I wonder why there hasn't been a call for a public inquiry into the cause of the credit crunch. The have been talk of an inquiry into petrol prices and George Osborne yacht visit by Gordon Brown recently, but nothing about this far more serious issue. The credit crunch has lead into a deep financial crisis that will make the coming recession worse, are our grey politicians interested in how it occurred? Another danger is that this will distract us from acting against climate change, there has been talk of reducing funding already.
Some people who could give evidence include:
• Sir Howard Davies an ex-chairman of the Financial Services Authority, he referred to now infamous collateralised debt obligations as "toxic waste" as long as six years ago.
• Mervyn King – Boss of the Bank of England, became used to steering the economy through calmer waters after his appointment in 2003. Known for his emphasis on "moral hazard" and apparent unwillingness to support a bid for Northern Rock by Lloyds TSB last year.
• Adam Applegarth – former chief executive of Northern Rock, the bank whose near-collapse in 2007 undermined faith in the security of the banking system.
. Gordon Brown, who is happy to spend billions of our money supporting financial institutions over which he has no control and no guarantee how they will spend this money. It could all go on bonuses and dividends to shareholders.
Lets not forget the Gordon Brown hailed as a hero by some also sold the gold when the market price was low, wrecked the pension funds (and so reduced investments), used PFI and PPP to increase borrowing without it being included in the borrowing figuresspent recklessly, and failed to plan for the future. Was his golden rule merely yet another spin?
And finally a mention to Tony Blair, who was responsible for giving us Gordon Brown. Cheers Tony, we won't forget.
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
See also www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/18/marketturmoil.economy
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