The recession was obvious if you used common sense. (Kiron Reid)

The recession was obvious if you used common sense.

September 24, 2009 9:12 AM

I've been writing about the causes of the recession. It is a length essay. Here are some snippets. The full text is in the articles and downloads section.

The collapse of the debt and credit bubble was obvious six years ago to anyone who used common sense to think about it. Friends often ask me, when I say myself and Liberal Democrats warned for several years about the unsustainable nature of the economic boom, whether we really knew that the economy was highly unsustainable.

Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference, Bournemouth, 19 September 2004. Motion 'Personal Debt' (Summation: Dr. Vincent Cable MP):

"Some people have borrowed more than is sustainable or prudent, putting themselves at risk of severe financial hardship or bankruptcy."

"Many financial institutions are encouraging irresponsible borrowing without regard for the social consequences or the adverse effect on the economy."

It was not the Government that caused the 'credit crunch' or the recession but greedy people … but the Government, in the UK the Labour Government of Gordon Brown, has to take a share of responsibility for doing nothing to rein in excess when it was their duty to lead and say to people that the party could not go on indefinitely.

Possibly the worst thing about the Government's lack of action is the failure to get people off incapacity benefit and in to work while the economy was doing well

Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith has made new proposals to get people off benefits and into work recently; these are similar to those already mentioned and have merit. The other parties should not reject the ideas just because they come from a think tank headed by a former Conservative Party leader.

Continued questions.

How much have accountants and administrators made out of the collapse of leading institutions? Where has the money gone? How much have the administrators of Woolworths and the independent valuer of Bradford and Bingley plc. made?

the independent valuer [of Bradford and Bingley], PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), are being paid £4.8m .. £4.8 million to do a job that any 'A'-level Mathematics class of students could do.

What is the point of auditors? The conclusion. Auditors are pointless

Bank executives made huge losses for their shareholders; they let the companies down; why has the system failed that they have not been financially liable to their companies for their reckless or negligent behaviour for their part in the losses?

I still don't understand ..

How banks will make money?

Full text in the articles section ..