Why do people blame bankers and not Euro politicians for Europe's economic mess?

[AtW]

What's rubbish? 25% unemployment in Spain more like 40% fior under 25s. Worse in Greece.

20% unemployment in UK for youth in 2010, I reckon real figure is double that number due to accounting tricks they use to reduce it or young people just "studying" (won't be easy now due to higher fees).

Spain had high unemployment before, I assert that if they were not in euro zone their inflation will be MASSIVELY higher (20-30% per annum) and at this rate nobody will invest into such country with unstable depreciating currency (real I think they had before?), they'll have to enforce strict currency exchange controls to prevent real from falling further, all this will just get them deeper into hole. Then borders will be closed and Spanish youth won't be able to travel and work elsewhere, guess what would that do to unemployment figures?

[sasguru]

Do they suffer more than devastated industrial parts of UK thanks to policies of successive Governments who preferred easy money from the City?

Why are you so concerned about Greece, euro when you don't give a flying fook about human suffering outside of M25?

Like most people here you're a walking spouter of media cliches and soundbites
And like most people you have no clue about manufacturing industry which actually has grown in value since the 2nd world war.
We've just stopped making stuff that can be made cheaper elsewhere, as you have to do, since you can't run loss making industries indefinitely.
The City is 10% of GDP, less than manufacturing at 12%.
DO some research before coming on here to spout your inane banalities.

[AtW]

The City is 10% of GDP, less than manufacturing at 12%.

Yeah, manufacturing is doing so well that one would imagine they would be on par with City's donations to political parties

[Jeff Maginty]

..

[sasguru]

Don't you see the irony of that? The people who are currently dominating are the bankers, who are reaping the biggest rewards whilst carrying on activity that not only is socially useless, but actually goes a big step further by creating huge problems in the economy, destroying peoples savings & investments, ruining businesses & destroying jobs. If that's not dominating unproductively, then what is? And if you don't like that argument, here's another one...

What we've got now is not capitalism. In a capitalist system, bad business models (e.g. lending 125% of value of a house for the mortgage) fail and the business goes bust... and so there are no more rewards for the idiots who ran the business. If only we did have real capitalism... then the banks would have been allowed to fail, savers would have been covered to a limited extent by the FSCS, and the greedy incompetent self-serving arrogant bankers would have been out on their arse. No more bankers bonuses, no more fat salaries, start looking for another job you banker scum!

Good emotional rant, but little substance.
Banking is socially useless? Really?
Yes there should be more competition and reform, but you shouldn't judge a system by its aberrations.
What system would you prefer instead?

[AtW]

Banking is socially useless? Really?

More or less.

Stuff like loans and mortgages can be dealt with by mutuals.

Banks should be out there to facilitate international payments, currency conversion, facilitating card payments - boring stuff like that.

Investment banking should only exist if it buys shares for long term holding (2-3 years minimum).

Buying commodities like oil should only be done by those who actually use it, ie - refining factory or steel plant.

[DodgyAgent]

Don't you see the irony of that? The people who are currently dominating are the bankers, who are reaping the biggest rewards whilst carrying on activity that not only is socially useless, but actually goes a big step further by creating huge problems in the economy, destroying peoples savings & investments, ruining businesses & destroying jobs. If that's not dominating unproductively, then what is? And if you don't like that argument, here's another one...

What we've got now is not capitalism. In a capitalist system, bad business models (e.g. lending 125% of value of a house for the mortgage) fail and the business goes bust... and so there are no more rewards for the idiots who ran the business. If only we did have real capitalism... then the banks would have been allowed to fail, savers would have been covered to a limited extent by the FSCS, and the greedy incompetent self-serving arrogant bankers would have been out on their arse. No more bankers bonuses, no more fat salaries, start looking for another job you banker scum!

The point I think is that there is not enough competition in banking so you are right in that banks have monopolies and hold too much power. But this is the fault of the government who should be responsible for shaping and enforcing the environment in which an economy should work. Business needs banks more than anything else s condemning these people is no answer to the current problems. We need banks and bankers more than ever right now, but not as an object of excuse for the failings of the rest of us - who was it that voted labour?

Gordon Brown presided over a system that failed and it failed because he was able to land the UK in hoc in order to fund his spending plans

The same argument applies to the Jews. They were the drivers of business and though they may or not have been selfish they formed a central core to wealth generation. What happened just like you lot do " sheeplike" they were blamed and persecuted for the incompetence of the government and the refusal of the general population to take responsibility for the plight of the economy.

[sasguru]

More or less.

Stuff like loans and mortgages can be dealt with by mutuals.

Banks should be out there to facilitate international payments, currency conversion, facilitating card payments - boring stuff like that.

Investment banking should only exist if it buys shares for long term holding (2-3 years minimum).

Buying commodities like oil should only be done by those who actually use it, ie - refining factory or steel plant.

For someone who's written some software that marketing companies will use to generate more tat, it's a bit rich to call banking socially useless.

[Jeff Maginty]

..

[AtW]

They were the drivers of business and though they may or not have been selfish they formed a central core to wealth generation.

And in your view bankers in the City are drivers of business and wealth?

If anything banks in UK are NOT business friendly and they certainly won't help increase wealth.

When I needed to arrange for business overdraft just in case we face cashflow issues 2 years ago I've asked the bank I used for over 10 years for modest overdraft, I thought £15k would be nice cushion just in case.

They told me that to get £15k I need to secure it on my house (which I did not have), but even for £10k they wanted personal Directors guarantee which totally defeats the point of having Ltd, well ok I said yes fine - they then said we'll give you £8k overdraft AND £2k credit card that I did not ask for.

I've agreed and paid hefty fee.

Luckily never had to use it.

A year later they called me to check how are things and informed me that I have to pay again like 4% of total ovedraft to keep it going

I told them to fook right off.

Now I guess they like us because they've sent me free Olympics ticket for myself and a guest