|
LadyEllen -> longest recession on record - only in the UK (10/23/2009 12:51:22 PM)
|
It was announced today that the UK has now seen economic contraction for six quarters in a row - the longest period of such recession since records began shortly after WWII and, so some say, the longest period since the 1930s.
Meanwhile France and Germany saw their second consecutive quarters of growth, and the US, Italy and others are expected to see the same; every top economy but the UK is recovering, in other words. Sterling fell yet again on the currency markets, even against the struggling US dollar. As to unemployment, its expected to break records too, in a short time from now.
Our illustrious government has done little or nothing to repair the situation except to - in the best traditions of the boom times - borrow like crazy to try to prop things up. The talk about banking reform and building a more diverse economy is proving to be absolute bunkum.
France and Germany have such diverse economies - whilst our lot (Tory and New Labour Tory), did nothing as successive waves of manufacturing industries were wiped out, in some cases aiding and abetting their erasure even - our counterparts abroad did all they could to protect and maintain their manufacturers as ours looked to the fantastical notion that a consumer credit economy could be anything but a disaster. And after thirty odd years of that approach it remains to be seen whether the skills to resurrect manufacturing are still there.
A housing crisis - insufficient homes built so as to promote the equity necessary to fund credit, the largest wealth gap in Europe, a population disconnected from and disgusted by their political class now going bankrupt as the bankers get their latest bonus payments....
Never mind, its Saturday tomorrow
E
|
|
|
|
