Who's to blame?

Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey said: "Working people are being asked to pay for the economic mess caused by the greedy City elite whose behaviour this spineless Government has repeatedly failed to tackle."

Chancellor George Osborne said: "We have got to have an affordable public sector, which is why we have had to take very difficult decisions on things like pay."

"In the end Britain has to live within its means. The alternative of bankruptcy would mean we couldn't afford the NHS, we couldn't afford schools, we couldn't afford public sector pensions, we couldn't afford a basic state pension."

Labour leader Ed Miliband said he had "huge sympathy" with everyone who was facing disruption because of the industrial action but refused to attack the strikers - mainly because he said the people who stand to lose most are the low-paid public sector workers.

So, how did we get into this situation? Is it unique? Is it just a British situation?

No, it's certainly not just British - the Greeks face a far worse situation through years of economic mismanagement (known as "ignore the problems"). The US isn't exactly in a great situation either - and let's not look too closely at the rest of Europe.

Has it happened before? Yes - the 1920s and 1930s, the early 1970s, to name just a couple of times. Perhaps it's a feature of the whole economic situation.

Len McCluskey is right - but he is aiming only at the Tories. Spineless attitudes towards the City were a feature of the previous government, too. Gordon Brown actively encouraged the greed as Chancellor and did nothing to stop it as Prime Minister. Maybe he didn't encourage it as openly as Margaret Thatcher long before him, but he did nothing to stop the City and apparently failed to spot the crash in 2008. To say it was only the Tories who failed to curb the City is just plain wrong - but to say otherwise doesn't suit the unions.

And then there are those who blame "the Government". Politicians get on TV to spout policy - but where does the real power lie? A lot is in the hands of the most senior civil servants, who steer the clueless Ministers away from taking unwanted decisions. If you doubt that, watch "Yes, Minister". The story goes that Thatcher liked the programme because she realised how accurate it was.

Now, lest you should think I'm a Tory - I'm not; I hate the public schoolboy politicians' attitudes as much as anyone. Monty Python lampooned their predecessors as Upper Class Twits; not far off the truth - except now it's not the landed gentry, it's those with pots of money. I just recognise that the current coalition is probably the least worst option that came out of the election. I recognise that rampant capitalism and sheer incompetent risk management caused the crisis. It was Greed, pure and simple, taking huge risks that were not noticed by Stupidity. No-one in "government" - national or international - over the last 10 years is innocent. Change must happen, but the voices to be listened to are not the unions - or the politicians - but those who recognise where the financial system is flawed. Yes, we should beat the city slickers over the head until they stop being so greedy; yes, we should demand fundamental changes to financial management; yes, a dose of reality in public finance is needed - and that may indeed mean a worse deal on public pay and pensions than we are used to; yes, tough times are here. But we have to find a way forward - and the loudest voices at the moment are the ones we need to curb. The "Occupy" movement had the right instinct, but the wrong tactics. The unions reacted the way they have been trained to, not the way most likely to help. So, what next?

Answers urgently needed.