Rich white trash …

*Cartoon: Martyn Turner, used with permission: https://www.facebook.com/martynturnercartoons/ . http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/martyn-turner

Donald Trump might be the first name popping up as rich white trash. His inept, self-centred manner, plus lack of conscience and no sense of ethics and community cohesion, make him the poster character for all those in the category.

However let’s inspect a little closer to home at our own rich white trash. First a definition … top end feeders, hog like sniffing at the best of everything, people believing in the right to the possess, but possessing no ethics at a social, environmental or class level. In other words tossers who contribute nothing to the greater good of society.

Let’s explore the main members of the rich white trash brigade.

Mining in this country must be responsible for the destruction of thousands and thousands of hectares of this magnificent land. Mining magnates are environmental vandals contributing appallingly to global warming basically for their own (and shareholders’) financial benefit. While most of this cartel are invisible hiding behind the board room door, but given the corpulence of Clive and Gina this group might best be described as fat, rich, white trash.

No charges against any mining companies for the massive damages on our environmental. They even outmanoeuvred the Mining Tax. Oddly the poor old taxpayer seems to have to foot the bill for clean-ups?

Another group of faceless nameless blokes rotting the system diligently are a small but very wealth sector of the farming communities of northern NSW and western Queensland. While the taxpayers have coughed up some nine billion dollars to fix the Murray Darling basin, some farmers have pumped enormous amounts of water out of this environmentally ravaged water system. Reports indicate that despite our nine billion dollars, the once grand river system is now worse off.

Don’t hear of any court cases against those involved in the massive syphoning off of water?

Thankfully the Royal Commission’s current inquiry into Banking is shining a very high beam into the world of rich and trashy folk in our city back waters.

It is an interesting two cornered ring. On one side a staggeringly well paid upper management group; a board of highly paid ringins, generally part of the mates’ club; and finally those vindictive and ever money hungry folk, the shareholders figuratively waving whips for greater returns from the corporation.

On the other side is the bulk of organisation, namely the employees frequently paid less and sometimes only on commission. However without staff any corporation is largely nothing. And finally the poor old customers who are over charged, under serviced and by and large forgotten in the attempt to create greater wealth for the high fliers of the corporation. Definitely no business without them, and a grand amount of theft happens to their accounts … those little monthly fees and charges continuing on beyond death!

While we long suspected the upper echelons of business to engage in questionable activities, even corruption, it is alarming to hear the rampant wilfulness of such behaviour as the Royal Commission continues.

We know CEO s are paid extravagantly, and we expected that Company boards were a touch inept, jobs for the boys etc. expensive wines and flashy dinners and a sizzling of spirits after a meetings, we were not expected to see them endorsing lies to the corporate regulator and deliberately ripping off customers.

Boards and Executives are fairly hidden, from us small folk. We didn’t go to the same schools. So the current Banking enquiry is flashing images of the self indulgent corporate boards, a forgettable lot, as they squirm in the lawyers cross bow sites.

Australia’s top one hundred companies at management and board levels are reputed to attend those Sydney Melbourne private posh single sex schools and generally rub shoulders frequently. Consequently this brings us to a previous and appalling Royal Commission namely into child sexual exploitation.

A number of these schools were mentioned in this Inquiry. So not only have inflicted our society with some devious board members and CEO types, but they have allowed some outrageous sexual exploitation of young people as well..

Must be time that we taxpayers stood up and called for an end our hard earned tax dollars being paid to such schools.

And good heavens any trials for financial misconduct resulting from the Banking Royal Commission clever lawyers may well use the attendance of such schools and sexual exploitation as mitigating circumstances …

Outside influence on Boards is clearly necessary. Election by staff of these corporations for two seats on the boards would firstly ensure that the interests of the employees are included and unethical work practises hopefully dismissed. And as staff deal with customers daily, hopefully they may argue for customer rights rather than shareholder returns.

Seems fairly simple logic … no customers no shareholder returns!

Perhaps unemployed folk could be given a seat on boards. If CEOs think it is bountiful of them to sleep rough one night a year, surely unemployed and vulnerable folk might enjoy a seat on a board and a good feed afterwards.

Wisdom is the domain of those who have experienced life rather than flouncing around in a kleptomaniac mantle of self importance.

Finally remember Tony Abbott Royal Commission into Trade Unions, bet our rich white trash were gunning for some corruption findings. They were disappointed.

But it looks very likely we humble taxpayers will see some justice outcomes from the Banking Royal Commission.

*Josephine Zananiri lives in the Independent electorate of Indi and currently works in the manual labour arena tending native and exotic trees, so has plenty of time to think. Followed everywhere by her two dogs Percy and Fino who generally agree on all subjects, only occasionally deserting the conversation in the chase for samba deer! Slight differences in logic can therefore be attributed to the two woofers leaving their critical post!