“Vile Product of Welfare UK”screamed the Daily Mail on 3rd April, after the conviction of Mick Philpott.
But when Dennis Stevenson (a lord), James Crosby (a knight of the realm) and Andy Hornby were found to have “recklessly” ruined HBOS (Halifax Bank Of Scotland) and cost the rest of us £20Bn, where was the headline:
“Vile Products of Bonus-Culture UK”?George Osborne says there is a
"question for government and society" about the influence of benefits on behaviour.But is there not also a
"question for government and society" about the influence of bonuses on behaviour?While people languish on welfare as a result of the crisis caused by the likes of Stevenson, Crosby and Hornby and are being scapegoated, Fred (“the shred”) Goodwin, who ruined RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and cost us £45Bn, is probably paying the most expensive lawyers in the world to analyse every dot and tittle of the law to wriggle out of multiple lawsuits against him, no doubt easily paid for from his massive salaries, bonuses and pension, most likely held off-shore so as to pay as little tax as he can get away with.
Unless and until we see the likes of Goodwin stripped of every penny they ever had and joining the queue for the food bank with the people he impoverished, there is absolutely no justice or equality in this land.
It is not Mick Philpott who is “vile”, nor Fred Goodwin, but the system that entrenches the injustice and inequality that brought about the society we find ourselves in. Individuals can and should be forgiven and are capable of repentance – systems have to be overthrown, and it is to the system and it's perpetrators who are in government that we must direct all the anger and bile and contempt and passion we can possibly muster.
2 comments:
I never thought I would find myself in complete agreement with a supernaturalist, but there's time and space for everything in this universe I suppose ... :)
This article is spot on. This should be posted on 60 foot high billboards across the country, and the politicians responsible for robbing the poor to reward the rich fat cats who flushed our economy down the toilet, should be made to read this until they hang their heads in shame.
More posts like this one please.
I share your sense of outrage at the gross injustice being inflicted by unaccountable political and financial elites.
When we name individuals, though, if we don't actually know that Fred Goodwin or anyone else keeps their money offshore etc it is unjustified to accuse them of 'most likely' doing it.
I believe we should be mindful of Advices & Queries 17 "Do not allow the strength of your convictions to betray you into making statements or allegations that are unfair or untrue."
Your final point is the strongest one - it is the political and economic sysytem that enables and encourages ruthless profit-taking at the expense of the common good that needs to be challenged and overturned.
In Friendship,
Craig
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