{"id":184,"date":"2011-01-04T13:52:06","date_gmt":"2011-01-04T13:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/?p=184"},"modified":"2011-01-04T13:52:06","modified_gmt":"2011-01-04T13:52:06","slug":"the-apathy-of-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims","title":{"rendered":"The Apathy of Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Fat Cat Bonus<\/p><\/div>\n

Although there have been some populist backlash \u2013 the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the US, the electoral advance of the Far Right in Sweden \u2013 it\u2019s surprising how generally apathetic voters have been towards the bias in policies in response to the bursting of the credit bubble. The score so far has been Fat Cats 10, Employees and Small Businesses nil.Christopher Wood, the CLSA Asia-Pacific strategist, says he continues to be amazed \u201cat the extent to which ordinary people in the West have had austerity imposed on them in recent years, while the clearly politically influential banking interests continue to get bailed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has led to the view that the bankers have got away with it,\u201d but \u201csuch celebrations remain way too premature. The longer the populist reaction is delayed, the more aggressive it will be when it is finally manifested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately politicians on the radical Right and Left seem too stupid to capitalize on the absurd situation where the mega-rich and the merely wealthy have virtually unlimited access to nearly-free credit through their financial and corporate vehicles to safeguard their interests and even provide new, often government-guaranteed, speculative opportunities — while the less privileged pay for austerity through loss of jobs, a squeeze on their incomes and the bankruptcy of smaller businesses.<\/p>\n

But for how long will that be so? Is this a political unexploded bomb for investment markets?<\/p>\n

The renowned historian Niall Ferguson, author of the excellent book The Ascent of Money, argues in the magazine Foreign Policy that the three factors characteristic of the period of \u201clethal organized violence\u201d in the first half of the last century \u2013 ethnic disintegration, imperial decline and economic volatility \u2013 are once again prevalent in the world.<\/p>\n

Current conditions are reminiscent \u201cof the decade before the outbreak of World War II, when the Great Depression unleashed a wave of global political crises,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

We now have all three of the factors that, in combination, is \u201cthe most lethal in geopolitics.\u201d We have entered \u201cthe age of upheaval.\u201d<\/p>\n

CopyRight \u2013 OnTarget December 2010 by Martin Spring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although there have been some populist backlash \u2013 the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the US, the electoral advance of the Far Right in Sweden \u2013 it\u2019s surprising how generally apathetic voters have been towards the bias in policies in response to the bursting of the credit bubble. The score so far has been Fat Cats 10, Employees and Small Businesses nil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,8,9],"tags":[20,31],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-featured","category-news","tag-austerity","tag-credit","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"The Apathy of Victims - TheBizSense Views<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Apathy of Victims - TheBizSense Views\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although there have been some populist backlash \u2013 the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the US, the electoral advance of the Far Right in Sweden \u2013 it\u2019s surprising how generally apathetic voters have been towards the bias in policies in response to the bursting of the credit bubble. The score so far has been Fat Cats 10, Employees and Small Businesses nil.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TheBizSense Views\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheBizSense\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-01-04T13:52:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/files\/2011\/01\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"448\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bizadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bizadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bizadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e38449a7d67f896737e4431da086713\"},\"headline\":\"The Apathy of Victims\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-04T13:52:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims\"},\"wordCount\":360,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Austerity\",\"credit\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Featured\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims\",\"name\":\"The Apathy of Victims - TheBizSense Views\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-01-04T13:52:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e38449a7d67f896737e4431da086713\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/business\\\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/files\\\/2011\\\/01\\\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg\",\"width\":\"448\",\"height\":\"200\",\"caption\":\"The Fat Cat Bonus\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/\",\"name\":\"TheBizSense Views\",\"description\":\"Business Viewpoints and Forecasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0e38449a7d67f896737e4431da086713\",\"name\":\"bizadmin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.thebizsense.com\\\/views\\\/author\\\/bizadmin\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Apathy of Victims - TheBizSense Views","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Apathy of Victims - TheBizSense Views","og_description":"Although there have been some populist backlash \u2013 the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the US, the electoral advance of the Far Right in Sweden \u2013 it\u2019s surprising how generally apathetic voters have been towards the bias in policies in response to the bursting of the credit bubble. The score so far has been Fat Cats 10, Employees and Small Businesses nil.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims","og_site_name":"TheBizSense Views","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheBizSense","article_published_time":"2011-01-04T13:52:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":448,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/files\/2011\/01\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"bizadmin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bizadmin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims"},"author":{"name":"bizadmin","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/#\/schema\/person\/0e38449a7d67f896737e4431da086713"},"headline":"The Apathy of Victims","datePublished":"2011-01-04T13:52:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims"},"wordCount":360,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/files\/2011\/01\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg","keywords":["Austerity","credit"],"articleSection":["Business","Featured","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims","url":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims","name":"The Apathy of Victims - TheBizSense Views","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/files\/2011\/01\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg","datePublished":"2011-01-04T13:52:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/#\/schema\/person\/0e38449a7d67f896737e4431da086713"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/business\/the-apathy-of-victims#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/files\/2011\/01\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/files\/2011\/01\/fatcat-bonus.448.jpg","width":"448","height":"200","caption":"The Fat Cat Bonus"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/","name":"TheBizSense Views","description":"Business Viewpoints and Forecasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/#\/schema\/person\/0e38449a7d67f896737e4431da086713","name":"bizadmin","url":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/author\/bizadmin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebizsense.com\/views\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}