"Get Rich or Die Trying"

Get Rich or Die Tryin' is the title of American rapper 50 Cent's debut album and film. It also seems to be the mantra that many in Britain swear by - from the youth who want things to come to them quickly to the bankers who are responsible for getting the country into a financial mess which has affected the economy.

According to MP Diane Abbott, there is direct correlation between the bankers who have fast tracked the country's push towards recession and those who rioted and looted in cities across England last month.

Writing in the Huffington Post earlier this month, Abbott talked about the rush to accumulate wealth and find short cuts in doing so, without thinking of the consequences.

She added that the mass media had played a part in fuelling this want and desire to leave beyond your means and find ways to do so.

Abbott said,

“There is an adrenaline-based get rich or die trying culture that was the fuel for both the banking crisis, and for some of the riots on our streets. Bankers (who) dragged the economy into recession made the same misjudgments and miscalculations as those people who took to the streets to drag the country into despair. In many cases, both groups believed that they had found a short cut to wealth in the face of a rapidly changing economy. Tragically, both made the awful miscalculation that there would be no consequences.”

She added,

“It is mass consumerism and aspects of our media that has eroded and replaced many of the social structures that the communities grew out of – relentless advertising, MTV and instant messaging has often seemingly replaced family networks, educational commitments and community gatherings.”

Picture: Diane Abbott