It is a pillar of orthodoxy that banks, being an essential part of the capitalist economy, cannot be allowed to fail. No matter what level of mendacity or risky behaviour a bank might indulge in, no matter who else is hurt in the process, banks must be protected from themselves with large wads of public money should the occasion call for it. It is not hard to see where this might lead, such as if a parent were to continue to buy one new car after another, only for their teenage son or daughter to write each one off and then ask for just one more.

Last week one of Australia's leading banks announced a massive profit. I think the word used in some quarters was 'obscene'. The CEO was dutifully wheeled out to make conciliatory noises about helping the needy or those at risk of losing their homes, no doubt to gales of laughter from board members.

Yesterday this same bank seized my ATM card as I was trying to make a withdrawal. I inserted the card, the machine took it, then decided to go 'Out of Service.' The theft complete I dialled the help line on the ATM screen only to find that this bank had a different concept of help, that being 'no help at all.' The young man who took my call could not answer any of my perfectly reasonable questions (eg. 'If the machine comes online again, will it spit out my card.') He didn't know this and he didn't know that and neither did his supervisors. The help line did not know how to help, under any circumstances. The bank with the massively bloated profits could not even run a phone assistance line about its own machines.

Next time, let's just let them fail, and see what happens. Maybe what rises from the ashes will actually provide a genuine service.