After a decade of accumulating debt, credit saturation and an insatiable desire to have it all and have it now Britain nurses its recent financial wounds while facing the prospect of a recession that will affect all our lives.

The desire to get that new car have that holiday and make a profit on the housing boom raised the cost of our essentials in life to all time highs. The big winners are the banks and government but at what cost to the real fabric of society, family, community growth and freedom.

The issue is a global one as futures speculators playfully drive costs up beyond the true market value to secure the profits and interest expected in their portfolio keeping clients happy and investors investing.

The results for everyday people can be seen in rising food bills, energy bills, petrol and of course the value of property. Inflation is on its way and the bank can’t afford to raise interest rates. What a mess, where is the accountability, where are the costly apparently independent regulators?
BP, Shell and our so called allies at Exxon Mobil published record profits while our living costs rise.

 

The globalization policy of world markets is immune to the dismay and justifiable anger of millions of people. Recent adverts on British TV selling Exxon Mobil as the innovation savior for the planets needs adds to the confusion. The message contains all the empty internationalism of an airline advertisement. Even the promise of cheap flights is under threat as the cost of new environmental tariffs rise and the cost of fuel is passed on to the consumer.

Raw material is up 30% manufacturing costs up 19% the fastest rise in 20 yrs, the cost of food has risen four times as fast as last year, 3.8 million children in poverty  1.3 million in severe poverty pushing progress on child poverty in reverse. The difference between rich and poor is wider than ever and poverty amongst the retired and elderly is on the rise due to the need to support their adult children! 

All this while we are treated to heartfelt promises from political parties on their tricks and tips to cushion the blow to our lives. The IMF stated that the housing boom in Britain was overvalued to the tune of 40% last year! Even when these issues affect our lives in profound ways compared to the problems in developing countries it is slight, the rise in food prices is affecting some of the poorest nations depriving them of access as markets redirect their commodities to more profitable territories.

They say class is dead in Britain, try telling that to students with debt from universities, families economically excluded from the aspiration culture that consumes us, and young people trying to get involved in the post-millennium rush to feel middle class. Pushing people apart through the have and have not divide, reducing our relationships to one of competition and opportunity is creating an identity crisis and a vacuum where community and society used to be.

Political tinkering concentrates on cleaning up graffiti tackling terrorism and ridiculing each other in parliamentary debates, supposedly created to debate and discover solutions for the problems felt by communities. Rather than wait for the nanny state to deliver a leaflet on improving communities, communities and individuals should consider how to empower themselves in meaningful ways, pulling back on the impression that they need debt to live, that their neighbor is a challenge, that problematic young people are to be dealt with and not engaged with and they no real power.

The profit culture of capitalism cannot deliver happiness, freedom or quality of life, health or wellbeing. The fabric of life depends on our compassion for others our ability to challenge government and market forces and a real and present sense of our place in the world. Without this the loss to our society will be felt for decades to come