http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16468517 An excellent article that sums up the current situation perfectly in my opinion. Some politicians complain the government defining itself of deficit reduction, but that's because it is the defining issue not only of politics but this country. Debt, is the toxicity at the heart of it - wherther it is the banking system, the consumers, or government spending across Europe. The crisis has inevitably resulted in a debate on capitalism but it also causes a debate on what the ''No money'' age means for public services and the state overall - and that is something we all have to face up to. IMHO, we won't get the kind of growth expected two years ago, and that's not necessarily because of cuts, but because of several things. First, is the fact many consumers are in debt themselves, and thus cannot afford to go on spending splurges that helped fuelled the growth in the boom. Two, is that there is evidently a systemic lack of confidence within all Western economies - primarly triggered by the Eurozone crisis. Due to the fact most our economies are interconnected by trade and financial services our economy external capacity to deal with shocks is inevitably be weakened by that crisis - not forgetting there is still a lack of confidence within the banking system to lend to people/businesses. If anything these factors are illustrative that we do need an economy not inherently reliant on financial services only because the bust will be equally as exterme as the boom. It'll take time for the West in general to evolve into a new economy though, and in order to do that they have to defeat the economic challenges facing them. So, IMHO, I think all things considered we will have a lost decade - no matter what.
Capitalism is going through one of it's periodic upheavals. Western economies will re-adjust and eventually begin to thrive again, but in the meantime we are all in a position to examine our values, and to be grateful that in Europe at least, social welfare has mitigated the worst of the human cost.
I honestly have a hole in my memory from my 14-17 birthdays, too many drugs i think <sadfacebutnotreally>
I'd like to get nostalgic about it but can barely remember **** all. Good times, according to apocryphal stories of the era.
