Bailouts, bonuses and austerity
A collection of recent drawings by Dave Miller, exploring the theme of 'Bailouts, Bonuses and Austerity'.
1. Bonuses are back!
"A late-night bar in the heart of the Square Mile, and a group of three sharp- suited men are handed their £400 drinks bill. 'I'll pay by card,' one informs the waitress. 'I use cash as toilet paper.'
Down the road at the exclusive Coq D'Argent restaurant and the waiters can hardly open the champagne fast enough to keep up with demand. 'I'm completely focused on making money,' announces one banker as he sips on a cocktail at the bar. Another loudly boasts: 'One more bonus and I'm out of here - I am expecting something big.'
Meanwhile, a group of bankers heads from Canary Wharf to a nearby lap- dancing club. They're in a competitive mood, and in the space of an hour one blows £1,000 on drinks and private dances. 'Don't worry,' he tells a scantily clad woman as he settles the bill, 'I earn nine grand a week.'
While the Chancellor would have the nation believe that the big five banks really meant it when they promised to rein in pay and excessive bonuses, the word on the street is very different. In fact all the talk is of 'BAB'. It stands for 'Bonuses Are Back' and underpins the Bacchanalian display that unfolds across London's financial district on a Thursday and Friday night. "
(December 2009)
2. casino (version 1)
"Casino banking" is a derogatory term often used to describe the irresponsible and risky behaviour of banks, which has been a major cause of the current financial crisis. Banks have been accused of engaging in risky speculation, for short term gains, thinking only of their own compensation, at the expense of their customers. They appear unconcerned about crashing the system, knowing they get bailed out by governments when things go wrong.
To prevent another collapse, many want the casino, speculative part of banking to be split off from the utility, money-transacting and lending part of banking. So far attempts to make these changes have been bitterly opposed by the financial sector.
This drawing is a view of the City of London, which I see most days as I walk to work. I see the City traders out drinking in the evenings, celebrating their short term gains, unconcerned that the public has bailed them out. They carry on their wild speculating. Nothing has changed, the party is still in full swing.
I did a few versions of this drawing, and I selected the best two. This is the darker version, maybe a bit of a manga style going on.
(May 2010)
3. Gucci
Recently I've been making drawings exploring the theme of "austerity". It's become a buzz word recently, especially as we're going through UK elections. Politicians warn that government debt is so high that "austerity" measures will have to be imposed, essential for the country to pay back its debts. If not - then we are all doomed, so they say. This means cutbacks - closing schools, slashing healthcare budgets, unemployment - and it's going to be severe. We're all in it together.
But it's not quite black and white, and there are double-standards at work here. It's not austerity for everyone is it? Those bailed out by the public continue to live at the same standard as before. I see this every day. In fact, for many people the financial crash will have little or no effect. For the wives of bankers still shop at Gucci. The drawing contrasts the decadence and privilege of rich wives, spending common people's money in posh shops (May 2010).
4. Aspiration
On 20 Oct 2009, a public debate took place at St Paul's Cathedral, London. The subject was ethics, and what role morality should play in the marketplace.
Lord Griffiths, the vice chaiman of US investment Bank Goldman Sachs, was one of the guest speakers. During his speech he dismissed criticism of the vast gap between society's poorest and best off: "We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieve greater prosperity and opportunity for all".
Roughly translated, this means he believes that inequality gives us something to aspire to.
(December 2009)
5. Celebrate
The big banks are making big money again, thanks to government assistance and bailouts. While the rest of us will be repaying this money for generations, in this drawing we see some lucky recipients of public largesse celebrating (November 2009).
6. Bingo
People playing bingo in a working men's club. Memories of the 1970's - recessions, Trade Unions, and worker solidarity (November 2009).
7. Doing God's work
This drawing is inspired by the recent interview with Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, the giant US Investment Bank. Goldman's reputation in the US is toxic. Recently Rolling Stone magazine ran a story that described Goldman as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money". Despite this Blankfein believes he is doing 'God's work' (January 2010).
8. Still no inquiry
"We know where the money came from but we do not know if it was necessary, nor who now has it. We know only that, a year on, Britain is experiencing a worse recession than any comparable country. The lack of accountability, the sheer lack of curiosity from the political community, is amazing.
The nearest to an explanation came from the man responsible, Alistair Darling, on Michael Cockerell's recent BBC documentary on the Treasury. If he had not acted in October 2008 as he did, Darling asserted, "the bank doors couldn't have opened, cash machines wouldn't have functioned. All over the world people wouldn't have got money". Who says?" (ref: Simon Jenkins, Guardian) (March 2010)
9. Charitable giving
"What do you do now you've got all the toys? You've already got all the houses, yachts, cars and jets you can use, so what comes next is charity. It's not just the joy of giving, but opportunities to meet celebrities."
"What about paying higher taxes instead?"
"Absolutely not. That's just the state reaching into your pocket. That's not giving." said a man growing red-faced at the thought. A tall and elegant woman in pearls said giving is an act of spontaneous generosity that binds people together. Forcing people to pay is quite different in spirit.
"Philanthropy has become another way of exerting power and control" [extracts from the book 'Just Rewards', Polly Toynbee] (December 2009).
10. Make an offer
Bailed-out bankers splash their cash on a luxury apartment in Chelsea (February 2010).
11. Nail biting stuff
"The bankers lied. And Darling, a mere puppet on their string, knows it. Britain has paid a horrific price for allowing the City to dictate credit policy. Yet there is no inquiry, no questioning, only silence." Alistair Darling bites his nails. (ref: Simon Jenkins, Guardian March 2010)
12. The training course
"We're off on a training course. It's a day out from the office and a bit of a treat". Sheila always looked on the bright side. The subject of the course was "preparing for change" and they all knew about the impending layoffs (December 2007).
13. Privileged
Over the past 20 years, social mobility has declined in the UK.
There are very few ways of succeeding nowadays in the UK - basically you have a choice of working in the City or in Law, or some variant of those. And as the opportunities narrow, those who are already well-positioned or well-advantaged are able to play the game even more and even better to their advantage.
For example, playing the education game ...in the UK private school gives children far better opportunities in life, far better education as the government statistics show, and also connections to other privileged people. Connected for life. You are basically paying for privilege, for a passport to a successful life, and you have to be wealthy to afford this (March 2010).
14. Casino (version 2)
"Casino banking" is a derogatory term often used to describe the irresponsible and risky behaviour of banks, which has been a major cause of the current financial crisis. Banks have been accused of engaging in risky speculation, for short term gains, thinking only of their own compensation, at the expense of their customers. They appear unconcerned about crashing the system, knowing they get bailed out by governments when things go wrong.
To prevent another collapse, many want the casino, speculative part of banking to be split off from the utility, money-transacting and lending part of banking. So far attempts to make these changes have been bitterly opposed by the financial sector.
This drawing is a view of the City of London, which I see most days as I walk to work. I see the City traders out drinking in the evenings, celebrating their short term gains, unconcerned that the public has bailed them out. They carry on their wild speculating. Nothing has changed, the party is still in full swing.
I did a few versions of this drawing, and I selected the best two. This is a brighter, more colourful version (May 2010).
15. Socially useless
Hospital cleaners are worth more to society than City bankers, according to new research from think-tank the New Economics Foundation (NEF).
New research methodology devised by NEF to calculate the social value of different jobs has concluded that hospital cleaners create more than £10 in value for every £1 they receive in pay. Meanwhile "elite City bankers" - those who earn over £500,000 - destroy £7 of value for every £1 they create.
"This report is not about targeting individuals in highly paid jobs. Neither is it simply suggesting that people in low-paid jobs should be paid more. The point we are making is more fundamental - there should be a relationship between what we are paid and the value our work generates for society. We've found a way to calculate that."
She added: "Pay levels often don't reflect the true value that is being created. As a society, we need a pay structure which rewards those jobs that create most societal benefit, rather than those that generate profits at the expense of society and the environment." (December 2009).
16. Strip for the bankers
"Back in London and far less concerned about keeping a low profile are visitors to Majingos lap- dancing club in Canary Wharf, home to Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, HSBC and Barclays. A favourite with bankers entertaining clients, manager David Tunmer said takings had plummeted in the immediate aftermath of the Lehmans collapse but added: 'The bankers are coming back in and feeling a lot more comfortable about spending their money. 'Some nights they are going through our top-end champagne like water. We even get them mixing expensive Hennessy XO cognac with Coca-Cola rather than bothering savouring the brandy. It is just bravado and one-up-manship really.
'If we have one group of bankers on a £500 table and others from a different bank are on a £300 table, the ones on the cheaper table start trying to outdo their rivals by buying magnums of champagne. The average spend in a night by the bankers is about £250 each but we have had guys spend up to £10,000.'
A lap-dancer named Chloe says: 'It is just about getting lucky with the right guy. I was with a banker who was spending so much money that I was really worried what his reaction would be when he got the bill. It was over £1,000 but he told me he earned £9,000-a-week and could easily afford it. He thanked me and said we must do it again some time soon." [ref: Daily Mail, 16 October 2009 (December 2010)
17. Trickle down hope
My drawing contrasts the success of the Investment Bankers, who've recently been bailed out (by the public) for the second time - with the much-promised (but never arriving) trickle-down financial benefits for everyone else.
A group of self-satisfied Bankers are seen on their way to their annual Christmas party, swaggering and smirking in their tuxedos. Meanwhile Sally worries about paying the rent this month, and how she can afford presents for the kids this Christmas. The only trickle-down she knows is the rain that falls on her head.
Trickle-down does not work. The gap between the rich and the poor has continued to increase and we still have between 17 and 27 per cent of the people in Britain living in relative poverty (November 2009).
18. The us dollar and gold
As western society collapses around us, I think we're all starting to ask questions about what's going on and how we got here.
Understanding how the US dollar has been separated from real value (gold) is key to understanding the current financial situation (mess). This goes to the heart of the way the western economic system is run. It's a controversial subject, and quite complicated, so this drawing tries to explain things in a simple accessible way (February 2010).
19. Wealth transfer explained
My attempt to graphically explain the wealth/economics/ credit crisis. Or at least I hope it explains part of it - from a UK perspective. I've wanted for ages to produce something simple, accessible that condenses things so that everyone can understand. If it makes people think about the world they live in, and the injustices going on around them, then I'm happy! (December 2010).
20. Where did the money go?
'Too big to fail' - bailing out the big banks with public money - has taken a terrible toll on the UK economy.
Yet the policy was - and still is - backed by all three main political parties.
So why does no-one even question if it was the right thing to do? (March 2010)
