Independent UK: Bring on the pain of a recession and purge our coarsened souls

[marmar]

Bring on the pain of a recession and purge our coarsened souls

An economic downturn is painful – but inevitable and desirable, says Tim Lott. For, amid the suffering there will be more creativity and a corrective to our runaway acquisitiveness

Sunday, 31 August 2008


Last week saw the weakest high street activity in 25 years, house prices dropping by £150 a day and warnings of two million unemployed by Christmas. Alistair Darling added to the woe by proclaiming that it was the worse recession for 60 years.

A senior source within the Government confirmed that the country was heading for "shit creek without a paddle" and there were unconfirmed reports that Gordon Brown last night bludgeoned his brains out with an industrial grade calculator after the IMF refused to waive bank charges on the national debt.

All right, I made the last bit up, but you get the gist. Everything is terrible and it's going to get worse. But it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. And more people might benefit from this coming storm than you might think. You might even be one of them.

But before going any further, I feel a disclaimer coming on. Recessions are nasty, horrible and painful. Many people are already suffering, many more will suffer. The unemployed, the elderly, the poor – all the usual victims will get it in the neck. It would be in the poorest taste imaginable to celebrate an economic slump and thus insult the many losers such a slump would produce. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/bring-on-the-pain-of-a-.htmlssion-and-purge-our-coarsened-souls-913882.html

[Demeter]

1. And Our Present Isn't Painful? We're Already in Recession

but the PTB are too chicken to admit it.

[T_i_B]

2. Malthusian rubbish from start to finish

Let's take Tim Lott out of his cushy North London ivory tower and put him on a council estate, in a job a good deal less secure then that of a newspaper colummist and then let's see if he still thinks that recessions are in any way a good thing.