I have been thinking about reasons why England continue to lose at cricket, football and Lawn Tennis – games “invented” by the English. Is it possible, at least in relation to cricket, that a reason may be the lack of nerve and how easily the English panic, unable to regroup and tactically play differently?
For some strange reason I am led to this reason from a totally different event: that of the recent focus on the economic situation, the rise of the price of fuel and food and how quickly this nation and the rich countries whip themselves up into a panic mode. It may be that we have become so wrapped up in ourselves that this is the best we can do.
Why is it that when the Governor of the Bank of England utters his holy economic views that what we end up with is a divine economic revelation on inflation? We are told it will continue to rise increasing the risk of ‘stagflation’ of the British economy. Fall in house prices (long overdue given the ridiculous value for a roof: and it is cheaper to build it yourself), rise in food and energy prices – all of which would push consumer inflation above 4%. What are these folks concerned about: their profit margins, their balance sheets or human well being?
Even the uninitiated in economics can tell that that our economic ‘reasonings’ are skewed. What are these people talking about with their 4%, 3.3%, 4.3%, and 3.1% increases, instead of a 2% target for inflation? What should countries like, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti and numerous African countries with their 165%, 215% and 300% inflation think about this present conversation? In these countries one needs a truck or bullock-cart to transport the local currency to do a Saturday ‘minimalist’ market shopping: that is if you can find the money in the first place! Yet, these people do not panic: they do magic with their very limited economic means and overnight (real or imagined) they turn into economic migrants! That, I concede, may be something new for the English!
The talk of and panic around the 4% inflation is morally disgusting and scandalous when placed in a global context. Of course, a reality is the fact that those who will suffer most in the UK are not people whom the economic policy makers and pundits have in view. Do you think they are considering the folks who share in the £1.4 trillion of personal debt in the UK? In fact, the theory is that we need to spend more, borrow more and get into debt in order to feed the economic engine. Who do you think are the ones to save? Perhaps, all the CEO’s and Corpocrats can begin by taking a 100% reduction on their yearly income or if this will cause them to suffer from extreme deprivation they can at least do all the shopping, borrowing, and saving to keep the economy from overheating!
Amateur as I am at economics, I am certainly aware of what a small percentage increase of inflation will mean in terms of the loss of revenues (over £9bn to be added to the shortfall already in place). But at what point are we going to talk about changing life-styles, spending less on rubbish commodities and unnecessary things, doing economics differently, making sacrifices, raising taxes and seeing how the revenues are translated in real services?
The more we continue to want to live in and blow economic bubbles around us – the more insecure and unpredictable our economic life will be. Panic, then, will more than often be our lot – just a prick away from disaster!
© copyright Jagessar July 19, 2008
