Give us a break and we’ll fix the economy

There’s not enough time between crises for the economy to recover

Just when we caught a glimmer of light at the end of the dark and nerve-wracking recession tunnel, we get zapped again, this time by swine flu of all things. We had a couple of good days on the stock exchange, the car manufacturers sold a few models, smiles were visible on some of the stony faces we see on the TV and then… Pow!!! Some guy picks up a stray virus in Mexico and within the space of twenty minutes the entire world is back on its knees and we are in the middle of a pandemic.

Pow!!

No wonder we can’t get hold of our bootstraps and pull ourselves to our feet when we are fighting the recession on about 59 fronts at the same time. Every one of these side issues, whether it is an American affair or not, takes huge amounts of energy and money and there is a continuous drain on our resources. If it’s not a loose virus it’s a loose terrorist. If something goes right in Afghanistan it goes wrong in Pakistan on the same day. If one cruise liner manages to hold off the pirates in the Gulf of Aden, an oil tanker is hijacked off the coast of Somalia. It’s a struggle without an end – a huge balloon, you poke it here and it bulges out at the opposite end.

The survivors

There are a few survivors who tread nervously among the ruins of our economy. Some of the banks are faring well. The Money Store is thriving and the number of Payday Loans and Personal Loans are up, a good sign, meaning that some people are receiving salaries, taking loans and leading normal lives.

When can we stop to breathe?

The economy is an all-out war and it is fought every single day, breaking only on the weekends to a take deep breath, formulate new strategies, open new fronts, put new personalities on the pedestals and bury the past week’s failures.

Every Monday the war moves back to Square 1 and the previous week’s puny efforts are erased. The Battle-plan is numbered Week 1, Week 2, etc.

There are bad signs…

Like the Chrysler Corporation going bust. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine anything like that! I started out driving in grandpa’s Fluid Drive Chrysler and I thought Chrysler would be here forever.

…and there are mixed blessings

A whole generation of newly unemployed people learned how to write their resumes, polish old resumes and apply for jobs in a highly competitive market. Employers also managed to get rid of a lot of deadwood that was clogging up the works.

…and there are good signs

Amazingly, there is light at the end of the tunnel; this one from the many new industries which have sprung up in the wake of the recession. A major one is the fervent dream to somehow wean ourselves off our need for oil. The electric or battery powered car industry is in full swing and it should succeed, making the world a better place all round.