Mike's Minute: Like children, our problems are for others to solve

I tell you who should be feeling good this election campaign: political parties. 

If the commentary and expectation I'm seeing so far is truly representative of where we are at in this country, as consumers we have slipped back into a gliding-on type world of the 1970's. 

The supermarket scrap is stupid enough. But Labour yesterday yet again waded into the world of banking, promising to make it easier for more competition. 

I'm not sure I've ever seen a public so seemingly reliant, dependant, or expectant of a group of politicians to solve all of our perceived and imagined problems. 

It's like a bad, old habit. 

Who is going to make my butter cheaper? 

Who is going to punish a power company? 

Why can't I have some money for petrol? 

When are you going to teach those supermarkets a lesson? 

There doesn’t seem a single grievance we can dream up that doesn’t have a political party, or a queue of them, lined up to make a promise. 

To be fair to Labour, the right to repair thing the other day on cars has merit and addresses a potential and pending real problem. 

But making banking easier means nothing and doesn’t address the many other times many other parties have said exactly the same thing. 

Open banking is supposed to be a miracle, yet it won't be. There are 26 retail banks in this country. There is no shortage of competition and never has been and the large chunk of market share taken up by the big four is because we choose to be there, either because we are satisfied or we're lazy. 

We have sunk to a "lowest common denominator" level of expectation. Like children, our problems are for others to solve. 

"What can you do for me?" – when did that become a habit? 

It comes out of the global malaise post Covid. As JP Morgan told us recently the base level for happiness has dropped. We are all kinds of miserable and there is an element of resentment in there as well. 

Why solve your own issues if some poor sap who needs your vote can be given a good bollocking? 

Break up power companies, smash supermarkets, monitor petrol stations; it's all a scandal. It's all a con, banks are bad, airlines are rorts. 

All logic and reason as to why things are what they are, are out the door because the snake oil boys see some gormless saps too dumb to work it out for themselves. 

What are you going to do when the promises lead to nothing new? Oh, that’s right – wait until the next election. 

Seething.