The media has been full of news about the 'world economic crisis' and the 700 billion Dollar bail out that the US Congress didn't pass on Monday. A lot of pundits and the markets where gob-smacked that the Bail-out Bill didn't pass. What a lot of people didn't seem to cotton on too is that all of the US Congress are up for re-election at the same time as the US President is elected, and a hell of a lot of US voters don't like the idea of bailing out the Fat Cats on Wall Street.
I have to say I can totally understand how they feel. The UK tax payer has already bailed out 2 banks, (Northern Rock and now Bradford and Bingley) and what are we getting for this?? I heard a caller on a radio station today, and he said that all the Fat Cats lived high on the hog for some time by playing the stock market, selling mortgages that people really couldn't afford, and giving away credit cards like they where going out of fashion. While all this went on and they bought their Fararri's and had their big bonus's, the ordinary working people where skint, and up to their eyes in debt. Now their chickens have come home to roost, who has to bail them out? The ordinary working man.
Now the politicians, and the economic hierarchy say this bail out is the only way, (I read in the paper today that the UK is considering a similar scheme) but how do we really know? We don't do we? We believed them when we took out Endowment mortgages that didn't mature as we where promised they would and ended with a shortfall, we saw the housing market start to drop so people where in negative equity. We've seen people offered fixed rate mortgages that go up so much when the fixed rate time frame finishes, that they have to remorgage and end up, in reality, paying for their house for ever.
Now Gordon Brown says the Government (that means us the tax payer) will guarentee bank savings up to £50,000. How many of us have savings at all in bank? We just live week to week, month to month don't we?
Like I say, I can totally understand the ordinary American's reaction to all this.
2 comments:
That is true and I can understand the immediate reaction of the people. As usual the people in power are trying to deal with problems far too late.
However the fat cats have already got their money and done a runner with it, the mistakes of the past can't be rectified.
The future is the problem, without some kind of bail out and the banking world totally collapses our economy will collapse inflation will spiral out of control, there will be no jobs and we'll end up a third world country. Its a problem we haven't seen in our life times and the tax payer will have to foot the bill if not it will be even more costly.
Sadly I think you're right of course. Hopefully laws will be put in place so the greedy can't fleece everyone again!
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