But this week's Friday Fuckwit goes to the Australian Government!
Currently Australian banks 'guarantee' bank deposits to the value of $20,000. This means that if you've been sensible and plonked your hard earned millions into a term deposit, only $20,000 of it is guaranteed safe, refundable . . . There has been a push given the current financial crisis to lift this guarantee to $100,000 however, the Rudd Government has decided in it's completely out of touch wisdom that to guarantee $20,000 more than meets the needs of Australian savers. (Tell that to all the clients we have who have pulled out of the equities market into Term Deposits).
At this point, I feel like singing Somewhere over the Rainbow or Bring in the clowns or Ego is Not a Dirty Word . . .
French banks have more than doubled the guarantee to 50,000 Euros, the equivalent of $68,000, Spain to 100,000 Euros but nope - good ol' Kev thinks that $20,000 is reasonable for bank secure deposits! How are banks to guarantee liquidity and avoid punters putting their hard earned readies under the bed in a biscuit tin?
Hell why do I care, I haven't got any savings over $20,000 and my cashcard was declined today!
Look out Thrifty . . Koala Knickers are on their way!
Koala knickers? Cool. I want to be reincarnated as a koala. They sleep something like 22 hours a day and nothing want's to eat them 'cos they taste of eucalyptus. Smooth.
ReplyDeleteThe Irish lot here guaranteed up to €100000 initially and I think they should have stopped there personally. That get's most ordinary savers into the safety net and the well heeled can fuck off and look after themselves as far as I'm concerned, they wouldn't give us joe-soaps a dig-out if we lost our dosh, so why should we guarantee their filthy lucre via our tax burden. In fact I hope the developers who made mega profits with the collusion of the government over the last year all suffer from a sudden outbreak of 'cockfallsoff-itis'.
Sorry, should have been 'over the last few years'. Bike broken, got up too early to beat the traffic, so brain no-worky good.
ReplyDeleteA$20,000 is a joke, isn't it, when several European countries have guaranteed everything with no limit whatever. Not that they could possibly refund it all, but the point is it boosts confidence that savings are safe.
ReplyDeleteThough as Thrifty says how about all the joe and joanna soaps who could do with an equally rapid and generous leg-up? They're mostly being left to sink in the mire while governments offer nothing but prole-friendly soundbites.
Yeah, glorious news, chocolate rations have doubled!
ReplyDeleteThat's a 1984 reference BTW, before you get too excited.
Tsup*!* I'm sure Rudd simply thought he was talking M's and not K's when he said the magic number was 20 ...
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a pittance of a sum. Why so low? Maybe they want you to keep your money under your mattress? I won't even comment on the financial crisis. I have decided to join the NRA instead.
ReplyDeleteMy 2p is safe... I keep it in my knickers!
ReplyDeleteKoala knickers? I think they should have Baino on them!
Good post Baino.
ReplyDeleteThe whole financial market is totally geared against us little people.
I am also fed up with this nonsense that it is the fault of the people who have borrowed the money rather than the banks for lending it. I am sure half of them would have had no problems if it was not for the extortionate interest rates they charge plus all the bloody ridiculous penalty fees for not having a direct debit or being late with a payment.
At the moment banks tend to treat people like vermin rather than clients and screw us every which way they can.
If we had a sensible interest rate for everyone and regulated the system properly rather than let these idiots play monopoly with real money we might get somewhere. I can't see that ever happening though because the same people benefit whether we suffer a credit crunch or not. CEOs get their £100 million every which way.
Here in Canada deposits up to $100,000 are guaranteed.
ReplyDeleteBear((( )))
Ooooh who's a cranky little Thriftypants tonight! Although most of the people with savings in bank are self funded retirees who don't like equity risk but $20,000? My credit card debt is close to that!Glad I'm not at work this week it's probably raining penises! Oh . .your brainy worky fine!
ReplyDeleteNick frankly, the issue is not great here but public panic is getting everyone in a spin We still have 2% growth and 4% unemployment and rely little on the USA . .it's 'heart ruling the head stuff' and the bloody media!
Der! Thrifty . don't eat chocolate any more because little kids pick the beans and have no idea what they're used for ... Paid $8 for 300g of Fair Trade coffee the other day! 1984 - try 2008
Bimbimbie, I had high hopes and still do. I watched Kerrie O'Brien try to corner KR into scaremongering on the 7:30 report last night and thought he handled himself well . .we would serve ourselves to remember that WE ARE NOT America (although the media would have us think otherwise)
Oh Ces, if you buy a gun I'll tear your arm off and hit you around the head with the wet end! And if I had any money . .it would probably go under the bed!
Mildadysa you have a point but Caveat Emptor . .people have been borrowing beyond their means and allowing no 'fat' for interest rate rises although this crisis was not foreseen by many. Sub Prime lending was totally wrong. But the overcapitalisation and lending between banks was sheer greed. Personally I'm furious that the executirvs of said banks and insurers are still pulling in the big bucks despite the failure of their institutions. My point: $20,000 in the bank is very little in today's terms and you think if you're money is in a bank it's guaranteed? Seriously, we have clients, retirees, who are thinking of stuffing the mattress.
Having said that, Australia's regulations have been our saving grace. One advantage of living in what many consider a 'nanny state'.
How a CEO of an insurance company or bank can be 'worth' more than the man running the nation, I will never know!
Bear, obviously Canada is falling in with the rest of the world and as a country with the same constitutional government as ours, it's good to see! (alas, we have too few people to 'fund' such things). Frankly, doesn't affect me either way. I'm lucky if I have $2 in the bank at the end of the month!
ces, good plan!
ReplyDelete"in a crash, you gotta have cash"
The Irish Times never printed my letter about the government guaranteeing people's homes. :-(
ReplyDeleteI have more sympathy for Earwax Kev than for our lot.
Koala knickers? I WANT SOME!!! I'm gobsmacked that Ireland seems to be doing something good for once, but then, as you say, it doesn't really affect us normal people with -75c in the bank! Oh, and with the value of my house that brings my net worth up to ....ooh... 10.75. Loaded, moi.
ReplyDeleteI think ours are guaranteed up to £50,000, but I feel sorry for people who have worked hard all their lives to earn a nest egg for retirement. Such people often don't take a state pension, so they aren't a drain on the government. To see their pensions disappear must be a real shock and quite terrifying, especially when you consider that the government will be broke and not able to cope with the state pensions at this rate.
ReplyDeleteSeems like it's a good time to buy gold and keep it under the floorboards, eh? Trouble is, you'd have to shave a bit off each time you wanted to go shopping.
Ian well at least you tried. Wouldn't surprise me if they receive bagsful of those types of letters and just put them in the corner. Well I must say at the moment (with great caution) we seem less affected than the rest of the world. Kev would have us believe due to regulation and good economic management, I tend to think we're probably going to be the last hit by the financial sunami!
ReplyDeleteEM: You're going to have a draw full of undies with ceramic money boxes on them! Im more depressed about the house value thing. Probably real estate won't pick up now for years and I'm living in my retirement plan!
Jay that's true, we have a lot of self funded retirees as clients. They're not what one would call rich but have been frugal and saved superannuation for retirement. Here you only qualify for an age pension via a means test. There's no paying into a pension during your working life other than super. Employers for the past 10 years have also had to contribute 9% of salary into your superannuation but yes, it's dwindling. Fortunately, pensioners by nature tend to have more stable portfolios so suffer less than the growth investors. Maybe I should get the old gold pan out and head up to Hill End!
Don't just kick the banks. The politicians have for years encouraged home ownership for reasons I still can't fathom, and pushed banks towards riskier loans. In the US lenders were no longer allowed to factor in predictors of poor credit-worthiness, because it wasn't PC enough. I could rant on, but I will spare all and sundry!
ReplyDeleteKev still believes we are in such a good position purely because of his efforts over the last 10 months.... BS. Pay some credit to the previous government for once, i'm sick of his smugness.
ReplyDeleteIf I promise not to buy another gun, will you visit me?
ReplyDeleteErnest maybe so, it's the "(insert country here) Dream" that we've come to expect as a given is no longer the case. Gen Y are thinking very differently. Spend $800,000 on a home that stops you doing 'stuff' or rent and have some spare cash. We're facing a different world I think. I can't speak for the US other than I know they dislike regulation. Fortunately, we're fairly regulated with some safeguards. All lenders over these past Halcyon years have been too free with money. (frankly I've been a sucker as well and am heavily in debt). Hopefully a more responsible fiscal policy will result. History repeating and all that. Feel free to rant!
ReplyDeleteRyan, tis true Kev inherited a strong economy but I still think he's maintaining the faith so to speak. I have my doubts about their fiscal credentials. Another 'recession we have to have' perhaps. Tough for a new government to fall into these times. Don't forget we had 8 interest rate rises under Howard due to spiralling consumerism and economic growth. Stop buying expensive utes!
Oh Ces, Ces, Ces . . ANOTHER gun . .you've got one?
I've come to understand the American 'right to bear arms' thing. Don't like it but hey, you draw beautifully, your wicked smaht and you're up front and funny, so as soon as I can get rid of this house (not likely in the current economic environment) I'll put Texas on the itinerary! At least you have nursing experience, might need it by the time I get there! "Scuse me Ces can you empty my colostomy bag . . "