How It Went Down

A decade of growth and decadent boom  People didn't mention the debt elephant in the room It was the charge of the bull Many pockets were full The search for a higher return was the motivational pull.  But whilst stocks and shares rocked and flared Investors held their breath in shock and fear They seemed to forget that markets go up and markets go down Because as long as uncertainty shows up, the cycle goes round But to be fair the times were good, and returns seemed sure The earnings of many corporations, continued to soar The zeitgeist was the age of prosperity, profit and greed It wasn't the time to question sustainability or question the need Many financial advisers advised that it was the right way to go "You should take advantage now, while all these rates of interest are low" So many consumers took out mortgages, that they just couldn't afford Including the 'sub prime', with bad credit, and of course the poor But let's not forget, that the consumer went along, and played ball Creatures of habit responding to the mating call, that beckoned us all Deposits levels came down, loan-to-value went up House prices bubbled and brimmed and we all drank from the cup. Now the banks merged all of these mortgages together in lumps Sold them as safe bets to investors, who were taken for chumps Then the US housing market crashed Now comes the the consequences Unsurprisingly mortgage repayments started to slump So called safe investments soon became worthless as junk Families who had homes repossessed now facing the funk Securitisation of mortgages now seemed so dumb Regulators appeared powerless, dozing and numb Lehman Brothers collapsed. America sneezed The world became infected. Financial markets siezed Governments and Central Banks now stepped into the fray To prop up a system, that should have been reconfigured that day Many banks were bailed; too big to fail.  The bankers who were at the wheel, too big to jail. The humble tax payer was forced to post the cash And many years later many banks still owe this cash So the world was saved but here's the 'but' The pubic purse was utilised, to escape the rut  Now all society must pay the price; take a hit to the gut And suffer the pain, of historic public services cuts.  Mike Concise © 2015 www.mikeconcise.com