Are You an Economic Optimist?

[david64]

Are you optimistic about the economic future of the United Kingdom and world in general?

I see a lot of issues:

- student debt
- low youth enthusiasm, partly based on the notion of having little stake in society, like buying a house
- seemingly increasing numbers of young people dropping out of society (work, relationships)
- property prices, being pushed up by government schemes, regulation, and low & high capital incomers
- business rates and corporate tax
- younger people are more interested in getting into economic dead-ends like arts, rather than multipliers like manufacturing
- shift of innovation to recreation rather than utility
- an increasing pension system that is paid straight out of taxes, rather than being invested
- large migration from broken economies like Greece to a handful of countries
- widespread economic, political and financial illiteracy
- large public and private debt bubbles

Its not an environment conducive to investment, but instead haphazard pilling into a few assets.

However, I am of the mind that this scenario is likely to pan out for quite some time, as people who have a stake in society and access to the levers of power are keen to keep their standards of living from declining. Rather than having the economic crash we need and weren't allowed to have last time round, the baseless monetary system is able to stretch things out for quite some time. Japan has shown it can be done for decades.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Hello David I think this is a really good post . You have highlighted something I feel really strongly about and that is opportunity for young people
I would say they have it worse now than anytime since the 50s despite having the best education in our history
I think it will run a course but as in Japan in can take a generation of stagnation before any signs of movement are seen I think people will start to say they have had enough we have seen evidence of this this week in St Ives where they have voted to ban second homes . The changes for Landlords have been blamed this week for the slight fall in house prices . Just these two news reports in 24 hours fall in favor of most people .
We have seen the labour party now with its most left wing leader for a long time
Ambitious young people that work hard deserve the things that people my age had for working hard no more or no less. A person working hard and earning good money should be able to buy a house but various factors over the past 15 years have seen the rewards remain the same and house prices rise . At what point did we conclude that it would be acceptable not to pay employees enough money to live on then send them to the government for top ups ! It has taken all this time for a government to reconise this and actually tell the employers to pay a livable wage . We should have never have talked ourselves into this position in the beginning.
There has for the past 12 years in this country been the attitude that thats all we got and we should not want more amongst most people and I have never understood it .
I dont believe the myth that a few people have a stake in society and they can almost control it .The media have a big voice in this world and they want their public to beleive this and it is not so in a democratic place such as this .
I could really go on and on but one day some one might give me a soap box but I do feel overtime those that work hard ,those that want more for themselves and their families will see a more worthwhile and rewarding Briton in the future

 

[xhoni]

I am really optimistic, And I think the people should be more aware about what it is available to us in terms of opportunities, They think it is gonna be in that way and nothing is gonna change, Wake up.

 

[Frequent_nomad]

I struggle to be too optimistic in an increasingly globalised world, with wages a fraction of the price elsewhere and technological automation expanding. I think it will result in economic success... but with ever increasing divide between rich and poor. So the economy will do well, but the majority of people be worse off (from a Western perspective)