It’s bad in the UK, but how bad is it in Ireland ?
Things are not looking great for the UK economy, but we’re certainly not alone, and it’s always important to keep a sense of perspective. The majority of people alive today have never really experienced generally tough times, and maybe it’s not such a bad thing in an age where the individual and consumerism seem to have had damaging effects on relationships and family.
Things have got pretty bad in Ireland, although again they are not alone either, if you look at countries like Greece and the rapid deterioration in Spain and elsewhere.
As regards Ireland, the Irish Times published some data last week which makes for quite interesting reading :-
- household incomes 5% down on where they were in 2009
- Average household income dropped to just over 22,000 euros.
- Many of the poorest still being cushioned to a degree by social welfare but with GDP down by nearly 20%, not clear how the country can continue to pay such social welfare
- The gap between the richest and poorest continues to increase to it’s highest recorded level since current measurement techniques began
Reasons to be optimistic – probably not unfortunately !