I am old enough to vividly remember Harold Wilson telling everyone that "the pound in your pocket is not affected" when his government seriously devalued our currency. An enormous lie and a decision (probably necessary considering the mess that he had presided over) that took years to recover from.
Gordon Brown and our devalued bankers seem to think that printing money, "£125 billion didn't work so let's print another £50 billion". This is DEVALUATION, the fact that we call it by another name doesn't alter the fact. The countries losses under this chancellor and now unelected PM will haunt us, our children and their children.
I suppose that if the taxpayers money that was fed into the banks and this £125 billion had found its way into the economy it might have been of some temporary use, but did it go to business, did it go out in mortgages, did it hell. Most of it is still in the banking system waiting to be distributed in bonuses.
RBS have declared a profit when in truth their actual performance is a £1 billion loss. Their new chairman, Mr Hester (who is reportedly on a £15 million contract himself) states that he will have to pay out substantial bonuses if he is to keep these "top bankers". It defies belief that any other country would be prepared to take them, let alone pay them a comparative salary!
I believe in incentives, but only when they have been earned and not in the £1million per man per annum that has been the norm for these "Top Bankers". Perhaps if they paid back their losses: impossible as no-one has that much money: it would not be so obscene.
Mervyn L
