An African proverb says that when elephants fight, and fall, the grass suffers. Gravity I guess, and perhaps fair enough. But why is it that this ancient proverb is proving to be true when we’re dealing with 21st century financial crises? Why is that when we design our response to economic collapse – whether it is a domestic mortgage crisis or a global credit crunch – we choose to teach the grass a lesson and bail the elephants out?

I think this video from John Stewart’s Daily Show illustrates what I mean (click on the Banksy photo to have a look at it)