The State We're In

Tuesday, 3rd November 2009

Deficits aren't necessarily the end of the world but they're not your best chum either. This chart, pinched from Burning Our Money, is a handy reminder of where we are and the pickle we're in. Worse than Spain! Worse than the United States! Worse than Iceland! Worse than Ireland! Gordon Brown FTW.

Sure, in the long run we're all dead. But we don't have to be dead quite so soon, do we?

As always, the Nordics fare very well in this sort of caper. But look too at our friends in New Zealand - a model of how a non-Nordic, English-speaking country can still do pretty well for itself. Yet Alex Salmond never talks about the Kiwi example, even though, as Jim Telfer used to say, New Zealanders are "Scots who learnt how to win". Admittedly, he was talking about rugby. But my sense is that an independent Scotland would have more to learn from New zealand than, say, Norway.

Filed under: Britain (283 more articles) , Brown (134 more articles) , Economy (74 more articles) , New Zealand (2 more articles) , Scotland (195 more articles) , SNP (51 more articles)

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Frank S

November 3rd, 2009 12:21pm Report this comment

I wonder if a sculptor could be found (and paid for!) to render that chart in 3-D and have it installed in Trafalgar Square? We shall be living through the shadow of it in our economy for at least a generation, so why not have a physical shadow cast as well as an awful reminder of what lefties can do to a country?

De Rigueur

November 3rd, 2009 12:37pm Report this comment

Frank S

Great idea. The Speccy should start a fund imediately. I for one would be happy to donate.

Cordialement,
de R.

michael

November 3rd, 2009 3:34pm Report this comment

Is it sinking in.

I wonder...

ndm

November 3rd, 2009 6:06pm Report this comment

This to me is a reminder why no country should put all its eggs in one basket - particularly one as fickle as financial services.

The United States is heading in the same direction as Britain with an equally casual attitude to the hollowing out of its non-financial sector. If the recovery from this recession takes as long as did recovery from the last the ordinary American will have facesd two decades of ZERO growth in median family income.

daniel maris

November 3rd, 2009 7:50pm Report this comment

ndm -

Er - you haven't been paying attention. The USA is growing at over 3% - unlike the UK which is still well and truly in recession.

We are in a seriously bad way, paying for years of disregarding the real economy, and substituting casino economics.

Alan Wilkie

November 3rd, 2009 8:26pm Report this comment

Massie you chump. Your not looking at the chart the right way. The UK is the broad strong base supporting the World.
Norway is weird must be the oil.
BTW after Independence when Scotland tops and you are rich, you will continue with the blog, please.