Saving money

Growing up in the post-war thrift era, the mentality was to save money. "Economising", as a noun it's used to cover up a growing number of evils, and as a verb is the act whereby poor or middle class people save a little every month until they're too old to enjoy living a lot. After this life of penury, they're also not expected to spend too much lest their layabout offspring miss out on the chance to really enjoy living off what mum and dad managed to save.

We live in a state that Rousseau would recognise now, although the poor of the third estate probably had fewer worries in his time. We're overrun with being merchandised and we don't realise that we're not just bound with chains but we're voluntarily pulling a freight train worth of debt, worry and stress behind us with them. If you've been to Uni you'll be thousands of pounds in debt. If you'd graduated in the last three years and managed to get a decent job you've probably taken out a mortgage of 125% of the value of your home. Then there's the mandatory credit card debt to fund the lifestyle that the grey suited market men think you should have. You can have it all they say, just spend it on the never-never because you're house will always go up in value.

Well according to Elliott and Atkinson "The Gods that Failed" (Random House, 2008), these last few years we've seen unrestrained growth in the debt market in the West because our New Olympians demand that economies must grow. We've seen record levels of wealth created in economies of the East, Malaysia, Russia, China and India. Thailand did everything the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded and their economy is screwed. The others did their own thing and are hugely wealthy and powerful. Their conclusion is that we're in big trouble, unless a miracle saves us.

Bankers created a new class of toxic waste known as "Collateral Debt Obligations" (CDOs) that smeared this instrument of doom across the planet and the regulatory bodies stood by and watched it happen. They made millions in bonuses and commissions from doing this, the clever little boys that they are.

Now times are tough, they're bleating to the governments to bail them out of their misery and help keep their yachts moored in Caribbean resorts.

Next time you're wondering why the supermarket bill looks big and your struggling to pay the mortgage, spare a thought for this group of hard working money changers, collectively known as a wunch of bankers.