Holyrood Now.....
ALL QUIET IN HOLYROOD Due to the global financial turmoil the Holyrood scene has been rather subdued as all parties put aside their petty differences in order to concentrate upon exactly what Holyrood can do to alleviate the financial situation with regard to Scotland.Alex Salmond is holding meetings with top banking people and Iain Gray has promised him full co-operation as have Annabel Goldie and Tavish Scott. To be honest the cost cutting process which began away back in the 1980s whereby our high street banks did away with Bank Managers in most banks has back-fired in a major manner.These bank Managers used to be the ones who decided if loans or overdrafts were given or if their clients had sufficient collateral to back up their requests for some financial assistance. To obtain a mortgage it was required to have sufficient funds to act as a substantial down payment. The bank Manager would look into the financial standing of the borrower and only when he was satisfied that the risk of defaulting was minimal, would he give the go ahead for the transaction. Do you know something? - This system actually worked and these low risk transactions seldom failed. We then entered a period of unbridled borrowing and this brought about the current debt society. We all now receive 'junk mail' which invites us to take out credit cards and on doing so we can then run up thousands of pounds worth of debt and we are in fact encouraged to do so.Mortgages were typically on offer which amounted to 125% of the value of the property being purchased and building Societies and Banks vied with one another to make the best offer.On an individual scale, personal debt is reckoned to be running at an unsustainable all time high.This did not happen in the days of the Bank Manager! The Yuppies of the 1980s have now evolved into the top financial 'wizards' of 2008 and they apply the same philosophy of lending without collateral that they did in their early Yuppie days in the stock exchange and banking institutions.Their rewards have been obscene bonus payments for high turnovers with low beneficial returns for their organisations... many of these 'gamblers' have even been honoured by their country.Gordon Brown and Alastair Darling simply went with the flow as the nation basked in this artificial bonanza but where they both stand condemned is that they completely failed to institute any financial safeguards apart from a toothless F.S.A.The new head of the F.S.A. is Lord Adair Turner. He was also appointed by Gordon Brown to investigate and give a solution to the UK's Pensions system which is still the cheapest and most tawdry in Europe. However, Lord Turner has recommended a return of the link between pensions and earnings and this will be in force in 2012 or thereabouts and when all his other recomendations are implemented we (or some of you) will have reached the year 2050.Meantime pensioners should continue to tighten their belts! Whether the F.S.A. under Lord Turner will be strong enough or have a good enough remit to allow close scrutiny of our financial institutions remains to be seen but the F.S.A. certainly fills me with misgivings... All this has ramifications for our Scottish Parliament and at the present moment all Party Leaders are trying to keep going with one hand tied behind their backs. John will continue to share his thoughts with us when the next Parliamentary Session unfolds at Holyrood If you wish to comment on his contributions, please e-mail him directly at john774@btinternet.com
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