Money and how other people are destroying you.

Everybody has an opinion on the credit crunch and other problems with the economy. Most of them are self-styled pundits or experts. Some of them are in office, some of them wish to be in office. Most people who know nothing about economics notice only politicians seem to want to talk about it en masse. As a lowly unskilled worker with a functioning brain I decided to read more and develop my own opinion and this is my thing so this is where I can go unheard even though I speak.

Government is not responsible. They have a treasury from which they tax us. There are many punitive taxes that they could have eased on a tiny amount in order to relieve the pressure and ease public disquiet. This could have been done by the British government easily. They only end up borrowing for this so called crisis anyway.

Who is responsible?

In matters of money it is traders. It is business. Economy is based on this and then it tends to get regulated by government. This is where they seem to pick up the blame from some people who don't understand or people who have an agenda. People with agendas are a whole other blog post. Those with an approach towards wealth distribution seem to think an economy is something to save the 'working man' from, this despite the workforce could benefit from it. They accuse of not enough regulation. Those with an approach geared towards business blame too much regulation, suggesting strangulation of the market. It turns out that the very mechanisms we can benefit from get some rules and they follow them and can make money. The current crisis has been one where they have been free to dish out credit with a little less means to pay it back. We've had a recent age of global prosperity. We thought good times would never end. They have, and creditors are shutting the door.

What do I reckon needs to be done?

There are many creditors that have to liquidate debt. There is a lot of nationalisation occurring in the last few months. Let me be clear on that because that can be a loaded word to some. It screams communism to some while it reassures others. Nationalization is the process of bringing an industry under state control or ownership. That's the very definition. This to me isn't communism specifically. It's fascism. It's authoritarian in nature. It's being done out of panic though. We are not staring down the barrel of a gun quite yet. Government need to at least be seen to be doing something. The truth is government should stay out of business. Government's concern should be to help shore up individuals. This would allow guilty businesses to go under while it's customers are helped to get off the mat.

Why Tom? Why? That makes no sense to me? Why do you want businesses to go under?

Allow me to put it this way. Business should be Darwinian in nature. Those that can adapt should have to. If it can't it should get out of the money making business. Economists scream for a lack of regulation but every time there's trouble the government has to start stepping in. It's hypocrisy. Bad debt, guilty creditors, banks borrowing more than they can truly pay back should go under because they aren't the right people to be allowed to continue.

What would that achieve?

In truth this would not help things immediately. We would experience a downturn still. However, this downturn would be short-lived. It wouldn't be a great depression. There's no exact figure of time to of how long it would exist but it allows something that will be required of all companies of value to be doing what they need to be doing now: Re-build their capital. If you have some money to spend, you have money to be made.

What's actually happening now? Is it right?

I just saw on the news that the Fed is bailing out America's banks to the tune of 700 Billion Dollars (American Dollars, obviously). America's national debt is already ridiculous because of foreign adventures (whether you view them just or unjust, that's a different issue, it still costs money). Further burden on the American tax-payer is a terrible idea. That will strangle business more than any regulation. Tax is straight up bad for business. If you have to pay your tax and there's nothing much left to spend, how are some of the more expensive products going to be bought? How will people afford to invest and stimulate the economy? It just won't happen because Home comes first.

In Britain right now, this morning we are buying our second mortgage book. We already have a hole in our national debt that is huge. In part this is something that was required to fix public services. As our American cousins so often remind their own people while forgetting we're listening and getting offended (not that they much care, even for their allies), we have socialist public services. A broadcasting system paid by license fee, the National Health Service and comprehensive state-funded education. These are not the evil Stalinist measures they'd have you believe but they are expensive to run correctly for the benefit of the workforce. We also have troops invested elsewhere in the world and that burns money too. We can't really afford to be flipping the bill for two banks that lent and borrowed too much. The savings of the bank are being bought out by the private sector anyway. We're taking the debt. The unprofitable part. We're not seeing that money again. It's such a bad move. We also have punitive petrol taxes and harsh inflation that was the tail end of an economic cycle. But it all came at once and was blamed on the incumbent Prime-minister. His role in the debt we built up as Chancellor of the Exchequer can't be ignored but he didn't cause this. Left to others we might not be in as much trouble but we'd be in the grip of ill-educated children and sick workers who can't afford private healthcare.

I'm not sorry that was long. It's a complicated opinion. A further note. In matters of money never panic. Do what you need to do. Panicking stops you from doing the logical thing. Panic inflates prices. Don't do it to me, don't do it to yourself.

Simple ramblings of a ridiculous prat.

Watching the advertising in between a show I caught myself thinking this earlier today:

"Bring me your culture. Bring me your beliefs. Bring me your fears and dreams. Your greed. Your culture. Your principals. We shall sacrifice them on the alter of commerce, for we are the High Priests of Advertising and nothing is spared in our crusade."

Yeah, I felt it was a bit of an absurd exaggeration too.

It's the end of the world.

Oh wait. We didn't. Big fucking shock. Panicy motherfuckers.

Read at your own risk.

I'm a kink and I'm a freak and I'm all of those outmoded, unthinking labels you jump to when you find what I say and do offensive. You don't think tea-bagging is funny? Then this place is not for you. I hate nosey adolescents. They invariably become disapproving adults. And they tend to get a piece of my mind too.

More tea vicar?

I mocked this up.

I'm fairly pleased with it. Simple, yet elegant.

If those are your balls, no copyright infringement was intended and you can tell me to take it down with no argument.