Sofa Springs
I've been thinking about the credit crunch. Well, who hasn't? It struck me that a million pounds - even if it was in fifty pound notes - would need an awfully big sofa for it to fall down the back and be lost. And these banks are talking in terms of billions of pounds. I suppose banks just have even bigger sofas than the rest of us.
....
But then another thought crossed my mind. Serendipity means that I even know where it came from! There was this phrase, you see, that would carry my musing forward - follow the money. Listening to the radio while walking the dog I discovered that the phrase was made up by the screenwriters of 'All the President's Men' and put into the mouth of Deep Throat. However, let's just do that for a minute.
....
Banks have lost billions of pounds. Where's it gone if not down the back of their sofas? It's gone into someone else's pockets. In one or two cases they are even now chasing after some of the people who purloined it! Put it another way it's gone out there into the economy to turn the wheels of commerce. So why are we in a mess?
....
Because it was never there in the first place. It was made up money. It was 'credit' that existed nowhere except on a balance sheet that is now hopelessly out of balance.
....
So, how did we get into this mess?
....
Another thought came to me on another dog walk - and it was another movie connection.
....
In the film 'Being There' Peter Sellars played Chauncy Gardener (see it but don't expect 'The Pink Panther'). Well, that's not strictly true. He played Chance the gardener. He was a simple man who worked for someone recognised as a financial wizard looking after his flowers. When the employer died somehow - I forget exactly how - Chance was mistaken for a similar expert.
....
I remember the scene when in the presence of the President (of the United States) Chance was asked when he thought the economy would turn upwards. But they didn't actually say that. They asked when he thought there would be growth. Chance replied, in his simple, garden based, way that "In the spring there would be growth". The President and the others gathered around read what they wanted into his simple statement. That pronouncement alone was enough to turn everything around and guarantee the revival.
....
As I walk the dog at present I see the signs of growth and spring. Small purple crocus like flowers are out in the woods. Woodpeckers are banging their heads against tree trunks to tell others that this patch is mine. There's even an alder tree that as soon as it has shaken off the snow optimistically put out green shoots. And on Valentine's Day - when according to Shakespeare (A Midsummer's Night Dream) the birds start making their young - Alfie once more took up his position looking hopefully at the neighbour's eaves for an easy lunch.
....
Yes, there are signs of growth and the spring. But we're still in deep economic trouble. Because we don't stick to the basics. If you can't afford it, don't buy. You never get something for nothing.
And if the deal is too good to be true, then it probably isn't true after all.
....
Jesus said a lot about what's important in life. He said a lot about money too. If you read what he said you might just get the message that there are lots of things more important than money and pursing them may just bring you more lasting satisfaction than all the money in the world.
....
Three things are certain though. Those things are real, not made up and never get lost down the back of any sofas.