The poor should not have to pay bankers' gambling debts (From The Argus)

The poor should not have to pay bankers' gambling debts

3:08pm Thursday 17th June 2010 in Your Argus

Nothing could illustrate better the meanness, hypocrisy and class bias of the present Government, 18 of whose members are millionaires, than abolishing child trust funds and free school meals for half a million poor children.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg are targeting the weakest and poorest members of society to get back the £1tn of our money which was foolishly given to the bankers by Gordon Brown – which together with the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is the main cause of the public deficit. It needs to be emphasised that it is not the public sector which has caused the deficit but the irresponsible activities of the bankers and speculators of the private sector.

Having squandered billions on “sub-prime” (in other words, dodgy) mortgages, the banks realised the bets were based on worthless toxic assets and that they were in fact bankrupt. So Gordon Brown and New Labour bailed them out, transferring their private debts to the public sector.

Overwhelmed by gratitude and no doubt amazed at New Labour’s stupidity, they proceed to pay themselves multi-million bonuses which they then invest so as to pay as little tax as possible.

Why should the general public suffer because of the irresponsible gambling of financiers who have turned the global economy into a vast casino? Instead of cutting the jobs of hard-working public sector workers in health, education and welfare, we should nationalise the banks and financial services industry completely and send those responsible for the global economic crisis to prison.

Ten years’ hard labour would be a fitting punishment.

Fred Shipton
Donald Hall Road, Brighton