'Why don't you move to Russia?' That used to be the call
that you would hear in England, back in the 1960s and '70s,
every time that anyone criticised the country, the
government, or the way of life. The implication, of course,
was that if you didn't like the way things were done, why
then, you'd better move. Get out of here, and don't come
back, was the message. If you hated living here, was the
assumption, then you'd be better off somewhere else,
preferably somewhere far away. Of course this is ludicrous.
Just because Britain might be the greatest country in the
world, it doesn't mean that there aren't things about it
that can't be improved.
Personally, I love England. It always reminds me of a
Never-Never place, a real fairy-tale country, that is
completely divorced from reality. The most recent thing is
the failing economy. All the newspapers are full of stories
like 'Are we heading for a recession?' Are they for real? I
studied Economics as a teenager and I didn't learn much,
but the one thing I remember is the concept of Economic
Cycles. The economy goes up, it goes down. It's been that
way since records began, way back in the eighteenth
century. Is anyone seriously saying that 'things have
changed', 'uh, it's not like that anymore'? Of course we're
going to have a recession, maybe not today, maybe not next
month, but the economy goes up and down, every student
knows that. So if it's been going up for a number of years,
then yes, we're due for a downturn. Actually, overdue. Is
there any question about that? Well, yes. In England,
so-called professional commentators seem to be living with
the illusion that the boom can go on for ever. How much of
a fairy tale is that?
When I was a kid, I used to listen to a show on BBC radio
that was aimed at children. It was called 'Toytown'. I
don't remember much about it, but I remember Larry the
Lamb, a model citizen, always taking his complaints to the
Mayor. 'Good morning, Mr Mayor', says the lamb, (in a
sheepy kind of voice). 'Good morning, Larry', says the
Mayor, 'and what can I do for you today?' The answer to
that, of course, was that the Mayor was supposed to solve
all of Larry's problems. Well, yes, it worked for Larry,
and who knows, the Mayors of England may still be able to
tackle all of the sheep issues around. But somehow the
country hasn't grown out of the idea that it's all
solvable. Whatever your dilemma, take it to City Hall and
they'll sort it out. Well, boys and girls, that's actually
quite a childish concept and not fitting for the real
world. It's an illusion, just like the idea of no more
recessions. Okay, we haven't had a total economic decline
for almost a generation. That doesn't mean it won't ever
happen again, or that we're not due one, right now.
Another fairy story is about property. People in Britain
have bought into the idea of being 'home owners', (in
reality, mortgage owners ' the banks and building societies
own the houses). There's a kind of 'life plan' that sees
young couple struggling for years with a mortgage they
can't afford, trying to buy a small house which they hope
will grow in value. If it does, they'll be able to sell it
and buy something bigger, maybe a bigger house with a
garden, where their newly-arrived children can play.
They'll sell that place and move to something bigger. The
culmination of all this 'trading up', is that they plan to
arrive at retirement time with the kids having left home
and them being the proud possessors of a large, detached
house. They can then 'trade down', which means selling up
and moving to something smaller, maybe a bungalow, and
pocketing the cash difference, money that will see them
safely through retirement.
It doesn't work. Firstly, interest rates have gone up,
which means mortgage repayments are moving into the realms
of 'unaffordable'. Some people are having to give up the
game, sell up and rent. Meanwhile, house prices have risen
so far that new people can't even get onto this rising
ladder. With no new 'first time buyers', all sales slow
down. If you can't sell the one you're in, you can't buy
another to move into. The cycle slows, then stops. Worse,
people at the end of the line are finding that prices have
gone up so much that there are no cheap bungalows for them
to acquire when they sell their 'big house'; the two
properties are practically the same price. They make no
money, no spare cash. Even worse, they can find no small
houses in their area. They want to 'downsize', they'll have
to start again in a new area. Few old people want to be
uprooted so drastically. So they stay put, struggling to
meet the bills of their big, old house, with no spare cash
to pay for the treats and travel they had planned for their
retirement.
Astonishingly, despite all the evidence that the plan
doesn't work, very few people have the wit or the nerve to
get off the train. They stick with the fight to pay the
mortgage, hoping now that their children will benefit,
inheriting property that will sell and make them rich. It
doesn't, either thing. Still, what is evidence when you've
got a dream? Just like the dream of the white picket fence
and roses round the door, which people cling on to in
America, English couples spend their lives chasing money to
pay the banks for the houses they live in, all the while
hoping against hope for a fairy tale ending. Who could
possibly think of moving, when such entertainment is on
offer? Not even Russia can provide such daily amusements!
----------------------------------------------------
Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author from England. He
might be disgruntled but that doesn't mean that the early
years of the 21st century is a good time to be gruntled. On
the contrary, this man talks sense. Tune into his missives
at one of his many websites, blogs, Youtube videos and
Facebook pages.
Try http://www.mikescantlebury.com
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