It never cesaes to amaze me that no matter what the political or economic climate there are always those who will take advantage of the situation to make money. Looking at our current situation here in the UK we have a coallition government and are still trying to climb out of the recession caused by the collapse of the banking industry, and yet we still have a position that the banks, who were a major contributing factor to the position are currently making it increasingly difficult for individuals and businesses to borrow money, and charging higher interest rates than before the current problems. They provide reasons for this state of affairs which at first glance appear to have validity in terms of reducing lending to high risk groups, and charging an appropriate interest rate, but interbank borrowing is the cheapest it has been for a very long time, the Bank of England base rate remains at record low levels, and the argument that inappropriate lending has been reduced is a nonsense highlighted by the continued existance and advertising of pay day loans, perhaps the most inappropriate borrowing there is.
If we look further we see the the utilities companies, freed of the controls of state ownership, have, rather than increased competition and therefore given customers a fairer deal, apparently colluded to raise prices far above the rate of inflation, or indeed above increasing costs. Looking at Centrica, formerly British Gas and their posting of £1.3bn profits one has to question whether price rises to the extend they have been seen are justified. Now, the company itself, along with the rest of the industry say that such profits are required for the massve amounts of investment the industry needs, but if these profits were not channeled into shareholder pockets, that would not be the case.
Another example is the insurance industry. How many times do you receive a quote for insurance for your car, your home, whatever only to phone up and question the price and have it instantly reduced. If it could be reduced without apparent difficulty, why try to get away with the original inflated price? Again it smacks of profiteering at the most fundamental levels. We live in a world where a benefit cheat who has had to commit fraud to survive gets longer jail time than a millionaire politician who decided that he would fraudulently claim expenses paid by taxpayers just to further line his already plush nest.
This country, and, I would argue, most of the World is tarnished by the machinations and profit motivations and money grabbing tactics that have become endemic from the top down. Without strong leadership in the form of scrupulously honest, society aware leaders, we seem doomed to keep making the same mistakes and thereby undermining the progress and success that we, as a species have enjoyed for quite a while. Some say that it is just a part of our nature, that greed and appetite are bred in the bone, but if this is the case why have society at all? Why not revert to a winner takes all anarchic system? If society is supposed to serve one purpose it is to give our populations an opportunity to rise above our base instincts and develop more fully into the protectors and guardians of our world that we should all be.
There is no cause for the rampant opportunism that we curerntly endure, it has no sustainability, and therefore no future but destruction, and it needs to stop now....
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