Monday 29 June 2009

Bankrupt, Bewildered but not Bothered.

Last week we waited with baited breath for Brown to put the thumbscrews on Hester of RBS for awarding himself a £10 million bonus if he lifts its share value on the stock exchange to 70p.

Not too aspirational a target when you consider the market's awash with funds looking for a profitable home and, as time has proved, the Banks can underwrite their risks at the taxpayers expense.

While the silence from the Government or its regulatory and treasury minions was deafening if not defining, it could be construed that the 70p share price is the price when the government sells our shares and allows RBS unhindered access to the club for free capitalists. All well, if not particularly good, in as much as while selling at 70p might show a profit against the £37 billion thrown in to the share pot it still leaves the £300bn the government has guaranteed under the asset protection scheme to fester its toxic way through all the systems except that of RBS. I'll bet that's a relief to Mr Hester - or is it possible he's got a scheme up his sleeve to get another bonus for handling the toxic trash RBS created in the first place?

Complicated business this world of high finance. Very confusing as to its values in moral, social or even the material terms it claims as its benchmark - the pursuit of profit created within a game of virtual reality.

It's this virtual reality that the UK plc has locked itself into. For governments it's the perfect product. It doesn't need huge development costs or massive filthy imports of raw materials. Research has almost instant access to investors, producers and consumers. Resource, production and marketing is global on a scale of 24 x 7 x 365. Its stock and storage requirements are minuscule and its distribution handled by the press of a keypad. For the 21st century its carbon footprint is almost as virtual as its product and, in spite of its players not having to deal with the daily buggeration factors of people producing a real product, they're paid mega-bucks for their commitment to the game and give employment to the experts in tax avoidance and the gurus of vanity products.

Yet the Telegraph tells us the cost to every family in the UK in 'real terms' for the virtual games played by these bird brained vultures and their sycophantical political followers is in the region of £203,350.00 per household. So somewhere between the stratosphere of high finance and the reality of earth this virtual world is supposed to develop substance. The Telegraph in its wisdom has even allocated costs to the various elements.
a)£144,000. to the virtual meltdown.
b) £5,600 To the Private Finance Initiative.
c) £1,000 To Network Rail?
d) £2,750 To Nuclear Decommissioning
e) £50,000 To Civil Servants Pensions.

Perhaps every household should send a 'virtual' cheque to the exchequer? However I've a feeling they would prefer us to accept a real mortgage payable for generations and that leaves a couple of questions I would like answered.

Why is it that any 'investment' by the government of our money for whatever purpose in private enterprise is so easily shed and at so little cost to the private enterprise.

And while I can understand capitalism's delight at its costs being underwritten from the public purse, why should it exclude that purse from it's equity or dividends or be removed from its moral responsibilities of and to society?

As it is now, the lack of moral fibre in Browns government to rein in and regulate the financial predators is akin to them handing responsibility for the NHS and the Social Services to the Barons of the Drug Cartels.

Not only do we have the imbeciles running the asylum, they can now prescribe their own drugs and decide their own remuneration.

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