The German and French banks were also bailed out by the US who gave enormous amounts of money to foreign banks, completely secret to the US people.
My opinion is that GFC's are caused intentionally every so often as a way of shifting the wealth out of the hands of the workers and back into the hands of the wealthy. It is done by banks causing a GFC through sub prime mortgages and derivative trading, and then governments giving them all the taxpayers money to bail them out. Further they grind interest rates down and down forcing all that money from self funded retirees keep in safe investments out into the market or other risky assets. The property market and the share market are the two biggest assets that people invest in and these will collapse and the money changes hands. After the instigators think they have enough or cant get any more money then they attempt to restart the economy. The upshot is wages are forced down to working poverty levels and public debt grows out of control and a lot of people are working poor and in debt to the banks. After that the wealth has changed hands. For those holding Gold, well that is just made illegal to hold as it has been done in the past.
This is what is happening in Australia and I do remember Mr Abbott saying "wages must fall in real terms", and I do remember him saying something like "We are going to help people get the money in bank accounts out into investments and business" or words to that affect. Just recently the Treasurer has told everyone to spend and borrow, this when the economy is grinding down.
The RBA has warned of a property bubble, regulators are attempting to stop risky loans and all the while the RBA is lowering interest rates which directly fuels the property bubble. Banks are putting in place regulations for bail in and loss bonds and shares in their banks. Banks are taking on more liquidity in a feeble attempt at encouraging the population that they will be ok in any liquidity crises.
It either all of the above or the people running the banks, CB's and making policy are inept and incompetent and have no idea when they are entering dangerous times and dangerous levels of derivatives.
Just my 2 bobs worth mind you and only my opinion.
