Douglas Carswell's Blog

Did the bank bailouts work?

"The cost of insuring RBS bonds is now higher than before the taxpayer was forced to step in and rescue the bank in October 2008", according to today's Telegraph.

But apart from that, how have the bank bailouts turned out? 

A great many of the expert commentator and BBC banking gurus, who cheered on each bailout, turn out to have been talking dross.  Piling a mountain of new debt on top of the old turns out not to have solved anything, merely postponed crunch time. 

When the looming credit event happens, ponder how much better off we'd be if since 2008 we'd not throw many, many good billions after the bad. 

It’s not only Greek government IOUs that are starting to look pretty busted, but the orthodox "wisdom" of a great many central bankers.

UPDATE:  Apparently, posts on of my readers, we should support the bank bailouts because they will "make a mountain of profit for the exchequer".

That is precisely the argument used to justify bailing out certain industries during the 1960s and 1970s.  They would earn the taxpayer money, we were told.

I never happened then.  Bailed out banks don't seem to be earning the public shareholder much money now.  Just further demands for another round of bailouts.

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