Monopoly - irresponsible banking rears its ugly head

Nearing the end of half-term, my kids decide to fine-tune their entrepreneurial skills with a game of Monopoly…

What has this got to do with irresponsible banking and the credit crunch?

I had the opportunity to watch the game unfolding at the other end of our long kitchen table. A couple of observations:

Its fascinating watching how children play the game and how their strategies compare with the adult involved. In the game today the adult took a credit-crunch-inspired approach, conserving cash, investing cautiously. The kids? They just spent their money as quickly as they could, bidding up the values of Old Kent Road, Trafalgar Square and any other property they landed on with total abandon. Reckless investment in action - though potentially a winning strategy

I also mused on the role and responsibilities of the banker in Monopoly. At one point I felt compelled to intervene with a comment that “the role of a banker is to act responsibly and not to break the trust of the bank users”. The reason for my interjection? I had spotted the person appointed as banker inadvertently awarding himself/herself a sizeable bonus arising from a transaction. Bank error in his/her favour - so to speak. A banker awarding himself/herself a bonus - simply by virtue of being in charge of the cash. Now where have we seen that before?