Obviously, I spoke too soon about US Congress rejecting the bailout bill, they went ahead and passed a heavily-amended version, placing the US taxpayer in hock for $700 billion dollars.
As I feared, the UK has followed suit with a £50 billion taxpayer-backed bailout plan. Oh, did I say £50 billion, like Gordon Brown did yesterday? I meant £500 billion, silly me. That bears repeating: £500 BILLION OF TAXPAYER’S MONEY, or £19,320 for each taxpayer in the country – obviously the idle layabouts and scroungers that I’m already paying for don’t have to contribute. It is more than the US bailout; so much for the UK being perfectly placed to weather the storm, according to the useless pair Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling.
What makes it even worse is there was absolutely no debate or discussion as there was in America, it was just announced, dictatorially, yesterday morning after thrashing out a plan through the night. I find I always make my best decisions at 4am in the morning, total genius.
What’s even worse than that is in the first PMQs since the summer, David Cameron and George Osborne failed to land a blow. The government’s decision was not the right one, and it is a waste of taxpayers money, who won’t see anything for their “investment”. When Paulson’s plan was passed in the US, the banks still fell and now he’s going cap in hand for more money! You can’t spend your way out of a recession… Where’s the opposition? Where’s the outrage? Where are the people who should be marching in the street? What the hell is wrong with the British populace? Why the hell are the Conservatives backing this plan? Seriously, I’m not impressed at all with the Conservatives at the moment, and it takes a lot for me to say that.
And on the impottant note: why the hell should the banks be assisted with taxpayer’s money – they’re a business. The last time I looked, that generally meant you took the rough with the smooth, and if you can’t run your business, you go under. And don’t give me that “too big to fail” crap, there’s always someone bigger who can come along, hoover up your assets and carry on your business. It’s free market capitalism, and should be allowed to progress without government interference, but with some sort of watchdog – but not the toothless FSA, who have been completely asleep at the wheel.
I must admit I find some of the stories about bonuses, pay and pay-offs distasteful (apparently there was $34 billion in bonuses sloshing about last year), but I’m sure that’s jealousy in most parts. If I could negotiate a £1 million payoff, I would. That said, AIG’s trip to a spa for a weekend after receving part of $85 billion bailout is equally bad, but it only goes to show that throwing money at a problem is likely to be misused.
Nah, I say let them fail. With the government guaranteeing up to £50,000 of deposits per person (thanks again, taxpayers!), it covers 98% of the money in deposit accounts in the UK. However, the last 2% hold about 50% of all the money, which is an eye-opener. Yet I’m still not jealous of the rich, as one day I wish to be one of them
We’re in a recession, folks. Batten the hatches, cut your expenditures, shop at Aldi, put your all into your job and ride it out – and hope it doesn’t turn into a depression.