Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
#1231
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
The US reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where they invent a new type of building that only stays up if everyone believes in it.
#1232
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
The US reminds me of Disney...very superficial...nothing is what is seems to be on the surface.
#1233
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Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
I have talked with colleagues over there who seem pretty unfazed by the recent economic goings-on on Capitol Hill, and confident that federal and state budgets are sound.
I always liked the eternally optimistic "can do" attitude over there but just recently I wonder if it is detached from the reality of the situation.
I always liked the eternally optimistic "can do" attitude over there but just recently I wonder if it is detached from the reality of the situation.
#1234
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
#1235
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Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Unfortunately, social mobility in the US is now actually less than in many western European countries (the UK also fares badly on this score) so the "aspirational" bit is under strain too.
#1238
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Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Finally moving!
Posts: 1,236
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
I have talked with colleagues over there who seem pretty unfazed by the recent economic goings-on on Capitol Hill, and confident that federal and state budgets are sound.
I always liked the eternally optimistic "can do" attitude over there but just recently I wonder if it is detached from the reality of the situation.
I always liked the eternally optimistic "can do" attitude over there but just recently I wonder if it is detached from the reality of the situation.
1. Default (also called freezing the assets of nations newly discovered to be rogue nations)
2. Hyperinflation
3. Isolationism (also called self-sufficiency).
I expect we will see all three in large measure.
The UK is different in that self-sufficiency is not really an option when all industries except so-called "financial services" have been decimated and there are no huge natural resources.
The one thing Britain does have that other nations do not is that it is surrounded exceptionally valuable seas and sea level is rising faster than any of the experts predict. Let's just hope we don't them screw up on a Fukushima scale.
#1239
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Joined: Oct 2010
Location: The sunshine state
Posts: 1,358
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Interesting stats breaking down inflation into categories especially with regard to wages not keeping up with the inflation of consumer essentials, and not just keeping up, but lagging far behind. That's got to hurt many people long term.
Not as heavy a read as it first appears......
http://www.tullettprebon.com/announc...IN20130220.pdf
Not as heavy a read as it first appears......
http://www.tullettprebon.com/announc...IN20130220.pdf
#1240
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,396
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
Indeed, there is a cost of living crisis brewing in the UK which is currently getting worse.
#1242
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Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
When you live beyond your means, it catches up with you eventually. And that is exactly what almost all western countries have been doing. The real question is not whether there's a cost of living "crisis", but what is being done to make a country more competitive in the face of this situation?
#1245
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,396
Re: Is the situation in the UK really that bad?
But that doesn't help a person in one country being squeezed with the cost of living increasing to a crisis level. It's not like they would say "look at those people in that country, they're having a tough time too - that makes me feel better about it".