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Is this the worst economic situation for 60 years?

  • 32% are saying yes
  • 68% are saying no

comments from readers

Keir H
03 September 2008
no

Tory propaganda disseminated by Right Wing media outlets.

spenna
03 September 2008
yes

i recently lost my job i earned £1300 a month likemost familys we relied on two wages unfortunatly my wife only earns £600 i like many other families are left in an impossible situation

npgdavies
03 September 2008
no

The current situation is bad....but it has been worse...and the current situation may yet get worse.

Son House
04 September 2008
no

3 million unemployed, 15% interest rates. Disastrous strikes, no minimum wage along with a drastic hike in debt from which we have, and probably never will recover from. This all from the Tories last spell in power. No need to go back 60 years!

JPalm
04 September 2008
no

No:
Relative to our European competitors, 50s and 60s probably worse.

Dianne Roberts
04 September 2008
no

That of the nineties seemed to be far worse with people in negative equity and others losing homes . There was a lot of public squalor too. the surroundings are just so much better it certainly does not feel as bad.

Colonel Blimp
04 September 2008
no

Don't be ridiculous. 60 years ago it was 1948. 50 years ago it was 1958. 40 years ago it was 1968. 30 years ago it was 1978 and 20 years ago it was 1988. 10 years ago it was 1998. This year it's 2008. I can't remember what my point was now.


04 September 2008
yes

Yes - but not down to the "natural" economic cycle, this time it's been caused by profiteering bankers playing with other peoples money aided by the ineptitude of our government to control them. The Labour Government and,in particular Mr. Brown are mainly responsible as they failed to place any restriction on the City and seemed to actively encourage the Nation to live on "tick".

headnet
04 September 2008
yes

I don't know where dear Darling got his 60 years from. Probably the same advisors who have been giving him false statistics since he took office. The last major setback was started in the early thirties - more like 75 years ago.
Richard Head

Stephethgeth
04 September 2008
no

We've not been forced to rationing.... yet.

swatantra nandanwar
04 September 2008
no

No, Darling was off his head when he said that. Not really media savvy at all and pretty limp as Chancellor. He should be relegated to the back benches along with Des Browne, Dougie Alexander and a few of the other Scottish Mafia.

mshirst
04 September 2008
no

but the difference is expectation - many more people now will see their standard of living deteriorate. Labour had the chance to build a lasting economic foundation but they wasted the opportunity by doing exactly what they promised to avoid - short term economic gain at the expense of long term stability, ie they failed to invest when we could afford it.

itervo
05 September 2008
yes

More strong negative factors coincide than before.

tommacf77
05 September 2008
no

But, and it's a big 'but', before 1979 there were ways in which governments could make a difference as the notion that the economy was outside it's remit had not yet taken its grip. Brown-Darling are playing the great game of let's pretend we are still in charge. Once that canard is perceived, all will change.

ade
05 September 2008
yes

We haven't got to the end of the beginning of this recession yet.

writeon
05 September 2008
yes

This is probably irrelevant by now, but to be fair to Darling he did qualify his statement by using the word 'arguably'. Like 'arguably the worst economic situation for 60 years'.

He was correct and honest, up to a point. Personally I believe we are only at the very beginning of the crisis. There is much worse to come. This isn't something I enjoy saying, but it's hard to ignore the signs.

We are at the end of thirty year party based on the production of debt which was made more profittable than the production of real goods and services. The biggest debt bubble is now bursting. The consequences will be dreadful. Denying this is irresponisble, pretending this isn't a financial meltdown is irresponisble, clinging to irrational optimism is irresponsible. Ignoring reality only makes things worse. Currently the strategy is damage limitation and hiding the true scale of the crisis we face for as long as possible. Is this really sensible? I don't know. But I do know I feel sorry for the millions of 'little people' who've bought into the whole sordid Capitalist narrative and are going to get well and truly screwed!

mat2clay@yahoo.co.uk
06 September 2008
no

I was not around 60 years ago but am aware that the country then was effectively bankrupt and financed almost entirely by a reluctant United States with our finance ministers forced there with a begging bowl in order to fund the radical welfare and social reforms which today protect - however inadequately you may argue - the poorest now against the current ravages brought upon us by the banking sector and general greed. As somebody who survives on the minimum wage and is forced to work 48 hours per week to keep thing going, I can hardly compare that to the fate of millions 60 years ago who could barely feed themselves - still less to the plight of the hundreds of millions around the globe who drink filthy water and watch their children starve to death becaus they lack the safety system we enjoy here. Yes, the figures of debt and economic woe are much greater - even allowing for inflation - than they were 60 years ago, but that is because we are fundamentally richer and ther is therefore more to lose.

suell
06 September 2008
no

not yet - we still have relatively high employment. But things could change very quickly and its wise to tighten our belts now.

Sue Lloyd

Carl Jones
06 September 2008
no

Sue; chicken and egg springs to mind.LOL

I was talking to a senior banker the other day (HCBE 2008 LOL) and he really didn`t like my assertion that the current economic situation was planned by the NWO.LOL

Why is Britian about to go through its worst 18 month economic period since the 1930`s????LOL? Simple, public (UK) thinking towards the NWO sham war on terror and Iraq, must be facing its highest levels of scrutiny. So you pile on the economic pain.LOL Nothing like a plaster, to make you feel better.LOL

In the US its none stop economic pain....in the UK, the pour petrol and water on the public, depending on current public thinking....good by Gordon...the British public aren`t allowed to sample your abilities.LOL

philo
07 September 2008
yes

I was recently made redundant,and to me the word redundant means,of no more use.So that means I have spent half a life driving trucks,delivering all kind of materials to all kind of people.In the course of my work in earlier years,it was nessary for me to mislay certain of those materials to suplement my income.
Alas,it was never possible for me to amas enough to make me over wealthy,but I am ever resoursefull and there is life in the old dog yet.
I notice now,as a driver,who is in constant contact with drivers,it is an art which is more relevant in to-days world.(They are more artfull it would appear now-a-days.)The reason a lot of people are thieves,it would appear to me are,the politicians have made them thus.
In all my years of driving,and listening to radio,and to recall the number of politicians who were not only corrupt,but thieves as well.(There are very few politicians in jail.)
Another small detail which I could never understand,(radio again) when I listen to the stocks and shares in the un-godly hours as all sane people slept,if there were billions,and millions,"lost" on the markets on any given day,where did all this money go?The truth I have finally figured out it,it was never there to begin with.
For those of you out there who think the recession is not that bad,you are not paying attention.Whave not really seen the recession yet.Wait until the new year,have you not seen the crops in the fields which are not able to be harvested?Check out the number of governments who have their armies on stand-by to protect food supplies?
I would not profess to know who is right and who is wrong,all I do know is,I spent a life-time voting for people who said they knew more than me,and now it would appear they were telling me lies all the time.
So now if perchance there is a politician ,or one of their hacks were to rad this....WHAT WILL I DO NOW?

Jon Priluck
08 September 2008
yes

Someone like me should be employed. I have a range of skills from manufactrign to sales. But there are no good jobs out there, the economy is in real tough shape.

nawawimohamad
08 September 2008
no

I am not 60 yet.

Alan Pavelin
08 September 2008
no

We are many times better-off than 60 years ago. Unfortunately people assume that they have an inalienable right to ever-increasing standards of living.

Broga
09 September 2008
no

Although it is tough for all these fat cats having to retire on their millions of pounds redundancy packages. Much easier for the poor: they need so much less and so it doesn't hurt so much.

bedabs
09 September 2008
yes

first the mortgage debt, then the unsecured loans, then the credit cards. Bad debts after bad debts.
We are at the beginning. Why don't we just nationalise banking & pay Civil Service rates of pay, that would help.

kira
10 September 2008
no

Yes we are going to die !!!!!
yeah :)

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