A DARLING, yes really, is the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK. That is to say, he has the purse from which he doles money. He’s caused a controversy here by saying that we face the worst economic conditions since 1948.
Alistair Darling
A cheery soul, eh? But when I was at the Intel Developer Forum, I had a long and interesting conversation with a US analyst who really knows her stuff. She thinks the economies of Western Europe and the US are screwed too – we both agreed on that.
I don’t remember 1948, because it was the year before I was born, but I’ve lived through several recessions during my lifetime. I was amused to see an advert from Citibank in Singapore touting a credit card with the sage words at the bottom – borrow responsibly.
Taking advice from bankers is obviously a bust flush – we’ve still to see the fallout from last year’s credit crunch. But my friend said the worst effect would be on youngsters between 20-25 in the USA and Western Europe. They haven’t seen anything but continuing prosperity for year after year. The idea of saving money is an old fashioned notion to the kids, so with unemployment rising in the UK, house prices falling, and inflation, er inflating, they aren’t going to know what’s hit them. ♦
