Sally wonders whether bankers, who have been forgiven debts of billions of dollars, will now forgive the debts of small borrowers in difficulties, or whether they will play the part of the unforgiving servant in Jesus’ parable, Matthew 18:23-35. It seems from the report Sally links to that our Chancellor of the Exchequer is taking the part of the king in that parable, but I wonder if he will be able to enforce his will as firmly as the king did.
Gentle Wisdom
Thoughts on life from Peter Kirk
🙂 I suspect not Peter, it was all rather tongue in cheek! But it still would’t hurt them to consider it!!!
Well, to be honest, Sally, I wouldn’t really want Darling Alistair (as an accountant friend calls him) to inflict torture on even the most evil of bankers. But he does have ways of tightening the metaphorical thumbscrews on them which he could and might use.
Tongue-in-cheek or not, this post caught my attention. I know that some wealthier countries have forgiven the debts of some developing countries. I don’t know if our economies could survive forgiveness of mortgages and other loans which have gone bad, but it would be nice if a great deal more compassion could enter the financial system these days. Jesus’ parable is still good!
Wayne, I’m not necessarily suggesting complete forgiveness of bad debts, but more flexibility on rescheduling etc. At present banks can and do call in the debts of small businesses with no warning or even reasons given, thereby destroying the livelihoods of many, when in practice with patience and negotiation their debts probably would be repaid in the end. This is what our government is trying to control – in exchange for helping out the banks. I accept that opinions may differ on whether the government should enforce such things on banks, but I certainly think that responsible banks should consider the broader implications of cutting off lines of credit without notice – and that in fact a more lenient line probably makes business sense in the long term.
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