UKer here, I have to say -- having been very young during the early 90s recession but remembering the pressures it put on my parents, I feel I've done okay in this one so far -- I've just bought my first new car, and its a brand new one. I'm getting it on PCP but I consider that a big luxury item. But the market wobbling today does have me concerned... I'm in public service in the UK, and I guess I just narrowly missed being axed this year. A double dip would almost certainly put my job in real jeopardy... the ECB has got to get their shit together if necessary in the Euro zone while the politicians are away. I think they've got a handle on it, but if the shit really hits the fan for the likes of Italy or Spain, I could just see it spreading further - and that would affect Britain and the rest of the world.
Likewise, if this forced lean towards austerity continues in the US and your recovery wobbles, it could plunge the world back into it too.. I think sooner or later, opposition politicians are going to have to realise that you can't cut money and jobs and not adjust taxes and loopholes to the reality of the situation. Unlike at the start of the 08 recession, the world is no longer moving in lockstep, we've got all of these countries doing quantative easing in their own self interest, and this sort of currency war going on behind the scenes...
it just feels so... in the balance.
