Amidst all the news that the government has stepped in to save the banks and guarantee saving (at least if you are not a local authority) the poor savers of bankrupt Farepak must be feeling completely left behind. The financial crisis has been caused by irresponsible lending and too many people living beyond their means. The Farepak savers were the responsible people who lived within their means and put money aside in advance of Xmas so that they would not go into debt. Such responsible behaviour may look quaint and old fashioned now, but it is exactly the sort of behaviour that would have avoided the banking crisis had the idea of "living within our means" been the prevailing spirit of our times.
But the Farepak savers were rewarded by having their carefully husbanded resources taken from them and a government that was more interested in the big banks than the small person. It's hardly a great advert for Labour.
I am now sitting on the train heading south to London. I will get more details of the government's bank bailout scheme when I get to the office. (What I can pick up from the BBC website on my blackberry gives only minimal detail. I have with me a bag of produce from the allotment. It will keep me going til Friday, just in case the grocery sector collapses!
Meanwhile, I finished Parliamentary Campaigner last night so Lib Dem Parliamentary candidates should have had their copy by midnight. The Candidates Association AGM and reception are being held tonight in the National Liberla Club and I'll be there to do the photos with Nick Clegg. That is, of course, assuming I get to London. The train has just ground to a halt just south of Durham and the guard has announced that there is a "technical problem" and the "rear of the train is losing power." So, like the banks, the wheels have ground to a halt.
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