As governments worldwide compete with each other to borrow ever greater amounts of our cash, we should all be aware that the very people borrowing the money are the ones who will in a short time be putting up our taxes. What goes up must come down and as the billions of whatever currency you fancy (except the Zimbabwe Dollar, in which case we could say zillions or multi-killions or something equally perverse) are borrowed and printed – we should all be careful and see them as they really are – the new loan sharks.

If you can’t afford something – don’t borrow money – end of story. No matter how low interest rates go – they will only serve to lengthen the period of your agony and fears over your financial future. The Government loan sharks act as if they are your saviour (just like the ones that prey on those who are desparate) – don’t worry guys – no need to do something as horrible as sacrifice that holiday or not buy that new gizmo or satellite subscription – just watch us on one of these many TVs you poor people have out there and we will organise things so you can borrow more, or delay your payments – instead of buy now  pay later we can offer you a discount now and pay double later and even later. Let’s live for now and let others worry about next year and the year after.

Governments have become the new loan sharks. Desparate not to upset any of us poor little mortals with such challenges as having to pay our own way in the world – the loan shark political elite who cannot solve Aids, Cancer and Alzheimer’s, well – that would mean doing difficult things like being determined to solve these problems with effort and hard work – think they are clever and can solve our Credit Disease by simply ignoring what has happened in the past and giving us more of what they think we need and what got is into this problem in the first place – easy money.

Whatever happened to these nice guys on TV that showed us how to get out of debt and budget our expenses and even encouraged us to save for our future?  Oh, they now work for the Government – that makes sense.

No need to worry about those millions of young people about to leave school and university who will inherit this mess, just sign here and we will look after you. We will buy the banks and mortgage companies so that they cannot do these nasty things like take away the property that you should not be in because those nasty Wall Street execs gave you a 125% “housing loan”. It really doesn’t matter anymore – because these new loan sharks have long put aside those silly values like – thrift, saving, living within your means and family budget control. We had the good times – now let’s have the bad times – only trust us – they won’t be that bad. In fact let’s try and avoid them – we could buy the car makers so you won’t lose your job as an overpaid assembly line car washer, we could also buy the oil companies so we can stop all that noisy drilling out there. Let’s not stop there – we will buy the Medical Companies so you can get free stress relief from all this worry and we’ll buy the Hotels up so we can give you some welcome relaxation time when you come out of rehab after we bought the Breweries. We will do whatever it takes to get you to vote for us.

So we surrendered manufacturing and don’t make things anymore – so what – you have all those Public Sector saviours like “Director of Specialist & Direct Delivery Services AND Director of Universal and Prevention Services” both Local Government positions are advertised today with salaries of 98,000 pounds pa and of course the Local Government Management have retained the services of an expensive Recruitment Consultant to help, because they themselves would not know a do do from a bo bo at the interview. I bet there are wonderful pension benefits with these “jobs” as well.  Could they perhaps save some money here – don’t be silly, these jobs are vital to somebody – but not us.  Central Government have given us a billion pounds of tomorrow’s savings and by jings we are going to spend it all before they change their minds!

So there we are – if you have over-borrowed and are over-paid,  you are one of us and we will look after you.  If you can do a job that does not create wealth – then your on our side. Let us climb that mountain together and put those who cannot manage properly at the front of our expedition – you see when you don’t know where your going – any road will take you there.  Let tomorrow take care of itself as we will be too busy looking for somewhere to hide.

How about Zimbabwe – I hear there are plenty of sharks there?

As Governments around the world pretend that they have found a cure for our Credit Illness – have we been cured of this blight? Have we suddenly all changed into the prudent and thrifty people we should be?  Whilst we have all been re-educated on Global Warming (the UK must have missed Global Warming this summer!) and how we must change our light bulbs and ensure the plastics are kept separate from the newsprint – have we changed our financial habits that have led us into this financial mess? In fact describing it as a mess may be something of an understatement.

No worries – the Governments are in charge – they are all rushing to print and borrow money – loads of the stuff – the same stuff that was so scarce a few months ago that the policeman’s pay deal couldn’t be honoured and the NHS refused to treat sick patients because of a committee called NICE. As mega-size tankers full of cash compete to dump taxpayers earnings down the drain (does anyone know where all this cash is going?) we are told that everything possible will be done to ensure the security of our banking systems.  Everything Possible – that depends on who is in charge of the possible! I don’t think so – the bill is coming and when we see it we won’t like the possibilities that they chose.

Have the Governments addressed the causes of our Credit Illness? Are there new rules in place to prevent greedy Bankers from lending to high-risk Borrowers? Have Borrowers learned anything from their illness? TV Advertising still continues to encourage people to take out loans they cannot afford – they tell people to release the equity in their homes so that they can take that holiday they did not earn! In small type on the screen appears a warning that they may lose their home if they don’t keep up the payments – but who cares – the catchy 60’s pop tune makes it so attractive to those who are the most vulnerable amongst us. At a stroke, Governments will not hesitate to legislate on anti-smoking laws or ant-fox hunting legislation. But nothing is done to educate the TV public on how to be prudent and thrifty. Governments prefer silly causes to sound values – but we better learn about prudence and thrift – because therein – lies our cure.

Anyone in business will tell you that getting out of a mess will take longer than getting into it – but not the politicians – borrow a few hundred billion and hey presto we can all get back to spending too much again! The public need to know exactly what we all need to do in order to keep our economies healthy, progressive and in good condition. We need to be made to understand the harsh realities of our financial over-indulgence.  Schools need to teach sound business principles – e.g. how to run a profitable business – understanding the basics of Cash Flows and using existing assets better. How to reduce financial waste – or time waste – all waste – not just environmental waste. Young people need to have an understanding of how markets work well and how they get ill. They need mentoring on how to make the most of their talents. How to uplift themselves in order to be better – and more positive about the future. There needs to be a School Exam / Diploma for every student – that assures us that students leaving full-time education understand the basic principles of a well run business and the basic principles of self-development. At least that way we will spot those who can’t tell a raffle from a good business proposition!

Much of the Credit Illness comes from a lack of education and ignorance about how our market economies really work. It is made worst by people like Gordon Brown who distort peoples beliefs by his over spending and high tax regime.  Free Markets suffer when Governments take control – history proves that when Governments think they know best – that is when things go badly wrong. Time will tell just how bad Gordon Browns wasteful spending has been – like all Socialist causes – it will end in tears.

Today our Governments are getting bigger instead of smaller – they are have an increasing influence on our future financial decisions. They are trying to do things that they cannot do well – and the free market is turning against them. Things will get worse before they get better. It has taken many years for our Credit Illness to take hold – it will take even longer for the free market to cure it.

The world is more bereft of leadership than ever before. Without Vision the People will Perish says the Bible. I have enough faith in the free markets to believe that we can avoid being perished – but leadership has never before been more needed than it is today.

We have not even started looking for cures – but rather we assume that Governments know best. We do so at our peril – we should assume that our Credit Illness is just that – an Illness – we need to start taking our medicine, change our bad habits – learn healthier ones and be prepared for a bumpy ride.

The collapse of confidence in the financial services industry has underlined the glaring absence of a lack of vision by company leaders. Making money is not a vision – at least for the employees – nor is it a vision for shareholders, now that their investments like Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley lie in tatters. Vision in business is not something that can come from exploiting the wrong things. Taking people’s debt and cutting them up into pieces for sale to others in the hope that prices will always go up – is gambling – and nothing less. The numerous types of derivatives and financial products that have been born out of the death of the stockbroker and issuing of paper share certificates thanks to electronic technology,  demonstrates how “progress can be confused with motion”. 

Leading employees is about creating a vision that pulls them together, that gives them a worthwhile cause – something that binds them to do extraordinary things. The Bible teaches us that “Where there is no vision the people perish” (Proverbs 29 v 18). But what does it teach the CEO’s that have taken their employees down the road of money making – alone? This statement may come from a religious book (The Bible) but it should be thought about by all CEO’s as the first part of their Management Strategy. Leading people is not about being top dog – it is about creating an environement where being part of a vision means a lot individually and collectively. A vision – in a place that is optomistic, that serves a purpose, that is easy to adopt and provides satisfaction to those involved.

I have come across many CEO’s who are exceptionally kind / ruthless / bright / clever and subject matter experts in the key parts of their business. I am sure that many of the CEO’s of the Financial Companies and Banks that have run into trouble over the past year or so had many or even all of these attributes. But did they lack vision? Did they provide true leadership that comes from employees following them rather than motivating them on their financial results alone?

You see a vision is not about this month, this quarter or even this year of “Performance” It is not measured only  by time, but rather by how employees feel about working for the company, it is about how they regard their CEO when they discuss their day at work – after work.

When CEO’s learn to provide a vision for their employees and successfully get each of them to do their bit towards achieving that vision then making money / profits become easier – it is funny – but in my expereince, those CEO’s who successfully achieve a working vision with their people – usually are very successful financially. It is no accident – you may not hear much about the importance of vision from the financial community, whose overly anxious managers are driven by Business Models that have achieved financial success in the past. The problem is that the finanical community for the most part is focussed on an exit even before the project has begun. Vision is not an exit – although it can be part of one- it is a belief by a group of people – led by someone who understands that profits will follow outstanding leadership – just as surely as extraordinary people start life as ordinary as the rest of us. 

If CEO’s focus on creating the vision first – one that binds people together – then the chances of people perishing will be reduced. If they ignore vision – then surely the people will perish.