Finance (Photo credits: http://www.myhardhatstickers.com)
This is an excellent MUST READ article from Simon Johnson in the NYT. Check it out!
The Rich Country Trap – NYTimes.com.
Johnson is the former Chief Economist at the IMF.
Essentially, Johnson argues that despite the financial crash of 2008, there is still nobody strong enough to stand up against the big banks.
Of course, protecting the status quo of the big banks supports the top 1% in terms of wealth and income. Meanwhile, ordinary people, the great-unwashed, including the poor and the middle classes are at a disadvantage with the big banks. For ordinary people, competitively priced finance is essential to make economic progress in life, especially in terms of home loans and car loans. In addition, credit card finance is increasingly important to finance consumer spending; sadly, the more disadvantage end up paying the highest rates of interest.
Surely, there is a political case to break up the big banks, re-introducing competition in an essentially oligapolostic industry?
Any thoughts?
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The case for breaking up the banks is overwhelming but Governments are in thrall to the powerful men like Lord Rothschild and others like him who control them and the holding companies like the Inter Alpha Banking Group.
Because of that anti monopolistic steps that would be the norm in any other industry are not taken in banking which effectively means that ordinary people are dis-empowered, disenfranchised and politically neutered.
Until we develop some “cojones” like the Icelanders, who are striking back at the theft and untramelled greed of the bankers and the malfeasance of those who control them we are like sitting ducks or sheep waiting to be haircutted or impoverished via progressive “haircutting”.
Simon Johnson, the former IMF man, and Dr Alf, are both correct but I fear nothing will be done because the last person in America who tried was President Abraham Lincoln whose reward for trying to establish the “Greenback” and sound money was death at the hands of John Wilkes Booth.
More recently Ghadaffi in Libya tried to create a currency for Africa backed by gold and again he was brutally put to death as a warning.
Our politicians in the UK are very happy with the present arrangements and will act in the interests of the moneymen not the voting public.
In America it is the same and in Europe even worse.