The woman that was caught on camera stealing during the recent London riots said 'I'm just getting some of my tax money back.' I don't condone her action, but sympathise with her motivation. I doubt if she is a tax expert or economist, but she obviously has a gut feel that something is very wrong and her action was one of frustration....anger. My take, is that the Capitalist system has festered. Money = power = law makers and they are not going to make any law that is to their disadvantage. We have no better system than Capitalism, but it needs serious modification. Preferably before very serious disorder results. With the vast improvement of communications, this medium included, the facts are becoming known and like minds are getting together. On a more dramatic scale, the Libyans got together effectively. Revolution is rife. Democracy is becoming a world wide ambition. We have democraticlly elected our Government. I suspect it had to be a coalition as a result of the frustrated masses searching for the ideal and only finding a choice of 'the best of a bad bunch.' We had to choose from the established politicians who are already victims of the festered system. The festered system is a development of money = power. The greedy tend to have the power. Unfortunately we are all greedy and join in the game. I think it works like this...e.g. Rupert Murdock says he is not responsible for the illegalities. But since when did responsibility not corespond with authority? He has the authority to preach morality and make it stick. Instead, he offers great incentives to gain him even more financial success. Bonuses, promotion, opportunities. The name of the game is 'don't get caught.' bending a few rules and doing a few favours and using his influence to feather his own nest. As he gets bigger, he gets more powerful. As he gets more powerful he gets more support from those who need to survive at their achieved level. You and me. Don't cry wolf, it may cost you your job. It pays to be a good company man. So we witness a group of M.P.'s sit there and let him get away with washing his hands, blinded by the pathetic 'I feel humbled' line? My money is on some poor misguided wretch in his pay, feeding him that line and getting a bonus for it. My bet is also that he has many advisors climbing over one another to save him paying fair taxes. Yet they have family and friends who suffer as a result. The more money you have, the more you can afford the experts to maximise it for you. It is bribery. Not even a revised law in India will cover its extent. Result? We have the wrong people in power. They tend to be the greedy.
I don't think many would disagree with the idea that those that make big contributions to the National good deserve big rewards. But the rewards are disproportionate and ridiculous. Does a footballer, however good, make the contribution that our top engineers and scientists make? No? then why does he get such rewards? Oh, supply and demand. Unfair profits are available because of supply and demand - through lack of control, we are victims of 'good commercial practice.' Through lack of transparency. Through the system being perpetuated by those that have the money. That woman in the riots probably bought her younster a Spurs supporters shirt for about 30 pounds and guessed it cost 50p to make. Maybe she wonders who made the other 29.50. The mega rich could pay the National Debt without getting uncomfortable. Why don't they?
The answer?
Don't think you're going to read it here.
Until there is a law controlling the tax avoidance.
Until there is a law for total transparency.
Until there is a law that caps earnings.
Until we have a structure that controls capitalism.
Until we have some way of finding moral leaders uninfluenced by money to make these laws.
Until we devise a structure that puts the best managers in the responsible positions....
'Money is the root of all evil' Those that are greedy for it are not the best leaders. But those are the leaders we vote into power today.
I need some answers from more clever people than I.
I suspect a lot of people agree with me. Where are they? How do we hear their voice? It could just be the vast majority.
Bert."
