Thought the following article by LUKE JOHNSON, which appeared recently in the FINANCIAL TIMES would make interesting reading for everybody, despite the gloomy forecast.
WHY I FEAR THE WEST'S LUCK HAS RUN OUT Over the months I have told my colleagues at Channel 4 and the Royal Society of Arts that this is not just a financial hiccup, or something happening to Wall Street or the City. We need to make programmes, do research and deliver lectures about this moment - because this downturn is very bad indeed. It will sear into our generation's memory and scar lives.. It may be the worst slump most of us have ever experienced. It surely needs to be recorded and discussed, while solutions are sought - and in the meanwhile we have to struggle through it.. For at least a year I have been as restrained and positive as I felt I could be. I am past all that now. It is time for some blunt talk, I fear. It is clear that as a society we must learn something painful and radical - how to live within our means - because credit is just not there anymore. The easy money is all gone, and there will be no more for a long time. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed725cc4-ecda-11dd-a534-0000779fd2ac.html
