On Thursday evening there was Tower Hamlets Council Investment panel immediately followed by Pension committee.There was an interesting and important discussion about the state of the economy and our economic future.
Our pension scheme is currently worth just under £600 million. I asked the scheme professional advisors if equity investments are still “king” and whether the current economic recession is yet another painful short term market correction which we eventually come out of ...or is it the end of capitalism itself!
This provoked a lively debate during which the professional advisors were pretty adamant that this was a short term correction which we will come out of eventually.
One advisor did admit though that during the crisis most of the big banks were at one point very, very close to total collapse and if it was not for Government action to intervene and save them then this might have meant the end of capitalism as we now know it (or something like that). Scary or what?
To which I quipped “So Gordon Brown did save the World then”. This caused broad amusement all around and no agreement amongst all of the Committee members present I hasten to add – Conservative and Labour Councillors as well as Chief Officers. (Franks West GMB and myself were staff side reps).
A certain senior unnamed Councillor suggested that I would use this quote as a title for my blog...and I suppose - why not.
I am writing a full report for the trade union JCC which I will later post.
