Financiers and morality, lack of

It's been in the news recently, anarchists will be focusing attention on the city types who work in London when the G20 meet. It's all to do with bankers being paid extortionate amounts of bonuses and then screwing up the British economy and then being bailed out by tax payers. But anyone being of even a minute bit of intelligence and a banker (if it's possible) will either dress down or not even go into work at this time. Those who have nothing to do with the financial sector may also be mistaken because of their appearance, i.e. suited and booted cold also be targetted. Who can blame the the strategy blending in or just taking a sicky? I certainly can't. But there is something to say for morality and bankers who have shafted the entire nation. I'd expect this particularly applies to a lot of those high fliers.

One argument is if we chastise and vilify the banking high fliers who created this great recession then they will just pack their bags and head off to some other country. The thing is though, if you were a high flier and got paid boat loads of dosh for selling and buy equities, derivatives or futures and are in part responsible for the recession, then surely it would be good bloody riddance. In a discussion on the Today program this morning, one interviewer stated the government should begin to claw back all the bonuses which were paid to these bankers. Every bank which has been bailed out, which is the majority would have their mighty financiers then bought to account. This seemed to me a wholly reasonable thing to do. Alas the world does not work this way, and the award of short term bonuses in businesses which should look to long term awards does not take place. It is remarkable even one of the culprits to the recession went onto run the Financial Services Authority. An institution which during the entire period of dodgy sub prime mortgage financial instruments failed to take any action warning the banks. An organization which in it's own right should be providing a public service has grossly failed the country. Yet still the world goes round.

It is so easy to get uptight about such organizations and wealthy, greed obsessed financiers who have made a literal killing on the markets and then ran. But getting mad at them will not change the world. But one thing does come to mind. Some years ago a man in green tights had a band of merry men and used to hang out in the Forrest. He was called Robin. Not to be confused with the Robin from Batman and Robin, they are two different people. The tight wearing Robin has been epitomised in our culture as robbing the rich and distributing to the poor. There is only one solution to the greed mongers of our square mile, they to should be made to wear green, put on tights and sing merry songs. Then take up their rather large bags of lolly and re distribute it. OK there may be a few tears to start of with, but I'm sure they would get into the swing of it. If they refused, then how about some legislation followed up by forced repatriation of the ill gotten funds into the Bank of England and then a spell of five or ten years in a cell. With a big hairy bloke called Shirley who has a thing about a man in a suit. Yes. It might just work.