The Archbishop of Canterbury was interviewed on Britain’s Radio Channel 4 yesterday, addressing topics such as financial literacy among youths, the credit crunch, and the government’s role in addressing the wealth gap:
JH: Well people running the banks, until relatively recently, were doing immensely well out of it. Is that something that bothers you?
ABC: It does bother me and now I think we are seeing the results of that in the credit crunch.
JH: But what can you do about it? If you are bothered; are you bothered for instance by a man making here, and this is slightly broad English, but a man making billions literally – £3 point odd billion out of hedge funds, which is a form of gambling, sophisticated, highly sophisticated gambling – does that bother you?
ABC: It does bother me, yes. I haven’t got any quick answers to it though. My immediate concern today is looking at the bottom of the ladder and the way in which the credit crunch impacts so disproportionately on the most disadvantaged. Start there because at least you can do something building up the credit union, the financial education.
JH: But if you start there, do you have to look at the gap between the poorest and the richest?
ABC: You have to I think and it is a gap that everyone knows is broadening and I think a growing number of people in society are unhappy with that.
The transcript and a link to the audio are here.