Every once in a while you reach that point where you have to admit you were wrong, and even a guy like me can be very wrong at times. It doesn't hurt to admit that, it even does boost your pride at times, because admitting to a mistake technically makes you a better and stronger human being. It is, however, a different thing to admit someone else was right. Simple logic dictates that if there are two parties disagreeing over something, at least one of them must be wrong. The assumption that comes naturally to people in that case is that the other party must necessarily be right. Such a dualistic interpretation of Truth has brought mankind into quite some trouble in the past. So, when I admit that I was wrong, I do not mean to say that everybody else whom I disagreed with was right all along. What am I talking about, anyway? What I want to say is that I was perhaps wrong in assuming the world won't end in 2012. But that doesn't mean that all this Maya-Rapture-Last Pope-Apocalypse stuff is going to be right. I'm just saying that we are entering a year that may once be remembered one of the greatest watersheds of modern history - for better or worse. Consider this: Source Of course I know better than to believe everything the Telegraph says, but I still think this is an interesting snap shot of all the things troubling us at the moment and of what could go wrong. So yeah, maybe the world won't explode in a meteorite catastrophy and we might not all melt in the wrath of God, but this might very well be the beginning of the end of the world as we know it. Here's hoping it won't go down in flames. Thoughts?
Not sure on which part of the article I would elaborate first. My thirst thought is that this particular newspaper comes from a country with a Prime Minister who took the foolish step to not c0operate with new stricter EU rules, which are desperately needed. He certainly showed some responsibility for the continent (not!). UK = anti Euro(pe) sentiment. I agree we got a grim year ahead... But to me, living in Europe is still a piece of cake compared to living in Syria (where brave civilians march towards their death, to get a better society), in Nigeria (especially Christians get massacred every day now), or most other places in this Godforsaken world.
I'm not a doomsayer or a panic monger, but I agree that there is a lot of bleakness on the horizon. Here in western Canada we have been relatively insulated from the shitstorm that is affecting much of the rest of the planet, but ripples have been felt. I think that the end of the world as we know it isn't going to be a matter of apocolypse, but a morphing of the status quo that has existed since the end of WW2. As an old guy with no debt and a paid off mortgage, I anticipate perhaps working a few years longer than I would prefer before I can retire, but you young dudes just starting out are going to face a different and rockier road than I travelled, methinks. Who fucking knows what tomorrow is going to bring, but I am thankful for my personal circumstances, and empathetic to those who will be more affected by the turmoil.
My personal situation and outlook is similar to Taker's. Things are not as good here is they were four or five years ago, but desperation is still a ways away for most British Columbians. But I know we are somewhat sheltered out here on the Pacific Rim. This board has a great cross-section of intelligent people from across the globe. How bad is it out there?
That article is bullshit. Straight up bullshit. It starts with the headline and keeps on going with bad facts and bad information. The conclusion is not necessarily correct, either.
The first thing I must say here is that we in the UK are predominantly anti-Big Government and as it is perceived that the EU is indeed a Big Government, it's not looked upon as a good thing. Secondly, from what I understand, had Cameron co-operated with this stricter EU rule, London would have been heavily (and, possibly, disproportionately) penalised. He did what he thought was correct for the UK and I guess, only time will tell if he was right. Thirdly, I agree on your last point. We can grumble all we like but we are so much better off than in so many other impoverished countries.
Naturally countries that make mistakes should be penalized. Abide by the rules. Countries, economies depend on each other. When you are a member of the EU you can't always go your own way. If the UK wants to do that, I can't imagine that they're better off now. Cameron wants rules for others but not for himself. I guess he's more busy with the next elections. So he's on the populist side if you ask me. Non-popular measurements don't fit in his picture.
Finally, I have the time to write this. The author paints a very bleak, dismal picture of everything that can go wrong with our financial system, but it's simply wrong. He's wrong to suggest that the politics of the world will stop everything from being processed. It will slow some stuff down - especially in the United States. But this is where the rest of the world gets to step in. Germany and France will figure this Euro thing out, and let's face it, they're the leaders. In 50 years, David Cameron will be seen as the man who let Europe walk on while the UK swam in a rut. And the Republicans refusing to let Congress move forward in DC will be seen much the same. The Eurocrisis is a microcosm of the global banking crisis, but it's not the end of anything. It's certainly not the end of the EU. We have a very strong parallel for the European Union's development - another Union. The United States's early development very closely parallels the slow unification of the EU, though one has significantly more history dividing it, and is therefore...slower. Go read up on wildcat banks. The US only ended this practice in a time of great crisis - the Civil War. This is the time for the EU to stabilize. They probably won't do it with the UK. And the UK will probably find itself on the wrong side of history here. It's quite sad, really. Anyway, these sorts of gloomy predictions are almost never met, and most economists are simply put, more optimistic than this. The world won't end. The Euro won't end. The EU won't end. We're going to learn a little more about how the world works and move on.