The Captain's Blog ™

What a mess. First the financial sector goes down the drain. Then the economy. Now, thanks to the ongoing expenses debacle, our politicians. What next?

The situation is all the more depressing, given that we were relying at least in part on the politicians to get us out of the financial mess. Gordon, remember, was going to save the world. You may also recall how so many politicians seemed all too happy to lay the blame for the financial crisis on our nation’s (and other nations’) bankers. Allegations included that bankers lived and worked within a self-serving culture. That they effectively regulated themselves (as people moved from roles within the financial sector to roles within the regulatory bodies). That they were greedy. That they made serious misjudgements. And so on.

Now, thanks to the publication of politicians’ expenses claims by the Telegraph, it turns out that many of our politicians appear to have been doing exactly the same thing. Sure, their salaries have been public. But behind the scenes, hidden from public scrutiny, they’ve been busily milking their expenses system for as much as they could get. Being greedy. Oh yes, and under a self-regulated system. It’s uncanny.

Of course, neither all bankers nor all politicians have behaved badly or with poor judgement. But the unprecedented steps being taken to address the expenses crisis serve only to confirm how upset it’s left us all feeling. And it seems clear that more politicians have yet to fall on their proverbial swords before this chapter closes.

To make matters worse, they’ve been seemingly falling over themselves in recent days to get in front of a camera or in the press. They want us to see them saying how wrong they’ve “always thought” the system was. And how it so clearly needed a radical shake up.

Stepping back, I’m rather concerned that we seem to have run out of people to look to for solutions. These politicians were supposed to be fixing things. Now we’ve caught them grabbing our cash.

If anyone has any spare moral compasses, could they please send a few to the House of Commons? And to the boardrooms of our banks?

Another story caught my eye today. A city trader was suspended from the City for at least two years. It’s reported that he went on an ill-advised trading binge after consuming too much alcohol during an extended lunch. He reportedly concealed his actions, but had actually traded his way out of the loss and back into a small profit by the next morning.

Seems rather ironic to me. You can drink too much, make a small profit and get fired. Or lose millions (or even billions) of pounds whilst sober and still take home a bonus (banking) or carry on governing the country. I can’t help feeling sorry for the trader.

Still, according to our politicians and the law, it’s wrong to tell lies. Isn’t it? Hang on a sec – my compass needle seems to be spinning…