GAMESMANSHIP, WHEELING AND DEALING

The Waterloo Region Record carried an examination of two books on Saturday June 9, 2012. The title of the story is "How did we get here" and the two books are Predator Nation by Charles Ferguson and The Unfair Trade by Michael J. Casey. These two books both attempt to explain what is wrong with our economic system which allowed the near fatal crash in 2008. From Mr. Ferguson "With incentives in place to reward bad behaviour, and no penalties when things go wrong, complacent, incompetent and corrupt elites have become entrenched, and a danger to the rest of us.". Michael J. Casey states that "...it is always the ordinary middle and working classes who have to pay to clean up the mess.".

The author of this critique, Alex Good, says that "...after the financial crisis of 2008, which clearly demonstrated that the new masters of the universe atop the global financial pyramid were involved in wheeling and dealing that had little broader social or economic bemnefit. Instead of manufacturing things, investing in jobs and education or building infrastructure, the economy had become a giant casino.".

Some of the joint conclusions are that governments must have greater regulation over the financial sectors and a re-emphasis on the "real" economy.

Clearly the Occupy Movement are onto the big picture. Corporate criminals ,in bed with governments have been caught but not punished. Ordinary citizens are and will continue to pay the price for private greed and public (government) incompetence and corruption.