A couple of months ago, before the Occupy Wall Street movement took hold, my wife and I were discussing what the series of events might be if someone hit the "Technology Bomb" button and you needed access to your money.
Having wondered why the travelcard reader hadn't worked on the bus on your way to work, you might pop in somewhere for your morning latte and croissant only to find that the payment terminal was down to accept your debit card. So you'd head off down to the bank to withdraw cash, only to then discover that the ATM was down too. You'd probably get by on what's in the fridge or larder for a day or two - until you had to do your weekly shop. By which time panic buying would have set in and the food you couldn't pay for anyway was gone.
Fast-forwarding events, how would goods be replenished? Presumably no-one could get paid to produce anything. I'll leave any further implications to your imagination.
The point is, if the rising tide of civic rebellion ruins the banking system entirely, we're looking at pretty much the same scenario.
What's the answer? Nationalise the banks to become non-profit organisations and give our distrusted Governments the power?
The 99% should be entitled to make their point, but I urge calm and caution. Indeed, we may well be playing into the hands of the very people who seek to control us. This is not about anti-capitalism, but anti-greed/corruption. (See earlier post)
It isn't possible for the protesters to take down the entire banking system. It's a system too ubiquitous and filled with redundancy. It is however possible to take down the few that caused the mess. That at least would serve as a warning to the rest and put the people at the top on notice. Transferring money out of the majors and into the credit unions where depositors get a say is a great way to start.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the Tobin tax and a limit on bank profits - I also find the whole hedge fund and futures markets very suspicious
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in with the Love Politics Blogs Showcase. I think banks and the financial system are part of the society we've built. It would be very difficult to really change them without having a huge impact on lots of other things. Having said that it is the governments job to legislate to make sure they operate in a way that best serves the electorate not to protect them from their own failures.
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