Talent Costs

We are told that to have talent at the top of a bank or business costs a lot of money, but it is the best way to guarantee returns to shareholders and drive economic progress.  The revelations over the last few years of how business and media work, suggests that the system is now run completely for the benefit of the few who go to the top universities, work up through large corporations and award themselves huge pay settlements.  If these few choose the political route, then after setting in place light touch regulation and making the countries business friendly, they can walk into directorships at the very corporations that have benefited from such largesse. 

Now since the crash of 2008 we are propping up the banks and the ethical hole in the middle of the system has been exposed.  The system was about making returns for the holders of capital, if you look at the pension mis-selling, the insurance mis-selling, unsound mortgages, toxic derivatives, LIBOR fixing and loan mis-selling and even phone hacking, it points to a rotten ethos and culture of making as much money whilst you can at the expense of customers, shareholders, taxpayers et al.

The rotten foundations upon which the modern financial system seems to be based, are now being propped up by taxpayers to the tune of about £20,000 per household, that is the true cost of the talent we have running our banks and businesses.

Get A Grip

Lying bankers, politicians prostrating themselves before media companies, a double dip recession and the Bank of England shoving money into amoral banks as fast as it can print the stuff.  

What are the two most senior economic politicians in the country doing?  Indulging in a puerile slanging match about who said what to whom back in 2008.  Have they learnt nothing from the expenses scandal?  We don’t care who did what to whom, because almost NONE of them saw the financial crisis coming, and the rest were too busy sucking up to banks and big business in general, or switching their second home allowance to care.  So they are all culpable for the economic and ethical mess we find ourselves in.  None of our political leaders have shown the clear or rational thoughts and ideas necessary to start to rebuild the economy, let alone the ethical foundation of our political establishment.

We do need a forensic review of what happened to our banking industry, but that is a big question to answer.  A parliamentary inquiry will achieve very little if our Chancellor and his Shadow can’t even say “Good morning” to each other without throwing accusations across the corridor at the same time.

Our politicians are showing small minded, petty, dogmatic thinking at a time when objective, forensic and rational thought is required.

Trouble is the only person in the country who seems capable of doing that is currently busy making our politicians and media people look even shiftier than usual.

May I add to the clamour “Robert Jay for PM?”