| 2/6/2008 For the last few weeks there have been neverending reports about people suffering as a result of the economic crisis and tips on how to survive. I'm not too sure which event set off alarm bells among economy-observers: the Northern Rock bankruptcy? (The long qeues from the various bank chains reminded people of the 30s Depression, I find it unlikely we'll end up that far this time.) When the housing market finally ground to a halt? Once houses no longer reaped massive profits for estate agents there was a debate on the BBC website whether people saw this as a sign of an economic crisis and whether they were affected by the global economic crisis in general? The resounding answer by a fair few was "No". Others who weren't affected thought that the crisis had been brought about by people who can't stop spending and wracked up massive loans. I'm one of those people completely unaffected and I'm still carrying on like the world will last 'til the year 5 billion. But no one can deny that there are people struggling to stay financially afloat and through little fault of their own. In Britain the taxes are stupidly high, many of the old aren't being properly paid or cared for and are the biggest victims of fuel poverty and don't forget the large amount of low-paid workers (and farmers) who struggle to pay for the basic food necessities. On a global scale, the US has seen a housing meltdown and there's a food and fuel crisis. Independent lorry logistics drivers are protesting here (not here but in the UK), fishermen are protesting in Spain for cheaper fuel and Bangladesh saw food riots, I even found out earlier today that 90% of Sierra Leone's population are at risk of starvation. If there's anything I can say about all this, it's that this is the ultimate sign that environmentally, humans have done too little too late. The EU are unwilling to lessen fuel taxes in the hope that the extreme situation will force the development and investment in more eco-friendly means. But why is it that the human race are not willing to change their ways unless 'the end is near' so to speak? But as I've said, there are a great number of people just carrying on like they are before but I suspect some of them are more wary of driving. I know for a fact more people are buying hybrid cars just so they can pay less road tax (and weasel out of the Congestion Charge if Top Gear's anything to go by). And on a more positive note, Christian Aid week in St Michael's Parish raised more this year than last year, by about £200 I think. Almost as if the generous donors were aware of the growing crisis and more willing to alleviate the pain. To update since my last entry, I have to correct the term 'Youth Leader' since that's a term employed by a different employer, who I haven't heard back from yet. The term for Telligo is 'Camp Counsellor' as stated on my contract but most staff use the term 'Monitor'. So I will definitely be a 'Monitor'. Even though Paris wasn't on my list of places to see (but it is on my parents', who haven't seen Paris yet except in some photos) I enjoyed my (almost) free trip. Now starting this week I'll be litter-picking for 4 days for money. It'll be at the Derby races in Epsom Downs. |