28 Years Later?
I always found it funny why Britain has more or less become the favorite setting for big government, post-apocalyptic cinema. A Clockwork Orange, V for Vendetta, and Children of Men just to name a few were all set there, and after seeing the riots unfold online and on TV, it gave me an eerie picture of its possibility.
With that still fresh in mind, Tullett Prebon released their newest report on their views of the British economy and man, does it paint a bleak picture of the place. Aptly titled Project Armageddon: Thinking the Unthinkable, it takes a look into the Coalition government’s current designs for the economy, its conceivable (and seemingly inevitable) consequences, the root cause, and its potential solutions.
Get your Moloko plus ready monkeys, because according to them, things can go real baddiwad there real soon.
Can’t help but think though, will America share the same fate?
Or the entire western world for that matter?
The reality is that the cupboard is bare where macroeconomic policy is concerned. Massive stimulus, totalling£590bn and equivalent to 40% of GDP, has been tried, and has failed to deliver any growth at all. Interest rates are already at rock-bottom. Fiscal stimulus looks impossible with Britain boxed into a high-debt, low-growth trap. If an escape route does exist at this very late stage, it lies not in macroeconomic strategy but in supply-side reform. Businesses in the UK are crippled by government interference and by the excessive demands of the state machine.The only way to deliver growth would be to unshackle enterprise and transfer resources to the private sector, a process which would require reductions in public spending which go much further than anything thus far contemplated by the government.
Logical though this is, we fear that such reforms could be blocked by vested interests and by the ‘must-have’ entitlement culture built upon a foundation of spurious moral absolutism.
Curious what the London monkeys have to say here. As we all know, this isn’t only true for the UK; the US and most of nanny state EU are all guilty of this, only difference is that the UK wants the only thing they have that can foot the bill (The City) to go fuck itself.
If that shit keeps up, the only thing I see going forward for the UK are more riots and looting, further plunging the country into the distopic mess we see in the movies.
What do you think monkeys? Can Britain get out of this? Or will its cradle to the grave mentality force it on knees?
Have a good one WSO.
I live right next to London and I have to say that the situation painted by the media and this report is a bit exaggerated. Granted we are facing a serious problem when it comes to debt, and the level of the economy, but the situation isn't all that bad.
The riots happened for a variety of reasons. The 'ghetto' parts of London are in bad shape but for too long the British government has taken a 'laissez-faire' approach, where fingers are pointed rather than actually doing something about the problem.
The U.K. has historically been a very tolerant and accepting society. The welfare system is one of the best in the world, and slandered for it's lack of efficiency, the NHS remains a noble idea. Keeping this in mind, I think this country needs to wake up from its past glories and see that the world is changing. We cannot adopt a purely liberal approach to social issues. The judicial system is weak, and the 'youths' (who were in majority responsible for what happened earlier this month) just don't fear anyone or anything.
Having said all this, when I go into the City, and London in general, you don't feel like the situation is all that bad. We aren't the next Greece nor is the government going to allow that. I think the coalition is pathetic, and the Liberal Democrats are a bit of a joke in the U.K.
I'll leave the first alone for the sake of good karma for the US, but as for the second point: liberalism is a good and useful thing but it, like everything else, has it's time and place. We really are at a point in history where western culture has become so derailed in every way that a healthy dose of old fashioned "do what you know works" mentality is seriously in order. I'm honestly the biggest bleeding heart for those who need it, but I'm TOTALLY in favor of someone getting their ass kicked into gear when they're slacking off and taking advantage of the situation.
America really could do with a little more heart in some issues, but Europe seriously needs to slap some people around, get their shit in order, and start flying right. It's admirable how the UK in particular and Europe in general have come so far since their insane imperial / world war generating ways, but now is not the time to stop. They can't reasonably expect to sustain the current way of life, so they can do it now or they can do it later: later is going to be a whole lot more painful, so just get it over with.
Architecto eligendi sed temporibus ut. Nam aspernatur nihil nostrum et at eos error porro.
Quisquam est placeat ipsam et error quo. Et ex aliquam quo fuga animi quaerat ut. Consequatur autem eos expedita. Ducimus ex eum hic sequi omnis. Dolores nisi veritatis voluptatem quo cupiditate voluptatem quisquam.
Vero ut molestiae dolore veritatis animi reiciendis vel assumenda. Perferendis reprehenderit distinctio aut eum. Delectus omnis minima et ea commodi id distinctio eius. Quia et quae laudantium eligendi pariatur voluptas odit. Mollitia fugiat occaecati enim qui dolorem.
Eius et sequi laudantium deleniti maiores possimus enim. Et ducimus voluptas nihil et. Vel nam sit facilis et totam ipsam ab nobis. Id repellendus incidunt id quis ullam enim. Ut quod eum et sed est est. Velit voluptas rem assumenda error perferendis inventore provident.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...