Jennifer Cavanagh

Apologies (whoops Freudian slip there Mz. Mensch) for this train of thought rant which is rather disjointed and incomplete.

The arrogance of the uber rich though not worse than that of the financially challenged is abhorant for its disregard toward and impact on so many.

The phone-hacking scandal that has brought News of the World (NotW) to its knees has impacted countless lives.  From paying off cops and obviously, though at this point allegedly, politicians the hurt caused to those hacked and those laid off by News Corp only begins to scratch the surface.

The pain and irresponsibility behind this fiasco echoes the mismanagement inherent within the global banking mess, the BP spills and so on.  All fine examples of the nonsense behind the accumulation of such great wealth by such a small percentage. And we do “pay” these salaries with the ridiculous tax breaks granted the upper-echelons of the wealthy – proportionately they barely contribute to schools, highways, dustmen and yet we are suppose to be grateful when a charity ball is hosted  – I think not.  Pay some taxes and pay yourself and your workers a fair rate while providing a minimum amount of job security and the capitalist model may return to its glory days and cease its nose dive.

A good friend castigated the pie throwing protestor as have many.  The act is sophomoric yet top cops and politicians have been corrupted and hard-working employees are out of work during a financial downturn due to the actions of these wealthy, irresponsible criminals. To say that the pie-man “forced” the committee to apologise to Murdoch is ridiculous.  Rescuing a baby from a burning building; flying a plane to safety after equipment failure; protecting Rwandans during times of crisis – these are act of “immense bravery” not sitting in parliamentary questions for illegal activity. Shame on Louise Mensch for praising Murdoch’s “guts and leadership” and “immense courage” Shame on her, especially in light of her probing questions which received less media coverage than her damning apology.  This act does nothing but demonstrate the grovelling approach of elected officials towards the wealthy and powerful tycoons.

Back on point is the current reasoning behind the monetary inequities is that these few individuals are incredibly talented and take on enormous responsibility. We surely wouldn’t want our talented financial wizards to leave the City now would we?  Yet when things go wrong the top executives want to go on vacation, the bankers get bailed out and continued bonuses and the heads of NotW put 200 out of work and claim collective amnesia.  It is farcical though the impacts aren’t comical.  As things go terribly wrong it is the workers, tax-payers and communities that lose out while the economy takes a double-hit with so much is in the hands of so few and so many without the necessary cash to stimulate the economy.

So maybe less table-banging by Rupert and more so by those asking the questions will get answers if the aim is to hold to account those who are ultimately responsible.