Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Banking - the big rip off

Its not very often I read books on financial matters. In fact I don't think I had ever read one previous to a little book called 'At What Cost' by Robert Anderson. Michael got it from the library the other day and as it was small, with big text and cartoon pictures in it I thought I would have a read through.
It was pretty interesting I can tell you!
It gave a basic insight on the huge scam that we are all being conned by the big world bankers to ensure countries and the people are crippled by debt. Debt is of course the way we are are being controlled. We want things so we have to work, pay tax, borrow more, pay interest, work more, pay more etc. etc
I have often wondered why the Government can't just print more money for public projects or infrastructure and apparently they can but the foreign banks insist that the Governments borrow money off them at huge interest rates. Why do the Governments do this? Well basically because the banks own the Governments and they ensure that the leaders are bought and sold before they go on to 'lead' the country.
New Zealand was one of the last countries to have independent banking right up until the 1980's when the Labour Government came into power and sold off the small independent banks to the big boys such as ANZ and Westpack.
Up until this time New Zealand financed its own money lending and interest on loans was kept within the country to the benefit of everyone. Now it borrows from foreign banks and pays back obscene amounts of interest to them and of course we pay for that with increased food and petrol prices and high taxes. It just doesn't make sense.
But it is one of those situations where you feel a bit powerless. What can be done about it? I suppose awareness is a start.
A lot of British people come to New Zealand unaware of the taxation system here with its no free pay and high interest rates on mortgages and loans and then to discover that the reason for it is to pay off unnecessary interest to international banks is tragic.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

a very interesting post.

does NZ have anything like the UK's credit unions? credit unions are financial services organisations which are run by the community, for the community.

there are also LETS (local exchange trading scheme), whereby you offer say an hour's gardening, and get for instance an hour's babysitting. no money changes hands.

there's also freecycle and of course charity shops

these are all ways i think we can hit back at the big financial institutions and at corporates.

i didn't understand something you wrote, would you mind explaining it, please? "...unaware of the taxation system here with its no free pay..." what do you mean by free pay? thank you!

looking forward to reading more, now i've found you, i'm planning to move out to NZ in jan 2010

Joyce said...

Hello. New Zealand does still own one bank the Kiwi bank and it is doing a lot of advertising at the moment on the fact that it is NZ owned. No free pay means that you are taxed from your first dollar earned. In the UK you can earn up to a certain amount before tax but here even if you work 3 hours a week at $10 per hour you pay tax

Anonymous said...

thanks for that, i did wonder if your wording meant NZ has no personal tax allowance.

what a swizz! that really hits lower-earners badly

i will look-out for the kiwi bank, tho in the end, it probably doesn't matter what country the big bank is from :-)