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ARTICLE SUMMARY

Have greedy bankers ruined the economy?

BANKS AND CITY bosses were yesterday accused of being responsible for the credit crunch.

OUR MOLLY-CODDLED BANKERS.

19.05.08, 8:24pm

Most people that I know are puzzled at the way that our top bankers are immune to all the normal laws of business.
These are super-rich men who have virtually bankrupted our major banks by sheer incompetence.
Yet still they draw their massive salaries and bonuses, and if they do happen to be fired, depart with a six-figure cheque.
Businessmen who mess-up in such a grand manner would soon be shown the door, or lose their own capital.
And this has all been overseen by the Labour government, the so-called working mans party.
The working man is going to lose his shirt over this, although he doesnt know it yet, while the incompetent rich are laughing, assisted by the working-mans party.
Theres a bad smell, isnt there.

• Posted by: stevewo • Report Comment

FALSE BOOM.

19.05.08, 6:38pm

Anyone who thinks we have had an economic boom is deluding themselves.
We have had a false boom, based on rocketing house prices and borrowing.
This sort of "boom" happens in Spain and Australia as well, but housing booms are an illusion.
A real economic boom is happening now in China and India, based on industrial output and exports, just like we used to have here, but our sad miracle is just debt-based, and will collapse in shreds.
The truth is we dont have much of an economy now. The government and bankers have simply been playing the old housey-housey trick, hoping that it would last forever.
Its a time-bomb, and its exploded.

• Posted by: stevewo • Report Comment

ABSOLUTELY.

19.05.08, 5:56pm

Yes, bankers and loony-left politicians have ruined our economy.
We now have a single-item economy.
So what have they concentrated on...
Industrial output...no
Manufacturing exports...no
Electronics design and development...no
Our economy depends on one thing only..HOUSES.
All our eggs have been put into one basket, houses and borrowing against them.
When this sad plan goes wrong a disaster ensues...just like now.
The dopey banks and the public will be paying for this for years..in taxes.
But let us not forget all those millionaire bank staff (who were well paid before they got any bonuses) who have left us in this wreck.
And let us not forget the orchestra leader himself...Gordon Brown.

• Posted by: stevewo • Report Comment

HAVE GREEDY BANKERS RUINED THE ECONOMY?

19.05.08, 3:15am

YEP! Them and Super Greedy Politicians and, Super Greedy Local Councils.

• Posted by: kojak • Report Comment

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ITS SIMPLE AS ABC

19.05.08, 12:14am

Dont live beyond your means, some good old fashioned advice.

• Posted by: sophialoren2 • Report Comment

HAVE GREEDY BANKERS RUINED THE ECONOMY?

18.05.08, 3:14pm

Have the banks been greedy?of coarse.
But are they alone, no.The happy consummer will take any extra money off who ever,espescially when it is thrown at then every morning in the post, have £5,000, next day have
10,000and so on .If you have low wages taxed
to the hilt told the ecconomy is at 2% when every idiot knows it lies at 10% choking everyone slowly. You are still left with a family to bring up, any money relieve seems good.This does not solve your long term problems.So are the banks the only greedy institute hear no the goverment let it happen because they can sniff thier portion of the take.Its time Gordon Brown
(Sherriff of Nottingham)took his portion of blame
instead of trying to convince everyone he is the
right person to stear everyone out of this ecconomic mess.He is the mess.

• Posted by: mrnewsreader • Report Comment

HAVE GREEDY BANKERS RUINED THE ECONOMY

17.05.08, 10:52am

Bakers must take some blame but also those stupd homeowners who now find themselves in difficulty for reading the Express and listening to the pap from the property porn shows....
Remember Boys and Girls it is not illegal to not buy a house!!!!!

• Posted by: Charles • Report Comment

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POLITICIANS MUST STOP BEING PC

17.05.08, 10:18am

The banking crisis will eventually be resolved. There will be casualties as with any other industry but this does not explain why our economy is now facing a harsh future. By adding one new regulation after another on business over the years for example, we have managed to export the bulk of our manufacturing industry to Asia. On top of this we have encouraged the diversion of huge agricultural resources to the production of bio-fuels by way of subsidy at a time when food is in short supply. These are the sort of things that our politicians need to get real about instead of pandering to the sort of blinkered, ill informed single issue pressure groups who seem to have been dictating wide swathes of policy in recent years.

• Posted by: figurewizard • Report Comment

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ROSIEINLONDON - 2ND POST RE GORDON BROWN.

16.05.08, 7:28pm


I'm with you on that.

But he won't take resonsibility because he is a pig-headed .........

(fill in your own expletive)

• Posted by: Peter_Pan • Report Comment

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ROSIEINLONDON

16.05.08, 7:22pm


Its called short-termism.

What happens when fuel costs go through the roof, foreign labour costs rise, the pound is devalued and import prices go through the roof?

The answer is we won't be able to fall back on local production and we will be well and truly snookered!

It would have been cheaper in the long-term to invest in our own.

Sad.

• Posted by: Peter_Pan • Report Comment

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GORDON BROWN IS AS GUILTY AS THE BANKS

16.05.08, 7:16pm

it was Gordon Brown who set up the control body that was supposed to oversee the Banks operations.

This body failed to curb over generous and lax mortgages given to lenders by the Banks.

It may not be All the PMs fault, but he must take a large share of the responsibility.

• Posted by: RosieInLondon • Report Comment

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WE LOVE CHEAP FOOD

16.05.08, 7:10pm

Its greed that ruined small holders and nursery gardeners. We all run to the supermarkets for ever cheaper and cheaper food. We did not care where in the world it came from or how little the farmers there got paid.

Although many pay lip service to 'ethical' food, we would still rather pay 50p for a foreign cabbage than £1.50 for one grown locally, even though its fresher has a small carbon footprint and gives work to an English farmer/small holder.

I am just as guilty as everyone else, as an OAP I cannot really afford to be ethical or even organic!

• Posted by: RosieInLondon • Report Comment

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HA HA PETER_PAN

16.05.08, 6:53pm

Bankers are the devil !

• Posted by: marigold • Report Comment

PETER

16.05.08, 6:53pm

on my way out,, but just to say,

the sort of 'localism' described goes much smaller than national boundaries. look at something like 'the 100 mile diet' and 'the slow food movement' if you are interested in reviving local agricultural industry and opting out of globalised food production. google it and see what you think. things like that may be the way forward.

perhaps more debate sunday or monday...

• Posted by: crayfishbanker • Report Comment

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CFB

16.05.08, 6:34pm

This is getting a bit off topic, so I'll keep it brief.

I like the sound of localism - but you will probably call me a "Little Englander".

We had a local fishing industry once but Heath abandoned our self-sufficiency and gave it all away to the EEC. The poor people who lost their livelihoods in our coastal towns will attest to that. I would certainly like to have it back!

We used to have lots of prosperous farms and we were more or less self-sufficient in food production. Now we have run down our farms in the name of the Common Agricutural Policy. We import roses from Kenya and food fronm the far East. Again, I definitelyt support self-sufficiency and i feel we should restore our neglected farming industry.

Yes, localism seems a fine idea to me.

Back to topic

Have greedy bankers ruined the economy? The once proud Abbey National Buidling Society now controlled from Madrid? Midland Bank run from Hong Kong? National Westminster Bank now run by the Scots? Financial call centres run from Bombay and all points east? Bah! Humbug! The bankers have sold their souls to the devil.



• Posted by: Peter_Pan • Report Comment

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