austerity britain
You can’t beat a good moan I reckon. Go on get it off your chest but don’t expect for one minute that it’ll improve your outlook. No-way Hose, we’re British and don’t you forget it.
‘Vicious cuts. ‘Savage cuts.’ Swingeing cuts.’ The language we (OK, the media) use to describe the current and impending spending squeeze is apocalyptic in the extreme. There’s endless talk of chopping axes, severe blood-letting, hacking cut-backs, and drastic amputation. And we love it. We’re positively relishing the prospect of pain and suffering, regarding it not just as part of an internationally experienced economic cycle but as a chance for moral renewal. It’s our birthright to be miserable. It’s ironic that it coincides with our Battle of Britain celebrations and provides an opportunity for us to further adopt a ‘Dunkirk Spirit/Blitz Mentality’. Again. Nostalgia may be a thing of the past but we appear desperate to re-create our finest hour and recall how (not me personally you understand) we scrimped, saved, re-used, made-do and rationed ourselves in the process.
Whatever next? Saving up until we can afford to buy the things we need? Behave.
