Bankers are responsible for the poor state of the economy and higher living expenses.
The recession was caused by the financial services sector and the real cost is being paid for by the innocent public.
The Governor of the Bank of England is surprised that the publics’ anger towards the bankers who caused the recession has not been greater.
Mervyn King told members of the Treasury Select Committee that the financial services sector was responsible for the fall in household incomes and living standards. He said “the people whose jobs were destroyed were in no way responsible for the excesses of the financial sector and the crisis that followed” adding that he was “surprised the real anger hasn’t been greater than it has”.
Mr King explained that previous economic downturns were due to weak management and inefficiencies, however “none of that applied in the crisis”. The economy was operating successfully prior to the credit crunch and the bankers should be held responsible for the current austerity measures put in place by the government to control inflation and interest rates.
He went on to paint a bleak picture of Britain’s economic future: “The evidence of the past is that the impact of a [financial] crisis like that persists for many years. You may not get it back for very many years if ever. It’s a very real hit on living standards. That’s why it is important to take the issue of financial stability very seriously”.
However, he added that he will not “leave until [the Bank has] a framework in place to ensure [the public] don’t have to go through this again”.
