a momentary glimpse of reason » Incompetence

let the banks fall on their own sword

Gaz — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:25:38 +0000

“He played his cards in a perfect game,
He mixed their feelings and made them lame,
He tainted their souls and brought them shame,
He caused them pain but never took the blame.”

Andrew Aballa, Live by the Sword Die By It

If a lot of “experts” are to be believed, the world is edging towards Global Financial Crisis part deux. Given that governments are looking at ways of tinkering and meddling once more, and the fact that their previous interventions didn’t actually fix things, I’d say there’s a good chance it will happen. This time I hope they get things right, this time they need to let the banks crash and burn.

what about people’s savings & mortgages?

I’m pretty sure there are plans to bail out the banks yet again – instead of pumping billions more in to prop up these organisations, use any bail out cash to compensate savings account holders. Assuming there are very few surviving financial institutes capable of picking up the consumer credit, wipe it all clean and let them keep the houses, cars or whatever else people bought with the credit.

so people get off scott free?

You can look at it that way, or you could look at it as a massive reset and rebalance of the system, which has become increasingly biased towards large, multinational banking organisations. It’s actually a chance to start afresh without the toxic burden of massive consumer debt, which is spiralling out of control.

Let the banks die, wipe out consumer debt and try again. A massive financial reboot.

Followers of the pseudo-science of economics will no doubt have a gazillion reasons to refute this – ultimately though the only real losers are the bankers currently making personal fortunes at the expense of everyone else.

So no real loss at all and it might just teach them a much-needed lesson.

Unconventional Much?

Gaz — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:35:51 +0000

I am often struck by the fact that I am the least business-y person I know, and yet somehow I persist with this idea of having my own business. You see, not only do I believe that it is possible to build a business on the notion of offering low-cost solutions to work-at-home parents, I am also “allergic” to marketing-speak, sales jargon, business analysis, planning, goal-setting and just about everything else you might conventionally associate with “success” or “business”.

I believe, rightly or wrongly, that the passion I have for what I do, the clarity of the vision that accompanies it, and the necessary technical knowledge to realise that vision are, pretty much, all that are required to make this thing fly. Some bright spark may come along one day and organise a “proper” business around the chaos I create, however I remain convinced that the usual “business BS” is not actually necessary – certainly not for someone building web-based services.

I’m sure there are many conventional thinkers who will shake their heads in disgust, each to their own

Another Nursery Rhyme

Gaz — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:08:23 +0000

Following on from the previous post, this new nursery rhyme deals with something that affects commuters on a regular basis:

(Grand Old Duke Of York)

Oh the bus driver from hell

Can't see or hear that well

So that is why he missed your stop

'Cos he didn't hear the bell

When you get on he's a grump

And when you get off he's so gruff

Don't be surprised, when you flag him down

If he drives past in a huff