IT is quite understandable the anger shown by most of the general public towards the banking institutions and this government for the economic mess the country now finds itself in.

The half-baked, half-hearted attempts the government is taking to reign in the banks and bankers are truly laughable.

To anyone with any modicum of commonsense, it is obvious that the banks and the government are “in each others pockets”. Nothing, as we now see, is changing. The banks still treat people and businesses in this country with contempt. A nd the government? Well, we all know what they think about the country and its citizens. Look how they waste money hand over fist and how the MPs’ expenses scandal is being handled We will never be able to totally abolish the banks (or the government for that matter) from our lives; there will, reluctantly, always be a place for them. But there is something we, the downtrodden, can do and it’s something I have started to do.

We can, as much as is possible, cut the “middle men” out of our financial lives. For example, I now offer many of my customers “cash deals”. If I’m paid in cash, instead of cheque or bank card, I don’t need the services of my bank quite as often as I used to. Having a little more cash in my pocket (the back pocket folding stuff) means I am, instead, able to offer cash payments for some of the goods and services I require, thus taking advantage of the many discounts that are available for cash payments.

If enough of us modified our fiscal behaviour the banks would see a marked downturn in financial transactions and, ultimately, their profits. They would be forced to become more competitive with each other in order to attract customers back into using their services and to treat their customers as real customers, not as commodities to be ruthlessly exploited.

The government wouldn’t get away with it, either. The potential reduction in their tax take would force them to become more frugal, efficient and more accountable for their actions, thus potentially making the government and the way we are governed much more beneficial to us. Which is how it should be, isn’t it?

Stuart A Chapman Patterdale Road Harwood