Why do we need bankers?

[Michael22]

I was wondering if someone who considers themselves right wing or neo liberal could explain why we need bankers?

Beyond accountants and financial advisors what do we need "city boys" and investment bankers for? And why are they allowed to take telephone number bonuses and above average incomes for doing a job that does not require anymore intelligence or work than any other profession such as being a doctor or engineer for example? Why is an accountant entitled to a higher salary than a doctor? How is this consistent with free market principles or the conservative idea of social justice? Why is it not illegal?

Is it not simply crony capitalism and if you support it and are consistent you should also be consistent and campaign for a change in legislation to make stealing in general legal because it is inconsistent to support bankers being able to syphon wealth from the population for nothing and not allow others to steal.

[liberlict]

Firstly, don't hate people that make a lot of money. It's immature at best and petty jealousy at worst. An investment bankers's job is to raise capital and they risk a lot when they handle capital because if they do their job wrong huge companies go bankrupt. Secondly, investment bankers make a lot of money because companies need them to raise capital, governments need them to get advice and other stuff, and consumers need them to maximize their pension funds. City boys create liquidity. Would you like to get a mortgage at a nice price? If so, go to an investment banker and they will use their expertise and analyze all the data to get the best price for your situation. If they were not here you wouldn't get a mortgage, it's as simple as that. They are not necessarily ''smarter' than others, but they are more in demand at the moment.

[Griswald]

what do we need "city boys" and investment bankers for?
That's up to each person to decide for herself. Some people don't use banks at all.


And why are they allowed to take telephone number bonuses and above average incomes for doing a job that does not require anymore intelligence or work than any other profession such as being a doctor or engineer for example?
A worker's wage is negotiated between her and her employer, she is "allowed" to work for it because all the people entering into the arrangement have come to an agreement.


Why is an accountant entitled to a higher salary than a doctor?
Unless I am mistaken, they aren't. I would be interested to see legislation entitling such a thing.


How is this consistent with free market principles or the conservative idea of social justice?
The idea here is freedom. Don't like investment bankers? Don't hire one.


Why is it not illegal?
Laws can be immoral, especially when enforcement involves rape dungeons (modern prisons)


Is it not simply crony capitalism[?]
Good question, the answer is no. Crony Capitalism is when government officials abuse their power.


and if you support it and are consistent you should also be consistent and campaign for a change in legislation to make stealing in general legal because it is inconsistent to support bankers being able to syphon wealth from the population for nothing and not allow others to steal.
I disagree. My belief that bankers can be paid whatever they are offered for their services is consistent with my belief that theft should remain illegal because in one case there is a victim and in the other case there is not.

[Prometeo liberado]

I defer to Dante in "Inferno". Banished them all to the last rung.

[Dodo]

Banking is crucial for economic development as it eases capital accumulation and investments. It does also provide some form of "class flexibility" if you meet certain conditions for credit, do an on-point investment and become owner of a means of production. It is kind of like the cream of capitalism, on top of it.

Finance is also very controversial for it has control over currency/value which can not be directly linked to a control mechanism. That is a matter of great debate among bourgouise economists.(FIAT money vs gold standard...etc)

The reason they tend to make so much money is related to mechanisms of capitalst economy. Their work is more "value-producing" than a doctors.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Capital accumulation means that those who work in the financial sphere can be paid in part from the profits they contribute to their firm making, which is why they have relatively normal 'wages' bolstered by insane bonuses - the bonuses are taken from the capital accumulated in the previous period by the firm.

[Michael22]

Firstly, don't hate people that make a lot of money. It's immature at best and petty jealousy at worst. An investment bankers's job is to raise capital and they risk a lot when they handle capital because if they do their job wrong huge companies go bankrupt. Secondly, investment bankers make a lot of money because companies need them to raise capital, governments need them to get advice and other stuff, and consumers need them to maximize their pension funds. City boys create liquidity. Would you like to get a mortgage at a nice price? If so, go to an investment banker and they will use their expertise and analyze all the data to get the best price for your situation. If they were not here you wouldn't get a mortgage, it's as simple as that. They are not necessarily ''smarter' than others, but they are more in demand at the moment.

I do dislike people that have a lot of money that don't give anything back or produce anything that is valuable because they are infringing my liberty as a worker.

Investment bankers owe their existence completely to the capitalist system and are purely parasitical.

The idea that companies need to "develop" and "grow" with the help of bankers is elitist propaganda that leads to the creation of cartels and has a nefarious affect on our representative democracy. It is assuming that companies have to grow bigger and rely on alienated labour and exploitation, rather than companies staying small and working to serve the people.

Mortgages and house prices should be democratically controlled by the government in the interests of the people.

[tallguy]

We need bankers because our current system of FRB money creation is predicated on their existence. Get rid of the current way we create money and we don't need bankers. They are a solution to a problem of their invention.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

If so, go to an investment banker and they will use their expertise and analyze all the data to get the best price for your situation.

interestingly enough, I read an article a few months/possibly years back (not that I can find it which is aggravating) which mentioned that investment bankers generally have a roughly 50% success rate when it comes to choosing investments and whatever else it is they do, with some being a little less successful and some a little more, maybe a few percent either way.


In other words, you're probably just as well off going into a corner shop, buying a chocolate bar and flipping a coin from your change. Even if you make the wrong decision, you still have a chocolate bar.

[Michael22]

That's up to each person to decide for herself. Some people don't use banks at all.

People have no choice. You cannot store your money under a mattress. And you are forced to work for wages to survive because the ruling class already have a monopoly on all the resources.

There is no representative democracy or liberty because citizens only have a choice of fringe parties to vote for who will bring democracy and liberty. Representative democracy is a bourgeoisie illusion.


I disagree. My belief that bankers can be paid whatever they are offered for their services is consistent with my belief that theft should remain illegal because in one case there is a victim and in the other case there is not.

Everyone is a victim of bankers theft. They are our misfortune.

[goalkeeper]

to facilitate the flow of capital.

wheat he or not we need bankers depends what you mean by 'we'. Capitalism needs them (don't buy into wall street vs. main street, finance capital vs. manufacturing capital stuff).

[Griswald]

People have no choice. You cannot store your money under a mattress.
This is not true. You can choose not to have a bank account. I can and do store some of my money in my mattress. That is not a metaphor, I am writing exactly what I mean.


And you are forced to work for wages to survive because the ruling class already have a monopoly on all the resources.
This is not true. Nobody forces you to work to survive. Most people choose to sell their labor in exchange for money because it's easier than growing your own food or starting a business or being a landlord or applying for welfare or joining a commune.


Everyone is a victim of bankers theft. They are our misfortune.
You must be working with a very loose definition of theft. It is not constructive. There is a theme here... everything you have written has been either factually incorrect or metaphorical.