Wednesday 1 October 2008

Julius Caeser on the UK economy

"The immortal gods are wont to allow those persons who they wish to punish for their guilt sometimes a greater prosperity and longer impunity, in order that they may suffer more from a reverse of circumstances"

Julius Caeser, The Gallic Wars

That is us....

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

A blanket guarantee on UK deposits is only days away.

Anonymous said...

Or hours?

Anonymous said...

Why I love this blog so much...

Fonzi said...

Alice,

I fear that the longest impunity (followed by the largest and most painful reverse) in this crisis will befall those like me and (I believe) you, who have accumulated cash savings in banks for several years because of our inability or unwillingness to buy into the insane UK Bubble. I am not referring to insolvent banks collapsing and taking our money (they will not be allowed to do so, as we are seeing), but to something far worse. It seems to me that the UK and US governments are currently (and completely fruitlessly) spending themselves into such a scandalous level of debt that both sterling and dollar are soon to collapse, and with them the value of our savings. The world's major currencies will be the last and most spectacular Caesar to go down in the financial forum. The rise in the minimum wage reported this morning is, I think, but the insidious first step in a wage inflation spiral that will swallow up the purchasing power of savings. Let's not even mention the "emergency" interest rate cuts by central banks. Even the imminent raising of the levels of guaranteed deposits in the UK and US (as in Ireland) subtly point down the hyperinflationary road. What to do? Become a gold bug and switch everything to gold? (Or is there also a gold bubble about to burst here?) Should we just wait, like Cicero, to watch the great Caesar collapse and hope for the best? (let's not forget that Cicero followed not long afterwards). Your brief views would be greatly appreciated by this terrified economical ignoramus. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Dude. Calm down. Inflation was yesterday's news.

Nick

Anonymous said...

Look at it this way Fonzi. It's only money. Better than losing you legs in a car accident. Money can be replaced. Your legs can't.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Fonzi.

I'm a pensioner. I can lose my legs. They won't be replaced. I can lose my money. That's the only pension I'm ever going to have.

Electro-Kevin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Electro-Kevin said...

I'm with Fonzi too.

Hard earned money CAN'T be replaced by most of us. That's why it's called 'hard earned' money. Good on you if you can make money easily but most of us can't and never have.

Then you reach 43 and realise that your time to accumulate wealth is rapidly decreasing.

In the long term you're dead.

(Another quality contribution from E-K - the blogger for whom every silver lining has a cloud.)

:-(((

Anonymous said...

I think Julius should keep his opinions on the UK to himself. He should be focusing all his attention on laughing at Alitalia.

Nick