Thursday, Jun 19, 2008
But no one's laughing at these jesters
Telegraph: Last night's Mansion House feast was a banquet of fools
Only the first section of the article is of interest, but worth it for the headline alone. The author is right about the joker at the Treasury, but note the old Tory-supporter dig at the public sector, as though the answer to inflation lies in screwing predominantly low paid workers. We are all petrol tanker drivers now.
Posted by letthemfall @ 09:41 AM (455 views) Add Comment
6 Comments
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1. harold said...
No - it wasn't a banquet of fools at all; it was a banquet of the guys at the top of the system who are benefiting from the wealth transfer from the middle and poorer classes to an elite. These guys aren't mugs. The Torygraph is merely trying to cover their tracks through the old charge of incompetence. But they are not incompetent; they have very competently managed their parasitic station in life. The question is whether the parasitic body, i.e., the bankers, will kill-off their hosts, i.e., the rest of us.
And to think that they had the audacity to call for wage restraint while scoffing on smoked salmon and caviar - it beggars belief really.
2. letthemfall said...
harold:
I think you're right about the city types and bankers; they've always known how to feather their nests and keep them feathered. But the Chancellor strikes me as another type - more a fool, or just trying to bluff his way through a hopeless situation. Either way, they are all fools if they think they can deceive everyone with their pseudo-economic claptrap. Then again, maybe they don't care either way; they will drone on regardless. A summer of discontent? They are banking on weak unions now.
3. mrmickey said...
I loved the threat they came up with of raising interest rates if the serfs dared to ask for a pay rise. what a bunch of knobs, raise interest rates and see if I care, might get a decent return on savings for once. Fact is they won't raise interest rates because their a bunch of wimps.
4. Bobsto said...
How can the solution to a crisis caused by out of control lending be to vote in a party even less likely to control the banks than labour?
My prediction: one term of Tory slashing public spending and crawling up the a**se of the city and then a monumental shift to extremist politics of the right and left.
5. drewster said...
@letthemfall,
You're somewhat mistaken about the "predominantly low paid workers" in the public sector. In poor areas like Liverpool or Belfast, public-sector salaries are better than private. People in those areas aspire to work in the public sector (especially women because of the generous maternity leave). This hampers private-sector growth and leaves those regions reliant on state jobs.
Obviously your comment still applies in London, where public-sector jobs are poorly paid compared to banking or office jobs in large corporates.
6. letthemfall said...
drewster:
Yes, I imagine in some areas a public sector job is coveted, especially where private employers are thin on the ground. But overall, consider the pay of the tanker drivers, to take a topical job, £40K+ I heard on the news. Compare that to, say, an NHS worker with comparable educational and skill levels. Or, at the other end of the scale, scientists in govt agencies, degrees spilling over, on ca. £30K. Low pay applies widely in the public sector, give or take a few particular regions, judges, etc.