Casino economics come home to roost
by Ken Ferguson, SSP Press & Policy Co-ordinator
As supposed gold standard finance houses crumble in the firestorm unleashed by the collapse of the US sub prime casino, unleashing the biggest crisis since the 1929 Wall Street crash, establishment politicians in Westminster and Edinburgh are frozen like rabbits in the headlights.
The swallowing of HBOS by its rival Lloyds TSB has raised a chorus of hand wringing and crocodile tears about the loss of a great institution and 300 years of history.
Largely these cries are coming from politicians and others who are dyed in the wool backers of the mad cap casino economy which is now cutting swathes through jobs, threatening peoples’ homes and seeing unimaginable sums of public money poured into global money markets
These are the same people who have elevated the mythical free market to the status of a religion and a god that can do no wrong.
Their achievements include the destruction of vast tracts of manufacturing industry such as shipbuilding, engineering and cars, inserting the PFI profiteers into our health and education services and the near destruction of social housing.
Unlike them, socialists in the SSP have warned of the dangers of the casino economics for the last 20 years and HBOS workers can be assured of our 100% support as they fight for their jobs.
Brown’s “end to boom and bust’ is now shown as the lie it was as prices soar pay is pegged and thousands face the sack.
However the burgeoning crisis had put one establishment lie to the sword—the old cry raised by the greedy few since time began “There is no money!”
Well when it comes saving the sleek skins of the fat cats that rule is cast aside
Central banks, including the Bank of England, conjure up billions of pounds and hand them over to the greedy gamblers to save their skins mercilessly exposing the old no money sob story.
Hapless Labour MPs stage what has been labelled as a fist fight on the deck of the Titanic over who leads their doomed party while, in the real world, pensioners, workers and the low paid stagger under the growing burden of soaring prices.
Not for them the luxury of billion pound handouts but rather pegged pay and rapidly devaluing benefits and pensions.
And looming large on the horizon is the spectre of the dole queue as jobs in construction and other industries are slashed on the back of the stock market gamblers folly.
In the midst of this horror the news that Scottish Office minister David Cairns—architect of Labour flop in Glasgow East—has resigned in the squabble with Brown hardly raises an eyebrow.
Nor are the Scottish public likely to be reassured by the news that defeated Scottish leadership candidate Andy Kerr has taken over as shadow finance minister.
In truth the ball is burst and the entire global system exposed as a well dressed version of Ladbrokes with bigger sums on the betting slips.
Immediate action is needed to freeze prices and ensure that the growing numbers facing fuel poverty don’t freeze.
We also urgently need to take back control of our vital services from the fat cats.
This crisis eloquently makes the case for breaking with the madness of capitalism and taking decisive move towards a socialist future.