MONEY MATTERS

Here comes the great global fight for democracy. Who’s in charge, banks or elected governments? President Obama puts up his fists and every other democracy had better stand with him. He is taking a colossal risk, as Goldman Sachs and the rest thumb their noses at mere governments. Someone had to take on the bully power of money-and only America has the clout. The world’s economy depends on it, so Europe must stop pussy-footing and back his plans to dismantle “too big to fail” banks.
At the start of this bank-bonus week there was much head-shaking that no lessons had been learned from the crash, amid warnings that another crash was inevitable that could destroy everything. Only such an Armageddon seems likely to stop business as usual: the stock market soars, house prices rip away, bailed out banks smirk at government pleas for restraint, mergers are back and all’s wrong with the world. Government failure allows financiers to cream monopolistic rent off every transaction, mostly by churning pension funds at the loss of billions. The London stock exchange churns vast numbers of shares daily to the dealers’ short term benefit, while Warren Buffett makes higher profits sitting on his shares long term. You can bet the tax avoidance industry is cashing in.
This is the shameless culture of defiance that Obama is taking on. This is high noon, and the good guy fights without weapon of his Senate super-majority. If he loses, the bankers’ next crash may be non-survivable. Britain and the rest of the world must back him: no niggling over whose regulation is best.

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