If you're not worried about what's going on....

ILW

Thrugelmir wrote: »

The generation of 50 or 60 years ago had more in common with our Viking and Norman ancestors than us today. The world is a totally different place in so many ways.

The question I would pose is do people want to solve them? Or will the £10 donation to Comic Relief clear their conscious whilst still holidaying in the Caribbean.

Without a fundamental change of attitude there's a long road ahead.

The world is not much different to 50 years ago, we just have more stuff.

sabretoothtigger

No because the 30s had currency notes tied to a specific amount of gold. Also its just a very different world and so far we still have free trade, it should pass more quickly when it does happen

Road_Hog

Generali wrote: »

....then you don't understand the scale of the problem!

TPTB, want it it to collapse, then they can mop up the cheap shares and cheap property. The middle classes don't realise how hard this is going to hit them.

We're all entering a neo-feudalism period.

IronWolf

The world has survived worse

PasturesNew

IronWolf wrote: »

The world has survived worse

Famous last words of the dinosaurs as they saw the bright light coming...

Loanranger

The world is not a different place at all.
People are fundamentally still the same. Our basic needs are the same and our desire to improve our lot in life is still the same. There are still criminally insane blokes running the show just as there always has been.
We do have more stuff but then we have more stuff than than anyone since Adam was a lad. The economists and politicos here have wound themselves up yet again discussing the same old same old End of the World is nigh. This thread ought to be re-titled plus ca change.
Get a grip!

Professional

Mrs_Bones wrote: »

That's ok to some extent, if it's the politician leading behind the news but we seem to have got in the sorry state where it's the news that leads the politicians. I'm struggling to think of a single politician now that has any strong convictions on anything or gives any impression of being trustworthy or even that they have any original thoughts on a direction for this country.

A much lauded tenant of our so called democracy is actually a vital flaw in the system. The so called "free media" is a business in the power of a select few super rich men who meet with politicians regularly to shape the agenda to suit themselves. And the masses believe what they read. Most politicians are simply pawns in a much bigger game.

The doom and gloom in this thread is interesting. Times are tough but history suggests a regular cycle of boom and bust. One wonders what people where thinking on the breadlines in 1929 after the Great Depression.

Personally I think its been on the cards our growth has slowed over several years, 3% was a good growth rate for us even 4/5 years ago. Meanwhile emerging ecnonomies in Asia, South American and even Africa are growing at 8-10%. People go where the money is. That's why immigrants all around the world flock to this country in the hope of a better life. There will come a point where we will all be flocking elsewhere, jumping ship if you like. I truely believe that.

HOWEVER it will take some time for us to reach those dark days. For now the average house price in the UK is £228,024, the FTSE 100 is trading at 5,292, the average wage is £26,000 and it's really not as bad as the pessimists think it is.

Spirit_2

Another of those in the ..there is not much I can do about it camp.

I feel unable to pick my job up and put it in a safe place, or save some of it for later, or do less of it....all the usual MSE things you do when a debt problem is looming.

Perhaps we could diversify the range of jobs in the Spirit household but feel time is not on our side as we are both over 50. Miss Spirit on the other hand could try and stay on post MA to PhD to fill the time until jobs grow on trees again, or as she does languages diversify to Chinese.

Key to us will be feeling we are coping relatively well. Doom does not have to be absolute, enjoying frugality, growing our own, cutting consumption will all feel purposeful. Our own personal war effort.

I rather feel most of us are impotent to stop the rot but can prepare so I suggest standard training by watching reruns of Dad Army and the Good Life.

pinkteapot

So we're all supposed to spend our lives living in fear of some sort of impending apocalypse?

Anyone want to put forward specifics of what exactly they think is going to happen and what (if anything) individuals can do to prepare for it?

If the answer to the latter is 'nothing', what's the point of being stressed about it? Unless you hope to bring on an early heart attack and avoid the situation.

It's a bit (well, quite a lot) "management b*****ks" but ever heard of the circle of influence/circle of concern:
http://www.choosingchange.org.uk/pdfs/circle_of_influence.pdf

Essentially a long-winded way of saying "worry about the things you can actually change". Anything else is wasted energy.

IronWolf

PasturesNew wrote: »

Famous last words of the dinosaurs as they saw the bright light coming...

Yes because a recession is exactly like an asteroid hitting the earth...