Wealth is gushing up in Britain, not trickling down

Britain is now one of the most unequal countries in the world. A recent report on boardroom pay reveals that the average salary of chief executives of the top FTSE 100 companies is now a staggering £46,154 a week.

Some 75,000 individuals now own almost half the liquid assets in Britain, and they are on average 66 per cent richer than they were five years ago.

Gushing Up

OECD says gap between rich and poor in UK among widest in world

Gap Between Rich and Poor

North-South wealth divide is widest for 60 years

North - South Divide

The entire purpose of the EU was to 'enable' this kind of wealth redistribution.

We allowed 'businessmen' to convince us that only they can run countries....

So here we are today, the UK and the US are being 'squeezed' for more capital.

Weren't we warned by people who were derided as 'crack-pots' and 'lunatics' that this was happening? And our press and media did as they were 'told' and kept us ignorant.

Does the word 'treason' come to mind?

Treason is a pretty good word for it. But not in the minds of those getting richer or the government that enabled it, I'm sure. They plundered the country, hell the whole western world and started on the emerging economies of the rest.

If I was one of them I'd be feeling a little uncomfortable about those numbers right now. It's got to be better than 98 to 1, irate peasants with nothing left to lose vs. wealthy banker types with everything to lose...

reply to post by mythatsabigprobe


And slowly (very very very slowly) that's where all of this is headed. The 'have nots' will grow hungrier and eventually lay waste to the 'haves'.

Just as the stock market is cyclic, so is humanity. Every few hundred years, the process repeats itself despite twenty or so decades of supposed 'learning' not to do that again.

It would be very interesting - and not to mention possibly very enlightening - if this could be charted against the burgeoning use of back door privatisation policies throughout the likes of Private Finance Initiatives as well as deregulation. This seemingly 'Tory' system has actually been leapt upon by New Labour and is now inextricably entwined with the likes of schools and the National Health Service.

I #ing hate the London-centricism of this country.

I also despair at James Clappison's comments about New Labour failing the Northern poor. I know Cameron has sought to put distance between the Tories and the Policy Exchange group's recent report about many Northern towns being 'beyond saving' and that the answer should be to simply 'move South' but given the past ties between the Policy Exchange and the Tories as a 'feeder' group for ideas and policy, I think it was a case of Cameron being more unsettled at the timing of the report than the contents. After all, it's a not a good thing to be releasing whilst you're trying to shore-up Conservative support in very region that your mates are saying you might as well abandon.

reply to post by Merriman Weir




But it works for them

The North is where they go for their cannon-fodder, time and time again

keep 'em poor and desperate and they'll leap at the chance to join the forces, see the world and possibly save a bit of money

nothing's by accident