Masters of financial universe have learned nothing
Issued : Saturday 17 April, 2010
Statement by Jack Wall TD
More than a year after the world economy was thrown into chaos, by the so-called masters of the financial universe, one thing is clear. They have learned nothing.
Speaking about reform of Wall St President Obama recently said, 'Wall Street Titans still recklessly speculate with borrowed money. They stack the deck to earn millions, while families who did everything right can barely pay their bills or save for the future'.
After all the damage they have inflicted on the world economy. After all the jobs that have been lost. After all the billions that have been pumped in to banks by taxpayers, the lessons have not been learned. The bankers are back. The bonuses are back. The arrogance is back - if it ever went away.
Now is the time to rein in these giants of finance. To make finance the servant of the economy, and not the other way around.
The financial transaction tax is an old idea, but it has never been as relevant as it is today. Now is the time to bring in a tax which will curtail speculation, and compensate society for the cost of the bailouts.
As British Labour Party Prime Minister Gordon Brown, stated last November at the G-20 Finance Ministers Conference, "It cannot be acceptable that the benefits of success in this sector are reaped by the few buts the costs of its failure are borne by all of us"
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? This Fianna Faill/ Green Independent government have written a blank cheque for the banks. A bailout that has cost the taxpayer at least 73 billion. And yet the softly softly approach taken to the banks is in sharp contrast to the way that young unemployed have been treated.
In proposing such a tax on our Financial Institutions and adopting it as Party Policy LAbour will be joining with an ever increasing Global trend of National Parliaments and Governments who have introduced such a tax or who are lobbying for the introduction of such a tax. The principle of this tax, involves the levying of a tax of 0.05% on all financial products. While the rate would be low enough not to have a significant effect on longer term investment where the yield is higher, it would cut into the yields of speculators moving massive amounts of currency around the globe.
It is time for Ireland and its people to say enough is enough. No more cosy agreements in the Galway tent, no more the Golden circles. We must enforce regulations that will never see us having to pay from state coffers for the mistakes of others. In proposing this motion today, we must include those and indeed lobby those in the European Parliament to support such a Tobin Tax, there is a growing support for it. Of course, we will be met with the usual suspects telling us that such a tax will ruin the International money market. Because, lets face it, their approach has let us down badly. Delegates I propose this motion and ask you to support it.
