So I finally got around to watching Inside Job. It is a documentary about the inner workings, and the decades long build up, to the world financial crisis of 2008. Obviously an event that is still affecting us today.
Although the story focuses primarily on the actions of Wall Street and U.S. policy makers, it actually opens up in picturesque Iceland. See Iceland deregulated their banks, that’s where our story begins. The banks, left to their own devices they quickly racked up debt to the level of more than 40 billion euros. Then, quicker than you can say “profit,” the whole thing crumbled. The currency of Iceland, the króna, lost more than half its value. People across Europe lost significant savings that had been held with the Iceland bank Landsbanki and their subsidiary Icesave. Unemployment had tripled within Iceland.
What caught my eye however is the fact that months before a consulting firm perused the bank books merely a few months before the collapse… and found nothing wrong. In fact their report was enough to earn these banks as ‘AAA’ investment opportunities, the most secure investment rating available.
That consulting company was KPMG.
Now, if you’ve been following the budget situation in Toronto, that name might seem familiar. Ah, yes, the same firm, KPMG, is deciding what should and should not be cut from the Toronto budget.
Pardon me, but why the hell are we taking advice from a company that couldn’t recognize a bank clusterfuck that was about to bring a country’s economy to its knees?
They have also been accused of fraud, assisting tax evasion, and bribery. But hey! They are also one of the top employers in Toronto!
How the hell is that not a conflict of interest? The people claiming what should, can and can’t be cut from the budget are possibly financially motivated. Then even if a team was carefully selected from employees who live outside the Toronto area; KPMG still pays taxes in Toronto and could be affected by raising rates! *facepalm* *facepalm* *facepalm*
This is not acceptable behaviour from so-called professionals, and Toronto City Hall continues to look more and more like a three-ring circus.
