Has bank bashing run its course?

michaels

Millipede doesn't think so:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25768906

But sorting comments in order of votes and the top 2 pages are all stating what a short-termist, popularist, economically unsound proposal this is. I think this is the first time I haven't seen anti-banker comments cheered to the rafters.

Generali

People get bored

Bankers have been rubbished for the last 6 years. Time to move on.

CLAPTON

Whilst bankers get such large bonuses and their practices don't really seem to improve, then the days of basking bankers will continue.

The larger issue is what the shape of reforms should be (if any of course)

michaels

I guess energy company bashing kept Ed in his job so it was time for a follow up. Presumably Sky will also be threatened quite strongly for political reasons.

Which other industires are both high profile enough and unpopular enough to have their cages rattled? Supermarkets? Mobile / landline phone companies? Bookies? Water companies? Bus/rail operating companies?

CLAPTON

michaels wrote: »

I guess energy company bashing kept Ed in his job so it was time for a follow up. Presumably Sky will also be threatened quite strongly for political reasons.

Which other industires are both high profile enough and unpopular enough to have their cages rattled? Supermarkets? Mobile / landline phone companies? Bookies? Water companies? Bus/rail operating companies?

clearly water companies and rail companies need some changes: mobile phones companies have been a disgrace (roaming charges, uncapped bills etc); supermarkets and horse meat

so yes lots of scope

ps. sorry I don't know anything about bookies

Masomnia

Looking through the comments I thought the same. HYS used to always be pretty pro-anything Labour said.

I think it's mainly that he's trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. There is competition, plenty of it.

Also I reckon people get fed up with the tinkering, and complaining about the coalition without really having any vision. To really get people on board he'd had have to announce something like re-nationalising the railways, or the utilities companies. Instead he just comes up with pants ideas that do nothing but make things worse and solve non-existence problems.

purch

Generali wrote: »

Bankers have been rubbished for the last 6 years. Time to move on.

I was a Banker for nearly 20 years, and I know that we are RUBBISH :eek:

Thrugelmir

michaels wrote: »

But sorting comments in order of votes and the top 2 pages are all stating what a short-termist, popularist, economically unsound proposal this is. I think this is the first time I haven't seen anti-banker comments cheered to the rafters.

A proposal with no substance that's the issue.

Bashing business isn't what the Uk needs right now.

Generali

michaels wrote: »

I guess energy company bashing kept Ed in his job so it was time for a follow up. Presumably Sky will also be threatened quite strongly for political reasons.

Which other industires are both high profile enough and unpopular enough to have their cages rattled? Supermarkets? Mobile / landline phone companies? Bookies? Water companies? Bus/rail operating companies?

This isn't about the morality of banks or indeed anything at all about banks directly. It's about finding companies with a large amount of free cash flow who can be heavily taxed as they can't bigger off somewhere else.

He can't tax the car industry heavily as otherwise all those northern Labour voters will lose their jobs. Gambling machines in bookmakers are a good target for more tax. For a 'poker machine' (like a fruit machine) licence in Sydney you'll pay $400,000.

He's already announced an effective tax on utilities. Then there'll doubtless be a Solidarity Tax on earnings over £50 or £100k. Some sort of Wealth Tax or tax on pensions wouldn't surprise me either.

The trouble is that Britain is mostly on the wrong side of the Laffer Curve so higher tax rates lead to lower tax take.

Loughton_Monkey

Carney was clever enough to get his retaliation in first, and 'rubbish' miliband's 'cunning plan' before he even mentioned it officially.

To me, the reform I avidly agree with is to seperate the "casino" end of banks from the normal branch retail part. What's happened to this one? Seems to have stalled.

Back to Miliband's idea, does he not understand that 90% of us don't consider that we bank with 'Barclays', or 'Lloyds', in Loughton but we consider we bank online. Sell my local Barclays "branch" to the Branson boy, or any other 'NuBank', and I'll just have to travel further if I need to talk to a 'spotty youth' in person [a very rare event because you get more sense talking on the phone to someone at head office, or even someone down the pub].

So why should I welcome that? Branches are dead. All we need is a cash machine and a cheque paying in machine. My prime bank is First Direct. They don't have branches.

If Miliband wants competition, let him talk to his friends at the Co-op and offer us a 5% savings account online. That would be competition I would use!

PS: Other stupid ideas from Miliband are available.

Thrugelmir

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

To me, the reform I avidly agree with is to seperate the "casino" end of banks from the normal branch retail part. What's happened to this one? Seems to have stalled.

Takes time to structure. HSBC are looking to split the UK retail arm away separately.