Uncle Audley snorted from behind the Sunday paper. It was the business section and I guess that he had been reading about the latest developments related to the credit crunch and the recession. “What’s up?” I enquired setting Uncle Audley up for his take on the situation.
“If I had based my judgement on this reportage then I would think that it was the end of civilisation as we know it. I was going to say Armageddon, but I read somewhere else there is a reluctance to use this particular word. Now I am not saying that there is not a lot of suffering already from the recession. Innocent, blameless people are losing their jobs and I am afraid there will be more job losses in the coming months. I know then that there is a knock on effect of having to sell one’s home at the bottom end of the market, if one cannot get another job. We should try not to be too pessimistic and keep things in context. The economy may shrink a little after years of growth. We will have to tighten our belts and cut down on things. You younger ones should realise, though, how much our standard of living has gone up, even in the last ten years but certainly significantly since the recession of the early nineties. If I go back to the earlier recessions of the early seventies and early eighties, then there is simply no comparison. Even after the belt tightening, the generality of us have a much higher standard of living now than ever we did then.
For those of us who are that little bit older and have longer memories, we can go back to the privation suffered by British families in the Second World War and the decade or so afterwards. What we consume in a day now would have to last us at least a week then. Rationing did not stop until the mid 1950’s. Houses were colder, clothing was of poorer quality. Cars would break down. We had some seriously severe winters to contend with such as in 1947. I remember the evocative pictures of people having to queue to get some coal, which was also rationed, in order to try and heat their homes.
I could go on. That was austerity. But, even today, if you are prone to bemoan your lot, do have a look round the world and put things in perspective.”
He might have a point; but what’s your take on the situation? If you wish to comment please use the box below.
