Much has been written about this man in recent times, but he warrants more.
Justin Welby is a bit of a fire-brand. The Eton and Trinity educated, ex-oil executive cleric, has recently become quite self-righteously outspoken.
He has become an open critic of the tax affairs of Amazon; forgetting that his own business (of which he's the boss) invests very heavily in the on-line company.
In my short Stock Exchange career, the company for whom I worked (as a blue button, trainee broker) was one of about four who held accounts for The Church of England Commissioners. They held HUGE portfolios, and traded vast amounts almost daily. We, as their minions, were sworn to secrecy about their trading. No mention was allowed of any deals; upon pain of death. It was taken very seriously. They were, and are, very astute investors!
The church itself pays no tax, employs people on 'zero hours contracts', and places its vast wealth where they hope it will bring the greatest returns; they are classic Capitalists. I have nothing against all that, but to then spout Socialist nonsense about others who do the same is just plain hypocrisy.
Addressing a Trades Union meeting about how nasty the system is, may bring you applause from a gathering of Marxists, but for the rest of us it simply makes him look like just another cleric who should concentrate more on his 'gods and devils' rather than economics.
Of course we should ALL criticise those huge international companies who avoid paying their fair-share of tax, but we should make sure that our own house is in order first!
p.s. The Arch-hypocrite of Canterbury has also just evicted some Syrian refugees from his palace. The family of two adults and their four small school-age children have been 'discretely moved' to another, less fashionable, part of London. Hmmmm.
The church? Hypocrisy? Who would have thought. I heard that C of E owns a lot of land along The Thames in London.
ReplyDeleteThey own an enormous amount of land, yet still ask the poor for their Sunday sixpence.
DeleteFrank Field had to get him in an arm lock to persuade his/the church to step into the breach left by Wonga
ReplyDeleteHe'll support any old populist cause; but when it comes to real need, he's usually absent.
DeleteFrank, yes. But I like it that he more or less shamed Welby into helping Wonga victims. Welby then took the glory in the headlines.
DeleteAll of the above - plus more of course, goes part way to explaining why I am a Humanist - and a paid up member too.
ReplyDeleteIt's all such old-hat nonsense. I'm amazed it's still allowed. And they sit in The Lords too!
DeleteI'm sure Jesus would be proud of the 'church' set up in his name that gathers its profits to its bosom and keeps it there. My dad used to call on the people who rented properties owned by CofE. He said they were the most run down properties of all he visited.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at school I met several students from a Theological College was was within our grounds. None of them believed in all the god-n-devils stuff, they all wanted a good lifestyle in Georgian country rectories, etc.
DeleteAs a former banker you would have thought he would have known about his own organisation's investments. They also had a lot of shares in Wonga, the company that charged 5000 percent interest to desperately poor people for 'pay day' loans. Thankfully (for all but the people who still owe money) Wonga went bust, and Justin Welby said he would make amends by buying it up and turning it into a force for good. Now he says that the Church is not in a position to do that any more.
ReplyDeleteLike hell they aren't. They have more assets than the Bank of England.
DeleteLike I said, he only agreed to look into it when Frank Field embarrassed him to do so.
DeleteThere's going to be a few tables overturned outside the temple after the Second Coming.
DeleteI used to work for a little while as a eurobond dealer in London and one of the girls on the Italian desk used to have the Vatican as a client. Same as you said, zipped lips about what they traded, and if I'm not misremembering, they used to trade after hours sometimes. I was greatly annoyed that they had VIP status, like the C of E evidently had. Rogues and scoundrels all!
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing the power they had. No other clients wielded such control!
DeletePersonally I am more upset by the description I hear of the victorian sweatshop working conditions for the amazon warehouse employees than of the companies' rather lax attitute toward paying tax ( of course I agree everyone should pay their fair shair but if the laws are not applied more rigorously people will continue to avoid payment)
ReplyDeleteAnd one mustn't forget that Amazon employ over half a million people in the UK; all of whom pay tax.
DeleteI visited the Vatican a few years ago and the thought crossed my mind that the church could go a long way to helping the people it says it cares about by selling an odd statue or two. They'd never miss a few. Sickening wealth.
ReplyDeleteI once visited the Cathedral in Palma Majorca where there is a side room with a glass case containing PILES of different gemstones; including diamonds. They seemed very proud of their hoard, whilst there were beggars on the outside steps that they regularly tried to clear away.
DeleteI'm a bit late commenting on a subject which, as you know, is one I care about. It is interesting that not a single person has jumped to his defence. And the churches wonder why people are leaving them in droves.
ReplyDeleteA family member ran the money for the Church of Ireland (Catholic) portfolio and they were exactly the same: as sharp as tacks, wanting to know why they didn't get a double-digit return on their investments each and every year.
ReplyDelete