New reports today quote Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as saying the current global financial crisis is due to a culture of greed, and inadequate market supervision. The following is an extract from an AAP report in The Courier Mail:
“A culture of excessive risk taking – a culture of greed – a culture of excess has brought massive economic disruption to global financial markets and the global economy.”
Those markets had been inadequately supervised and the world had to develop warning systems to prevent it all happening again, Mr Rudd said.
In amongst the doom and gloom he promises strength and compassion:
“We will govern with a combination of steely economic management and compassion for those who need support.”
That sounds to me like Social Security payments will increase (not per person though) and frills will be cut. It also sounds like he is talking about greater market regulation and monitoring (auditing). Hmmm – a bit of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.
Due to the international nature of capital markets and financial trading, this is indeed a global financial crisis. The dominoes are still falling. Some countries will suffer more than others.
Sounds like a time to be creative and think outside the square.
Photo from freefoto.com
Filed under: scepticism | Tagged: Australia, benevolent dictator, economy, global financial crisis, Kevin Rudd, politics, solutions |
Initially and immediately I would order a muster of all the Accountants of various breeds and Auditors of various breeds and have them summarily imprisioned as they were in the perfect and most appropriate position of not just knowing the moral and legal responsibilities but reporting on them. This would be followed by the likes of Bank CEO’s, lawyers, media moguls, mortgage brokers, Real Estate agents etc (ie almost everyone) down to the man in the street who, through greed like all the others, thought that he needn’t bother with the likes of the 9.1 million people who died of starvation last year, and the many many millions dead annually from disease and lack of medicine, water and housing – just so that he could acquire five or more rental properties and a massive superannuation retirement fund to provide for his luxury in his latter years in a MacMansion, plus the customary yacht or gas guzzling cruiser tied up at the jetty, on a canal estate somewhere.
Then I would order the trials of all these people for crimes against humanity, not on the basis of being innocent until proven guilty, but guilty until proven innocent. There would be no defence lawyers, duty lawyers, or legal aid of any kind. The Judge would have orders to find the defendant guilty unless extenuating circumstances were established.
Those found guilty, and that would be all defendants, would be required to work 18 hours per day for the term of their natural life on a farm, in a factory, in a mine, on a fishing trawler, Christian Missions in various countries etc with a half-hour each day for meditation at Dawn, Midday and Sunset.
I’m a little bit fond of the concept of innocent until proven guilty. Also I believe that 8 hours sleep is considered humane.
Hmmmm – next!?