"It's The Economy Stupid"

One of the few things I have learned in 12th grade AP Comparative Government class.

I had a very interesting conversation with one of Dan's friends regarding the global economic crisis. He simply asked if things were as bad or similar or about the same as it is in the UK.

From a personal perspective, I feel like most of my friends have not yet been affected by the credit crunch. None of my friends have lost their jobs because their company is failing, and that's mostly due to the fact that most of my friends work in DC and work for a company that has a government contract. I also believe that DC is more stable compared to other regions in the US. But I feel like it hasn't really effected me or anyone I know, yet. A friend was laid off late last year, but I don't think it was related to the credit crunch as her company has been trying to cut cost for years now. She can correct me though.

I think more of Dan's friends are feeling the crunch here in London. The friend I was talking with is in real estate, and obviously that is hitting a major slump. Another friend is worried about losing his job soon as a contract lawyer. And when the US chose not to save Lehman Brothers, a friend was frantically sending out her CV (but they got bought by Nomura, even though HR keeps firing her despite her boss saying she still works there). So there is a reality to it.

I will say it is interesting to watch the BBC talk about the economic crisis and read about the crisis through the Post.

What I think is most important (and fairly interesting) is to see how the European Union and the Euro hold out through the entire mess. Basically, some countries in the EU are getting their credit downgraded, pissing off the stronger countries. On top of all that, there is also a push to help out the Eastern European countries that are apart of the EU, but don't get the privilege of distributing the coveted Euro, get through the crisis. In all honesty, if this crisis prolongs itself, I can see at worst the EU being dissolved or the stronger countries creating their own union of sorts. But I'm not economist.

I also think the UK government is very conservative about how they are going to stimulate their own economy because they are worried about inflation. It makes sense since historically the British Pound is worth a lot of money (maybe not now, but it has and will be). The news also seems to accentuate the job loss in more rural areas rather than in London. For example, there is this big thing going on where the slogan goes "British jobs for British workers." They are complaining about the Italians who are working "their" jobs, except it is an Italian company who put their plant in England and hired mostly English but also hired Italians. And since the UK is part of the EU, it's not like the Italians can easily be fired.

It's all very different here, and very similar. It's kind of like a rat race to see who can finish on top.