Can anyone please explain to me why the British government hasn’t taken over Northern Rock? Seriously! With £24 BILLION loaned in the last few months plus another £18 BILLION to guarantee deposits, the taxpayers should own the assets not the shareholders. I know, nationalisation would be messy but as I’ve said before, this whole situation sets a dangerous precedent.
Seriously, what is the government going to do if another financial institutions gets into trouble? Is it going to prop up the bank at these same levels? Surely it can’t afford to. Not when you consider that the £42 BILLION investment in Northern Rock represents about 7% of the £587 BILLION the UK government planned to spend in 2007. That is more than the government planned to spend on national defence which in my estimation is of much greater importance. All of this makes me wonder, which of the services below will need to be scaled back to prop up this failing private enterprise?