Let me see if I have this right.

The total assets controlled by the Financial Sector is 3.5 times the GDP. Does this mean that the banks have loans on their books of 3.5 times the GDP. This means that our money supply is 3.5 times GDP. If the spread of interest on money is say 2% then it means as a society we are being charged 7% of GDP for the use of money.

It this is correct this seems an extraordinarily expensive way to provide a money supply. Surely in this day and age we can run a money system for less than 1% of the total transaction value.

Surely too we do not need that much money in circulation for commercial transactions.

I would have thought that an efficient money system would have a fraction of the GDP for transaction purposes if the money circulated rapidly.

It would be interesting to see these ratios and percentages over the past 50 years.

If i am remembering correctly the big 4 banks did not take over bankwest, st george, etc until after the govt announced the deposit guarantee. So obviously they did not really need it, but wanted to fund their expansion plans more cheaply/easily. It would have been better to merge bankwest, st george together with say suncorp and or bank of QLD/bendigo to produce a fifth pillar.

We do have some savings in the industry super funds but that money has done us little good as the fund managers only ever gamble it on the stock market which did help to create our own big market bubble. This also lead to poor corporate governance as those same fund managers sat on their positions not being active participants in general meetings as many small investors are. Perhaps some shares to a certain value of your super could be put into shares of your employer, then all employees could participate in general meetings and bring about better transparency/corporate governance, etc.

Isn't trading in carbon default swaps, derivative forestry futures, shares in timbercorp, great southern, storm finance, etc, just what started the whole GFC thing in the first place? Won't it be starting the next boom/GFC cycle?

Haven't there been property developers advertising no deposit, legals, stamp duty or worries home and mortgage packages? Together with major retailers advertising a houseful of furniture, white goods, etc, no deposit,or payments for up to 5 years? As unemployment worsens over the next year won't some of these dinks go under.

goodbye capitalism, hello corporatism.