Is It Really That Bad Out There ?

You'd think from reading all the economic doom-and-gloom in the right-wing media that people would be reining in, not spending and having a quiet Bank Holiday.

That may be true but out with Mrs Loadofoldstodge both yesterday and today, the garden centres and shopping centres were doing huge business so where is this recession, where is the downturn, where is anything approaching a belt tightening ?

Last week, data in the US suggested the economy wasn't doing as badly as analysts feared and the stock market rallied strongly leading to a similar rally here. Now, no one denies that increasing energy and raw material costs will have an economic impact but just how severe still seems uncertain.

I have accused the right-wing media of talking us into a recession in order to achieve some short-term gain for the Conservatives. I would also accuse Gordon Brown of reckless spending and economic mismanagement from the pensions tax grab onward.

Perhaps the economic downturn will be as severe as people say but for now, I would say it's more a case of "Apocalypse Postponed".