When I was at school there were ideologies.
There was never just one way of doing things but options. It was this hope and belief that things could be better than they are that propelled us in to the world.
I was always the lover of the underdog – my mate used to back America and I would back the USSR, not because I knew what their ideology was but just to be different to him. When the iron curtain came down we thought that there is no option – socialism was a dream that was impractical and unrealistic, now there is only one way the economy and the social character of a country can be determined; by capitalism. It's not about people but about profit and the distribution of wealth. It's about money.
I was glad when the Bank of England took over the control of the interest rates. I had a personal interest as a Lifer because the Home Secretary determined how long I would have to serve and sometimes he would not be a serving lawyer or someone who could really appreciate the legal and humanist way of appreciating the authority he/she had. Ithought that having people who worked day in day out in that environment would be an advantage – a professional. Someone who knows.
When the debt crisis started rearing it's head I variously thought, how could this happen (!) and then realised that greed was a big factor. But 850 billion! Someone got that money! Who was it? The mortgage takers did default but lots of developers and landlords got the money – it's just that the banks didn't get it back. So now we, the tax payer, have to pay it.
There is so much discontent in the country and yesterday I was walking to the train station because the student march along Oxford Street, Manchester, had stopped the bus, and it occurred to me that there is no leadership. The politicians are acting like Emperors and the opposition has been away for maternity leave and, coming back, doesn't really have a clue. We used to know what we wanted and the students know what they want also. Why should we bear the brunt of greedy people on ourselves?
Today the Guardian said that Corporations would leave the country if they had to pay the normal rate of corporation tax! People are mobilising and people should know which companies are defaulting through loopholes so they can boycott them. The students have started a campaign against Phillip Green. Whether it's right or wrong remains to be seen but perceptions count for a lot, If people feel that they have been had, there will be a backlash. It's not the thirties when people just accepted their lot and had to bear the weight of the collapse. There are enquiring minds, they have the worlds information at their fingertips and they want to know why they have to pay?
At the heart of this is a very British concept – of fair play. The play in this case has been very foul. Unknown people have gambled with the nations wealth, nobody is culpable and everybody else has to pay. Is this fair?
