Another thought provoking article by Mark Jago - Republished here with permission:
Most people are already aware of five point plan that is the substance of the Thursday event, as it has been made available to the media prior to the G20 summit. What remains is choreographed theatre that political leaders feel obliged to participate in as a PR exercise for consumption by their respective home audiences. For an increasingly isolated Gordon Brown it's likely one of his last opportunities to strut on the world stage in a vain attempt to cast him as a savoir rather than a central contributor to the financial crisis.
The governments of United States and the United Kingdom have yet to formally admit that it was their political leadership that was complicit in allowing state run institutions to be active partners with rogue financial institutions in the perpetration systemic fraud that created the credit crisis and global recession. It will be interesting to hear what the individual G20 leaders have to say beyond the confines of the carefully scripted summit media statements.
President Obama and his team in the just over sixty days since he became president has done a stunning job in putting in place measures to turn the US economy around. While it’s is too early to expect not to have additional economic bad news, for the US spring is bringing with it signs of a bottom and turn around with new hope of an economic recovery towards the end of this year. Corrective measures to “market to market” accounting and modifications to the stock market up-tick rule and government money to help home owners, tax cuts and funding for public infrastructure projects all helping to create renewed economic growth. Government regulators and the corporate managements have been brought before congress to account for their actions and there will be people that will eventually be held responsible and go to jail.
As Gordon Brown prepares to chair the G20 summit hoping to gain additional stimulus package funding, the outlook of the UK stands in stark contrast to that of the US. Changes in the US have been ongoing over the past 16 months, with the lowering of US interest rates, improvements in exports, home foreclosure measures and tax rebate cheque stimulus. The election of a new president has brought about the replacement of the previous governments powerful Washington State Department heads and a new approach to US policy.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown who presided over the unfettered excesses of the UK's financial service industry, sold the UK gold reserves at fire sale prices, and treated essential industries like the North Sea energy and tax payers as his personal piggy bank in order to pay for his profligate political agenda. Facing catastrophe has pumped billions of pounds into failed banking system and taken a 16 billion pound hit with an in effective 1 percent cut of the VAT tax. In recent weeks it's become apparent that tax payers will be paying billions of pounds to replace public sector pension money losses which will presumably include the cost of the now disgraced RBS chairman's pension. A man who it is reported that the Prime Minister used to invite to his weekend parties along with the others of the UK Banking fraternity. In addition to having to pay back over many decades the money borrowed to bail out the banks and for the stimulus package.
The Prime Minister will tell G20 leaders that a clampdown is necessary to curb tax havens by individuals and companies, is obviously desperate to raise money from any source that he can find. His Energy Minister Mike O'Brien last week said that the Government was looking at securing funds from the European Investment Banks and admitted that the North Sea is unlikely to meet production targets for 2010. This after the Government sat idly by and failed to act to prevent RBS from pulling a line of credit from major North Sea driller Oilexco. For which Canadian management and shareholders paid last week the ultimate price for putting their trust in a partnership with the UK Government and its Banks. O'Brian also said that he is waiting to hear back from the EIB and North Sea Energy Companies that may be experiencing difficulties. Could it be that these mostly foreign companies think that better odds can be had by teaming up with the mafia?
The Prime Minister who has continued to insist that the UK is "better placed" than others to weather the crisis was told last week by the Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King that the Country had reached its limit on money it can borrow to spend its way out of the crisis. Former labour Lord Owen the put UK situation in to accurate prospective saying that "There is an air of breathtaking unreality in Westminster and Whitehall that reminds me of 1975," he wrote. "Hard choices need to be taken now, not postponed until after an election in 2010."
Many people would like to hear what is said behind closed doors at Thursdays G20 meeting. Could it be that the UK's next "special relationship" will be with the IMF? The world is quickly losing patience with this feckless selfish government.
Most people are already aware of five point plan that is the substance of the Thursday event, as it has been made available to the media prior to the G20 summit. What remains is choreographed theatre that political leaders feel obliged to participate in as a PR exercise for consumption by their respective home audiences. For an increasingly isolated Gordon Brown it's likely one of his last opportunities to strut on the world stage in a vain attempt to cast him as a savoir rather than a central contributor to the financial crisis.
The governments of United States and the United Kingdom have yet to formally admit that it was their political leadership that was complicit in allowing state run institutions to be active partners with rogue financial institutions in the perpetration systemic fraud that created the credit crisis and global recession. It will be interesting to hear what the individual G20 leaders have to say beyond the confines of the carefully scripted summit media statements.
President Obama and his team in the just over sixty days since he became president has done a stunning job in putting in place measures to turn the US economy around. While it’s is too early to expect not to have additional economic bad news, for the US spring is bringing with it signs of a bottom and turn around with new hope of an economic recovery towards the end of this year. Corrective measures to “market to market” accounting and modifications to the stock market up-tick rule and government money to help home owners, tax cuts and funding for public infrastructure projects all helping to create renewed economic growth. Government regulators and the corporate managements have been brought before congress to account for their actions and there will be people that will eventually be held responsible and go to jail.
As Gordon Brown prepares to chair the G20 summit hoping to gain additional stimulus package funding, the outlook of the UK stands in stark contrast to that of the US. Changes in the US have been ongoing over the past 16 months, with the lowering of US interest rates, improvements in exports, home foreclosure measures and tax rebate cheque stimulus. The election of a new president has brought about the replacement of the previous governments powerful Washington State Department heads and a new approach to US policy.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown who presided over the unfettered excesses of the UK's financial service industry, sold the UK gold reserves at fire sale prices, and treated essential industries like the North Sea energy and tax payers as his personal piggy bank in order to pay for his profligate political agenda. Facing catastrophe has pumped billions of pounds into failed banking system and taken a 16 billion pound hit with an in effective 1 percent cut of the VAT tax. In recent weeks it's become apparent that tax payers will be paying billions of pounds to replace public sector pension money losses which will presumably include the cost of the now disgraced RBS chairman's pension. A man who it is reported that the Prime Minister used to invite to his weekend parties along with the others of the UK Banking fraternity. In addition to having to pay back over many decades the money borrowed to bail out the banks and for the stimulus package.
The Prime Minister will tell G20 leaders that a clampdown is necessary to curb tax havens by individuals and companies, is obviously desperate to raise money from any source that he can find. His Energy Minister Mike O'Brien last week said that the Government was looking at securing funds from the European Investment Banks and admitted that the North Sea is unlikely to meet production targets for 2010. This after the Government sat idly by and failed to act to prevent RBS from pulling a line of credit from major North Sea driller Oilexco. For which Canadian management and shareholders paid last week the ultimate price for putting their trust in a partnership with the UK Government and its Banks. O'Brian also said that he is waiting to hear back from the EIB and North Sea Energy Companies that may be experiencing difficulties. Could it be that these mostly foreign companies think that better odds can be had by teaming up with the mafia?
The Prime Minister who has continued to insist that the UK is "better placed" than others to weather the crisis was told last week by the Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King that the Country had reached its limit on money it can borrow to spend its way out of the crisis. Former labour Lord Owen the put UK situation in to accurate prospective saying that "There is an air of breathtaking unreality in Westminster and Whitehall that reminds me of 1975," he wrote. "Hard choices need to be taken now, not postponed until after an election in 2010."
Many people would like to hear what is said behind closed doors at Thursdays G20 meeting. Could it be that the UK's next "special relationship" will be with the IMF? The world is quickly losing patience with this feckless selfish government.
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