Huge cash movement from less well off to rich

[David Johnson]

I guess we are all used to the fact that the gap between the rich and the less well off has increased substantially over the last thirty years or so at least and that successive governments have done nothing much to change this.

What you don't read about in the media today though is that the period since the start of the recession has seen the biggest transfer of wealth from savers and the less well off to the rich ever seen in anyone's lifetime.

In the last few years, the Bank of England has used quantitative easing by purchasing assets from financial institutions. The goal of this policy is to increase the money supply rather than to decrease the interest rate, which cannot be decreased further. Hundreds of billions of pounds have been spent doing this with negligible effect on the amount of money being invested or passed to small business loans. Many hundreds of billions has been spent on quantitative easing.

In August 2012, the Bank of England issued a report stating that its quantitative easing policies had benefited mainly the wealthy. For example, the report said that the QE program had boosted the value of stocks and bonds by 26%, by about ?800 billion. About 40% of those gains went to the richest 5% of British households.

As interest rates have collapsed as a result of QE giving the banks billions, the result of QE has been that savings rates for pensioners or anybody else have also collapsed whilst the money that is being passed onto financial institutions has soared. And those without any savings but having their income pegged close to 0%, if they are lucky, are seeing their living standards plummet as the price of fuel, goods and services soars.

And our current government appears to be demanding years and years and years more of this. Great eh!

[cockneygeezer2009]

I agree with you David. The gap between rich and poor will always get bigger. Even if the rich were to pay more tax and their fair share of tax. The richest will still coin it in.

[David Johnson]

"Even if the rich were to pay more tax and their fair share of tax. The richest will still coin it in."

I agree with this.

However, quantitative easing is the most blatant example I can recall of a Labour and then Tory government (okay there are a few Liberal Dems going along for the ride) transferring huge amounts of money directly as a result of their economic policies from the less well off to the rich.

And for there being next to no media reports about it!

[Gentleman]

Due to our "democracy" where the rich directly fund the parties and our ever growing have nots/working poor who understandably don't vote as they have nothing to loose and certainly nothing to gain unlike the rich who the parties have to keep onside as that's where the cash and votes come from.

All parties use wealth redistribution except this usually spoken of as rich to poor (and is evil according to the right) but in reality is poor to rich.

I wonder if things would be better if parties where state funded and voting compulsory rather than only having to please a minority.

[Dave Wells]

We need a revolution to take back control - simples !

[Arginald Valleywater]

Or whingers can work harder (or try working - they might like it...), spend less on fags and booze, buy fewer scratch cards and hey presto you have some money, which you could blow me down save up or pay off some of your debts....simples. Arbeit Macht Frei etc etc...

[Gentleman]

Well one of the countries proudest achievements is the ever growing amount of working poor, you know the ones that the government like to set on those on benefits as they blame them for the exploitative wages their employers pay.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Problem is the living on benefits as a career move was promoted by Nu Labor (cue Hail to the Chief for VP Blair). They actually want a poor subclass with little or no education to use as cannon fodder while living in multi million pound mansions in Islington etc...there is no true working class anymore as many skilled factory workers such as those at Nissan, Glaxo and Pirelli, to name 3 large multinationals in my neck of the woods earn ?30k plus and wouldn't be seen dead in the local Labour Club.

[Gentleman]

Living on benefits a labour career move? I think you'll find the Tories started that one placing loads on the sick do they didn't get figured into unemployment figures.

[Essex Lad]

Dave Wells wrote:

> We need a revolution to take back control - simples!
>
Dave, when did "we" ever have power in the first place? And in any case who's "we"?