Sourced Talent

I think that Mark Lamarr is quite an interesting chap, even though he is working on Radio 2 now. Anyway, this is the poem that made him famous, it kind to mind for no specific reason but here goes:

"I'm the James Dean of the dole queue
You've got to admire my cheek -
Trying to work out how to live fast and die young
On seventeen-fifty a week.
A legend in my own cubicle
All alone, never one of the mob
I'm the James Dean of the dole queue
A rebel without a job."

Older, Still Energised

It occurred to me today whilst at work, how important it is that we allow the elderly to stay in work for as long as possible. As difficult as this sounds, it makes sense for the economy. On the grounds of compassion, I feel it is crucially important to act in the context of routine and hardiness. When I am in my my seventies, I will still want to work ad pay tax to support myself and have somewhere to go every day of the week. It makes sense for the health service also, by pumping tax levy into the economy, the government may be compelled to introduce a tax to cover the cost of an army of nursing homes for when they really need it. Also, it is very important that the elderly mix with the young so there is less of a culture of exclusion, so that people of all ages can mix together because there is lots to learn from this. And the opportunity to work may add pleasure and purpose as they reach the end of their lives. For me, retirement is not worth contemplating whilst I am still able and willing to do a days work, even if I am working from home. Companies that allow the senior citizens to continue their career ought to be commended.

Kevin Hart

This poem was published in the Forward Book of Poetry and I found it to be rather moving.

That Life / Kevin Hart

There is a life I've barely lived at all
And, summer afternoons, I feel it brush
Against me, heading somewhere far away,

Up in the north perhaps where rain comes down
As if just thrown in vengeance for something wrong
No one remembers now, though people talk,

And in that life I stroll through open doors
And take the darkness offered every night
And am bewildered still by clocks and eyes.

It touches me, that breath, say once a year,
When rain hits thick and hard against that door,
When I have let my darkness have its way,

And then I almost know that other world,
And live in small hard words from years ago
And cannot be at peace in any life

Switching the Light On

The crisis with Enron was crucial in predicating the specific formula for disaster capitalism recently demonstrated. Although a seperation of commercial and investment banking would be beneficial, a critique of all the components of the economic cycle need not be spared. The auditors, accountants and restructuring element have a large role to play in the value of investments and the yield/return on share price, whether valued falsely or not. And they have made tens of millions from this crisis, while the real economy has faltered. I wish I had listened carefully in my A Level politics lectures about the danger signals and complexities of Enron, particularly of the significance of the accountants Arthur Andersen in liquidating a major company to make big money from the outset. If this crisis of capitalism has taught me anything, it is to keep a fine eye on the details of business practice, political policy and the demand for a regulatory framework that brings to an end the speculative practice. But the investors who were victims in the Madoff scandal are now taking pwc to court, and the same consequences may reach kpmg as well.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/6074118/Madoff-victims-to-sue-accountants-PwC-over-feeder-fund-audits.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal

Complex Plan

Not quite the inference we all wanted, a second wave of recession is potentially looming because the problems that caused the first wave have not been rectified. I believe that this has been caused by inequality of income, yet again and an over-reliance on credit markets to make up the surplus, or credit as welfare. It is odd, however, that a state like Germany, where they save a massive proportion of their income compared to the British that there should be problems. Professor Schiller's appraisal of this outcome was widely distributed, and hopefully many have drawn in debts and sacrificed holidays to bring commitments down. The good news however, is that the government may start to tax banks who continue to reward overpaid bully-boys that dominate the city, forcing them to spend their money in a more equitable fashion. The question is, however, that is if there are more banking issues in Britain, what sort of rescue package can they fathom to bring us back to stability? And why wasn't more done in the first place? The attempts to 'de-politicise' economics have seemingly resulted in meaningless and offensive state bail-outs of monetary instruments so complex that only a few of us understand!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/6095203/German-state-to-lend-directly-as-second-credit-crunch-looms.html

Zooropa

An A Level in the study of U2. Just what I need to get me interested in study again. A monkey could do it? Quite insulting, isnt't it when you think of all the effort that goes in, and that horrible feeling three days before the exams. Easier? I'd say that A Levels are stressful simply because the exams come all in a two-three day period usually, which is challenging enough for most university entrants. A Level graduates certainly have something to be proud of when they score A grades, of that there is no doubt.
The post-war swarm of graduates who made babies and pushed for academic success have made us into a nation of highly educated obsessives. You can re-sit many modules now, giving candidates time to correct mistakes. To make it more challenging, maybe students should do three in a year. And then another three the following year. There is no doubt the system is more flexible, and easier to succeed. But we want a job at the end of all this, do we not? We have been allowed to draw out our childhood dependency for a long time by surviving on grants/loans. And we are better educated, which is good. But the answer to all this lies in the labour market itself, and finding suitable employment.

Uncomfortable

Social mobility is the issue of the day. This has been brought into focus because of economic turbulence, even the wealthy and successful are not really going anywhere at the moment, now they know what it's like for the rest! When the economy recovers of course, it will be back to business. But let us take stock, not too earnestly about the difficulties facing the government with an expanding population and growing state burden.
Should we return to the 11 + exam but bring it forward to 13 years? If there was a flat rate of state education from 11-13 in micro-schooling we could create jobs for 11-13 age group in preparation for the exam to lay foundations for maths, space, logic and lateral thinking. I mean, really sitting down in silence to learn stuff in a traditional way, which is what I taught myself to do at University. Breaking the system up may put poor children into great grammar schools, and no-one would have to know they were poor, it would be secret.
The argument against is that the 11+ was just an IQ test that factored out the ability of children to develop later, or develop specific academic talents separate from reading logic diagrams and number patterns. There are a number of very successful 11+ failures who have made spectacular careers in desirable areas.
State comps stick you in streams of ability anyway, so why not just bring in grammar schools? It is not really political to divide society in such a way, in fact, in some ways it is a mechanical socialist ethic running through it, each according to his ability etc. And many top jobs now, and certainly graduate schemes run similar aptitude tests to pool talent along those lines, so once you get to into the job market you will find that after an expensive education you will need to sit your 11+ again to get a good job. So why not lets get used to it and bring it back properly. At least then you will get some bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds going somewhere and we can silence some of the endless debate about 'buying' a good education by using wealth to get close to a good state school.

No Win Situation

Inroducing No-Fee degrees is a hasty step in the direction of complicating the system even more with opt-out clauses. I wonder how your classmates would feel if you are not paying the same whopping top-up as they are, and getting the same service. How would the lecturers feel?
We know that the new fees are paid after you graduate. The government is taking action so it does not have to go into debt to fund these degrees, because there is going to be trouble in years to come. Equality is going out of the window to make a saving wherever possible which is what is required at the moment, if the state becomes ungovernable, what is the point in educating millions when the money isn't there?
We have lived through some brilliant times. So many people had had a higher education when in yesteryear it would have been scoffed at. However, student loans and fees are really not a sensible idea in the long term. Ok, the individual goes into debt, but there is a huge amount of debt that goes un-repaid. In essence, maintenance loans are just grants from the government in the same way they used to be unless the graduate job market is expanded to accommodate for the pool of higher education talent. Or else, they go abroad and not a penny of repayment is seen again. The conservative idea of private finance appears lucrative but you only have to see how far they have gone with this in the USA, to sample the misery this creates at a time of recession.
However, some poor will genuinely benefit from this development. It is possible to earn quite a lot part-time to cover the smaller costs of living at home. A lot have already sneered at the idea of the no-fee degree, but poor families will benefit from this and may even have a smoother university experience, differentiating from the genuinely stressful live-out experience. This stress comes from circumstances such as difficult housemates, finding part-time work, housing conditions, campus politics and having the confidence to live away from the support of home.

Another Level

With the furore over MPs expenses taking centre stage for the Telegraph for a matter of weeks now, those of us in the political sphere are understandably quite nervous about what is next. Expenses, per say, are an inevitable part of being a servant and spending money in the course of doing one's job, presumably though not by investing in skin products and other cosmetics.
The expenses of local councillors have not been similarly unboxed, because presumably they are not on the same scale. However, local councillors are quite costly workers considering that it is largely a part-time job dealing with hands on issues, and committees designed to engage the local community into civic transformation. I fear it will not be long before the expenses of this level of governance are unearthed, but what they spend their money on is the most interesting part. We know that MP is a full-time and variously demanding position. I do hope that the Commons will dedicate some time to reviewing whether soft touch expenses are acceptable, and if so address whether Parliament is to be commercial and leave access to luxuries open, transparent and be honest or close it down altogether. Either way, this will open up office to genuine careerists interested in their constituency or wealth seekers who are/ are not prepared to pull the stops out and we know how fragile political careers can be given the willingess of the press to rip the heart out of the Westmonster at crucial moments.
On a lighter note, it is delightful to see Somerset at the centre of the universe for a weekend, with the Glastonbury festival keeping the locals awake for a few days. Long live this wonderful festival and may I commend the excellent Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen as well as the effervescent Blur and Doves for bringing some cheer to our lives.

Economy

I'm going to post a link to this article until I can think of something to say about it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/23/inequality-unfair-britain-poor

Why is inequality unfair? This is quite complex. Feeling poor in relation to others and being angry about it is an issue to consider. Poverty as a birthright is unfair, and I do not see why an able, polite and resilient child need tolerate a life of poverty. Maybe if you consider the amount of suffering a child has endured through the poverty struggle in relation to their outstanding educational achievement, then as an admissions tutor at a university I would happily award a place at the highest institutions in the land. This is not so much correcting injustice but rewarding the most difficult struggle against the odds. The difficulty here is knowing about their background. The role of state can be increased, teachers and state youth workers play a big role in helping people up the ladder, but to an extent the poor do help themselves and they deserve the breaks they get. In a sense, this refutes communism because it is so closed, and endorses a society of positive actors and managers to try and correct some of the issues of morality and open up some doors.

Iraq Inquiry

This is a difficult one to call because it has been planned, implemented and for all intents and purposes completed. The only thing one can hope to achieve from an inquiry to prove that the philosophy behind the action was morally wrong; but according to who? I do not find Iraq to be simple or easy to analyse because the rationale and reasons for going in appear to be unclear. The Hutton Inquiry proved that (a) the evidence of 'womd' was limited and (b) the link between Britain and Iraq is historical and runs back to th Gulf war but (c) primarily, that we know very little about why we are in Iraq. An Inquiry is worthwhile because before we can begin to condemn the actions of government, we must understand why they have taken a course of action and taken lives and spent money. It is interesting to find out stuff about government secrets, motivations and precisely why the cabinet obscured the truth about its Wars. Anyone interested in this need have a look at Nick Clegg's campaign for a public inquiry, and watch intently, this one maybe a good runner in the next two years. One question, we can ask is what was morally wrong about the invasion if we are unsure about our motivations and in this course of action how did we impinge the rights of Iraq civilians, whilst also rescuing them from a troubled and unstable regime? This judgement can only be made with a full inquiry, and is the reason why the British public might be happy to support it.

Ugly Moment Of Self-Loathing

In today's post I am going to try and explain the linkages between the rise of the far-right in Europe and the growth of a surveillance state in Britain. The invasion of public space by the private sector and private space by pther private forces is a disruption to the peaceful enjoyment of British life, ontologically, due I suspect, to an increasing pressure to open up markets on the demand side and expose humanity to a uncomfortable nakedness never felt before. Not all of us are born actors, not all of us are born politicians, and there is something of a lack of sensitivity and humility in modern Britain, largely due to a life of excess, rather than inwardness or nationalism. The far right cannot quite articulate themselves in simple terms, there are no real solid policy statements on which to articultate their frustration. What they are finding, is an increasing modernisation and exposure through information technologies in all areas of life is an increasing diversification of the population, and movement of populations. They are feeling uncomfortable and insecure, and Labour has encouraged this rapid change leading to an increase in competition in the jobs market. Life ain't so easy as it was in my day. Surveillance plays a big part in increasing the pressure in everyday living, and adds to the increasing sense that we are subject to state and market manipulation. The Far Right BNP are a response to the lunacy of post-modernity, in a desperate attempt to take control and dominate society by reversing these changes, rather than adapting to them. Life has become rather difficult, I admit but it is more tangible and sensible to take a reformist tact, from centrist-left perspectives on how the corporation can address these issues with government, without allowing the BNP through the back door.
I must state that this in an interpretation of the electorate's view of political change. The BNP themselves, and I am sure they will deny it, contain some nasties who use organised violence to target fascist favourites such as ethnic minorities and alternative sexual orientations. The success of the BNP puts Britain at the centre of organised neo-nazi politics, for possibly the first time in living memory.

Ideology

The local council election results are demonstrating the electorate's expansive punishment of the Labour government. This is based on perceptions of corrupted, secretive systems of departmental governance, or precisely expenses fiddles. The global crunch, is a systems issue, again, we are seeing polarised social mobility and disaffection with the tax system. Everyone could do with a bit more money. However, it is a lack of information on details relating to the precise origins of the present crisis, that deludes the majority. Sure, major parties have bought into the lending economy, but ideologically, human error is written into conservatism. The idea of 'original sin', as seen in exploitative capitalist systems is based on conservative ideas that the boss has a responsibility for the workers and the low wages are based on the ability of the business to thrive and remain in existence. Sure, this makes perfect sense, but the surplus is kept from the worker, and channelled elsewhere. Therefore, if you are satisfied with this entirely, and you are a conservative worker, then I assume you agree with the foundations of conservatism, and that you are living in the hope that you can change your role in relation to the means of production. Either that, or you are a discontented lefty, who would like to see a little more in your wage packet by attaching yourself to the ideology of the unions, or more syndicalised forms of progress through wage increases.
The voter projection cannot be laying the blame for the crunch entirely at the door of the government. The conditions leading up to the explosion of the bubble are new, in so much sustained growth as we have witnessed can only result in a large bust. The conservative worker sees the profit motive as a phased process of progression, that they work their way into different positions. From this, we might gather that the majority are looking for a quick fix using neo-conservative spend-thrift principles, to reestablish the economy as it was, through tax cuts, to restore confidence and mobility. Where this will leave us in terms of ideology is perplexing, because a difficult crisis is likely to be mended through a harsh regime of cuts and a shrinkage in the public sector as well as a minor shrinkage in service sector expertise.
The work of Professor Shiller (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article6346115.ece) on the potential of a second wave of recession may prove all the more alarming as the government's core pillars disintegrate. Let us not forget, Labour have delivered on economic growth offering dramatic expansion of the finance sector from which we have all benefited. It was in 2005, when the shoots of Tory revival became apparent, based notionally on an increase in affluence through the housing bubble and a desire to reduce taxes even further. A careful consideration of ideological thrust, must account for Cameron's alliance with radical/ far right parties in Europe. Is this really what modern Britain needs now?
I think we can all agree that the economy would benefit from personal household debt being reduced considerably, and that national debt can afford to be reduced in stages. The time for change has arrived, clealry, as the indicators have afforded - but the ideological battle has been suspended concurrently by economic concerns. Why do the Liberal Democrats perform poorly when conservative ideology has led to reckless lack of accountability and secrecy? Why do we seem to believe that a move to the next centre-right party is going to restore our fortunes, when the existing one has followed their example? I feel that a visit to the 'iron law of oligarchy' in this case is appropriate. There is always the chance, however that the Conservatives will surprise us with a radical programme of reform. Only time will tell.

Expensive Mistakes

The row over MPs expenses has been expanded greatly by exposure resonant of the 1980s media coverage of Thatcher. What I am finding, now, is that this sensational story has not taken into account the intricacies of working as a civil servant. Minister is a job like no other, these people travel at all hours of the night and day to meet their commitments around the country. I am not excusing the excruciatingly embarassing revelation that mortgages have been invented to gleen off public money but that the good, honest MPs need solid renumeration to do the profession justice. If we paid MPs more, relative to their level of responsibility and expertise, then there would be no need to exploit the system as it stands. I believe that it is has always been possible to access expense claims for every MP online, and can't believe that the Telegraph is so tantalising such an obvious avenue. The question is, how can we recover the last 100 years of expenses? Someone is laughing all the way to ....

Gimme Shelter

Sometimes the times can be expressed succinctly by a rock song. In the case of April, 2009 I have elected to take the thought provoking lyrics of Neil Hannon, in his vivid, if obvious enuncication of the inevitable. Greatest respect to the man:

Here comes the floodRivers of mud, babyHere comes the quakeEvacuate while you still canHere comes the fireOur funeral pyre, babyHere comes the floodHere comes the blood bath Here comes the flyFifty foot high, babyHere comes the warMore blood and goreThan you can standHere comes the raceFrom outer space, babyIts all overWere all gonna dieIf the good lord intended me to live in l.a., hed have given me a machine gun. still, here I am, just another little worried citizen of this modern-day pompeii waiting for the melt-down, the shWn, the great american close-down. when that fault-line that runs right through societys fabric finally snaps and the whole damn thing starts unravelling. why watch the sports channel, when youWatch cnn? ladies and gentlemen, the greatest race in history, the race to end all races, in fact the race to end history. in lane onethe san andreas fault. in lane twoglobal recession. in tel nino. in fourchemical war. lane fiveinter-racial conflict. lane sixauto immune deficiency syndrome. on your marks. get set. wait for it ..... go!Here comes the floodRivers of blood, babyHere comes the bombIt won t be longtil were all goneHere comes the sunRun baby run, babyIf you believe all that you readYoull know the end is nighWere all gonna die!

So.... Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The 'Social Contract' by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a brilliant model of goverance, if there ever was one. The picture of sovereignty has clearly had a huge influence on G. Agamben in his huge works on Political governance and political rights: 'concerning the subject'. His ideas on 'equality' are brilliantly romantic, but I like what he is saying, that a state of equals is the only one worth having. It is a good to enshrine rights in a codified, republican constitution to articulate the extent of their reach, that is, reducing the dispute over their interpretation and the extent of political sovereignty. I am in favour of a codified Bill of Rights in the UK, if not for anything else than to deplete ambiguity over the authority of the Human Rights Act and its applicability in day to day living.

Feeling the Moment

Demonstrations of all kinds have blossomed with the growth of alternative political movements inspired by universal suffrage, freedoms of speech and collective resistance to hegemonic power. Issues such as tuition fees for those poor souls who live in England, G20 summit, environmental issues and Iraq have ignited some strong political sentiment. The only problem I have is that it is great that people are making the effort, but it doesn't seem to make any difference to the outcome, if anything it highlights a politically minded liberal/socialist elite and that's about it. Things are only going to get better when it is too late and the earth is ruined or irreversibly changed. For instance, the financial crisis has forced the government to save reckless banks but only because it put the masses at risk - raising the danger of anarchy. The 'precipice' appears to be the point at which intervention becomes pallatable, and that is very dangerous. Jonathan Sacks has brilliantly drawn together a very good article in the Times today along these lines:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article5946941.ece

Shock and Awe Blues

Will Hutton has written an excellent article in today's Observer in response to the 'Wilkinson thesis', an analysis of shortfalls in the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism and human development. I know, you might be thinking that is an exhausted area of academia, but it really has not been tackled thoroughly or boldly. For starters, I agree that economic inquality is at the heart of society's problems, specifically in the UK and USA. Secondly, the current government have not done near enough to tackle child poverty. We know no society is perfect and sociological explanations of atomisation of social bonds is more palatable than political gesturing, because political thinking is genuinely confusing at best and often does not provide remedies to basic human needs at worst. Hutton's use of the "Water babies" as a metaphor for this unfairness is palpable. One issue that does need addressing in addition to the argument regarding inequality is that the state is geared towards those who have researched their entitlements. A lot of families entitled to benefits such as tax credit are missing it and a lot of money really isn't going to people who desperately need it. There is one solution to this, and that is to force them to take the benefit by forcing them to have their income assessed by their local authority for the purpose of supplying supplementary benefits. If the state was less competitive in reinforcing these inequalities then we would not having the damaging barriers highlighted in the article in the Guardian last week. We are witnessing the complete overhaul of the banking industry and the state is genuinely taking a role in supporting rich bankers! The structure of postmodern capitalism has demanded this injustice take place whilst many of us are on the breadline, bringing to our full attention the shocking inequality of the neo-liberal era. I think that the solution to this simple, stop selling financial products to the poor that they don't need and let the state take over. Regulate the lending industry that keeps millions in debt poverty.

Buffallo Bill shoots to kill, Never missed nor he never will

Anger in Northern Ireland is unsurprising, Belfast is the most political city I have ever visited. The contemporary scene is evidently complex, and as I see it the 'peace process' is an active one, involving the formerly antagonistic parties to war. My interpretation of events is that this is a new phase of nationalism, violence has shifted to a new set of actors acting within the political framework of the now relatively respectable Sinn Fein. It is amazing how the media portray this part of Ireland as being 'fixed', when the problem is evidently so much more mind-bogglingly complex and immersed is historical representations of grievance that bubble over into the gloom of depression. I do hope that the militant republican movement realise that their best hope of a united republic is in the full functioning of a devolved parliament and the cessation of violence on all fronts. Roy Hettersley wrote a very engaging piece in the Guardian on this, and I felt the need to revive it quickly: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/aug/01/northernireland.northernireland2

"I bear no hate to a living thing, But love my country beyond the king". (Ulysses, James Joyce).

I want to remember all of those who have suffered this political conflict in Northern Ireland. I have seen the film 'hunger' and was moved deeply by the passion and sadness of Bobby Sands. I cannot understand the full extent of the political grievance of the Irish people, but I hope no more lives are blighted by this dreadful bloodshed.

Bury the tHatchet?

The very dreary drama on the BBC based on the rise of the New Right in Britain has coincided it appears with an anniversary of some kind, maybe 30 years since Maggie pushed into Number 10? It is difficult to get a feel for how the New Right changed Britain for better/worse without having known politics before and after. The lynchpin of her legacy was the monetarist doctrine of privatisation. This was not a creation of her own, oh no, the origins of this movement as a political tool can be traced back to Hitler’s Germany. Although all privatisations are unique, there are some interesting parallels to be drawn between the New Right and the Far Right. It was a mass selling-off of public utilities in Germany in the 1930s that is remarkably similar to Thatcher’s revolution in the 1980s, and the continuation under New Labour: the handling of public services became a private concern. It is important in analysis of the parallels to elucidate the intentions of Thatcher’s elites (companies) and those of Nazi Germany, but clearly there are benefits when channelling relations between business and government for greater state control of the economy: to increase savings in bank accounts. This demonstrates Hitler’s mastery of political economy. He knew that privatisation could lead to a very well defined politics of power, and a strong section of alliances with major industrialists.
In the same way, the centrality of private sales was core to the popularity of the Conservatives in the 1980s. The results of this movement have been highly criticised, particularly when pensions were reduced as they became inflation-indexed rather than wage-indexed. Railways have not improved since contracting out, and it is terrifying that Labour want to put the hands of the very efficient Royal Mail into private ownership. What is clear, is that Thatcher’s legacy is entrenched, but it is now being questioned for its quality more than ever. Whereas Hitler wanted politicised economic governance of instrumental hue, the New Right have given business their own special powers, of which the consumer has not seen consistent benefit or return.

Pass Fascism By Please...?

As I feared whilst thumbing Barrington Moore and old Trotsky classics, the notion of fascism is being flagged. I am hoping that our rapid political development can save us by focusing on collective federalism and multipolarity. I am looking forward to a more disciplined capitalist platform with a commitment to stability through disciplined macroeconomic planning.

Yikes: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4571944/Ed-Balls-minister-fears-rise-of-fascism-amid-economic-gloom.html

Working Man's Not Dead

I like Johann Hari's blog. I read his entry on work experience and it was quite harsh. It is probably true that in some cases work experience is quite exploitative and involves a lot of tea making and grovelling, maybe in journalism?! Having recently done a bit myself I was surprised that I wasn't the one doing the tea making and I was thoroughly engaged shadowing some really great people and they really made it a pleasure. Am I the exception?!
Please, if you don't read another article this week look at this well written piece in the New Statesman, it is stunning:

http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2009/02/housing-societies-essay

Equitable Life

The well documented and protracted Equitable Life fiasco appears to be drawing towards a close with the announcement that victims will be compensated after a deep investigation by the Treasury and Parliamentary Ombusman. It is good news for a few whom lost their savings but illustrates a prime example of the flimsy structure of private insurance companies who shun blame by focusing on regulatory agencies as the cause of economic collapse rather than shouldering responsiblity for their decisions. The next generation of savers and investors are being forced to redress planning for retirement by drawing conclusions from evidence pieced together from press clippings and hansard, for as we well know, it is best to invest in educating and caring for oneself- at least then you will get a straight answer!
It does not help that the FSA failed to thoroughly scrutinise Equity's handling of the Hyman case on its performance and assurances over adherence to regulatory frameworks designed to improve accountability and performance.

Looking Glass

Ramsay MacDonald's 1931 National Government, formed after the Great Depression of 1929 was designed to accommodate the economic and social tensions created by crisis. The current polls are showing a tension between Labour and the Conservatives that indicates potential for a hung Parliament- given the inability of the Conservatives to capitalise on their July-September gains. The current crisis shows little sign of improving and indicators from the Bank of England are hinting at increased tightening on lending.
Interesting to note that Phillip Snowden was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Snowden published a pamphlet with Kier Hardie entitled "The Christ That is to be" (1903) detailing his vision of "Paradise on Earth" (Geoffrey Foote: 53) through a quasi-socialist fantasy. His assumption of Gladstonian orthodox economics in practice grated in an almost hypocritical paradox given his ideals, but his insistence resonated:
"We care not a rap about your political philosophy. It is enough for us to know that many who toil long and hard are in poverty, and the few never work at all". It is Snowden's socialist intellectualism that has led to the quasi-religious tone of much of Blair's protracted ideology, even if only in concessionary form by making private wages a "public concern" (Geoffrey Foote: 54) through the minimum wage. It is pleasant to think of this gentleman and indulge in one of the most fascinating periods of 20th Century British politics.